 Aged 85 , Bill McAloney died on 31 August 1995 ; the 58th anniversary of his rescue attempt . Remembered as " pleasant and fatherly – almost gracious " , he was survived by his wife and six of their seven children . Two of McAloney 's sons served with the Australian Army in the Vietnam War , Paul Simpson completing two tours as a corporal with the 6th Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment , and John Douglas as a lieutenant with the 4th and 5th Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment . John McAloney was decorated with the Military Cross for rescuing one of his men who had been wounded , and then personally clearing several caves defended by Viet Cong despite sustaining a wound himself . He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel and commanded the 1st Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment in the mid @-@ 1980s before his death in 1991 . 
