Murray Tonkin was born in Western Australia on 4 February 1950. He was conscripted into the Army on 27 January 1971 and was allocated to the Royal Australian Infantry. He underwent SAS selection in 1971 and was posted to SASR on 22 June 1971. Murray came from the Infantry Centre with the rank of Private and transferred to the Australian Regular Army on 15 June 1972. Murray was declared missing presumed killed following an aircraft crash in the Philippines on 26 February 1981. He was aboard a United States special warfare Hercules when it crashed soon after taking off from the Subic Bay naval base. Murray’s next-of-kin at the time of his death was his wife.

February 26, 1981