Former Z Special Unit member Joe Da Roza during a reunion with comrades last year. Picture: Cameron Richardson Source: News Limited
ONE of the last remaining veterans of the top-secret World War II 'Z' Special Unit, Joe Da Roza, has died on the eve of Anzac Day.
Mr Da Roza parachuted behind Japanese lines on the island of Borneo in 1945 with other operatives from the Services Reconnaissance Department under an operation called Semut (ant) to recruit and train native fighters to disrupt Japanese operations in advance of the allied invasion.
The operatives actually rekindled the ancient tradition of head hunting by placing a bounty on the heads of Japanese soldiers. The locals responded with great enthusiasm and hundreds of heads were brought in.
Mr Da Roza was born in Hong Kong of Portuguese descent and was educated at St Ignatius College, Riverview in Sydney.
Following the war he was the local doctor at Warren in western NSW, where he marched on Anzac Day wearing the black `Z' Special beret of his mate Johnny Whitworth, who was killed by the Japanese during a `Z' mission on Sulawesi.
Private Whitworth's remains were finally identified last year and he is buried in Bomana War cemetery in New Guinea.
Mr Da Roza retired to Artarmon, nine kilometres north of Sydney, and died at nearby Greenwich Hospital. He is survived by his wife Joan and their six children.
News Ltd websites salute our veterans, current service men and women, and especially those who have given their lives for their country. Join us for special live coverage throughout Anzac Day.
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