US Ambassador to Australia and daughter of former president John F Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy, has paid tribute to World War II coastwatcher Ronald (Dixie) Lee, whose funeral was held in Werribee on Sunday.
Mr Lee died on Monday, July 8, just four days after his 100th birthday and a day before Australia’s only other surviving coastwatcher, 101-year-old Jim Burrows, also died.
Coastwatchers were naval intelligence operatives tasked with rescuing allied personnel from behind enemy lines during the war.
Among those they rescued was ambassador Kennedy’s father after his patrol boat sunk in the Solomon Islands.
“Shortly after I arrived in Australia, I had the privilege to meet and honour Jim and Dixie at a ceremony at the Australian War Memorial. Through their stories and memories, I learned more about the heroism of the hundreds of Australian and Pacific Islander Coastwatchers and Scouts who braved difficult conditions during World War II to monitor enemy movements and save lives, including my father’s,” wrote the ambassador in a message read at both men’s funerals on July 13 and 14.
Mr Lee’s naval service featured prominently at the funeral, with Vice Admiral Peter Jones reading a eulogy and a bugler playing the last post.
Many other aspects of Mr Lee’s long and eventful life were also woven into the funeral service hosted by his daughter, Eve Ash, one of 10 children.
“Of Dixie’s children, six were from two marriages, two from affairs and two step children,” said Ms Ash who was the product of one of the affairs and only came to know Dixie late in his life.
“I only uncovered the secret 16 years ago through a DNA test with a look-a-like woman who turned out to be my sister.”
A filmmaker, Ms Ash made a documentary about the discovery called “A Man on the Bus” released in 2019.
Mr Lee lived the last decades of his life with long-term partner Mem and worked as land surveyor.
He is survived by 10 children, 17 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren.
Cade Lucas
