Army officer called-out to bushfire that killed family

A South Australian officer received news of two family members killed by bushfires on the same day he was called out as an Army Reservist to assist with clean-up operations from that same bushfire.

CAPTION: Lieutenant Kynan Lang, a RAEME officer with the 10th/27th Battalion, RSAR, is supported by colleagues at the place where his uncle and cousin died in a bushfire on Kangaroo Island, before placing a memorial in their honour. Photo by Corporal Tristan Kennedy.

RELATED STORIES: Operation Bushfire Assist 19-20

Lieutenant Kynan Lang from the 10th/27th Battalion, Royal South Australian Regiment, faced a family tragedy when his uncle and cousin died in a bushfire on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, on 3 January.

The same day, he received news he was also called up as an Army Reservist to assist the Kangaroo Island community recover from devastating bushfires, as part of Operation Bushfire Assist 19-20.

Dick Lang, 78, and his youngest son Clayton, 43, were killed while attempting to return to their property after fighting a nearby bushfire for two days.

Mr Lang senior was a well-known ‘outback pilot’ in the tourism sector, while his son was a respected plastic surgeon in Adelaide.

 

 

   
Lieutenant Kynan Lang places memorials to his uncle and cousin who were killed by bushfire on Kangaroo Island on 3 January. Photos by Corporal Tristan Kennedy.

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EDITOR’S NOTES: The motto of 10th/27th Battalion, Royal South Australia Regiment, is ‘Pro patria’, which, translated from Latin means ‘For country’. Surely nothing better represents the Reserves’ call-out than that?

Tears were shed during the compilation of this short piece.

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