Christopher McRae

Christopher McRae is a 19 year old student at the University of Queensland in Brisbane. He is currently studying a Bachelor of Civil Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts. Christopher grew up in Bundaberg and he joined the nippers at Bundaberg Surf Life Saving Club when he was just 8 years old. Christopher has always had a passion for the beach and surf lifesaving and regularly does volunteer patrols with the club. He also works as a lifeguard in the Wide Bay region when on holidays from University. In November last year, Christopher was awarded his Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award by Prince Edward.One of his most remarkable achievements so far is that he represented Australia at the London International Youth Science Forum in 2012. Here he gained a deeper insight into scientific applications and developed a greater understanding of young people from all different cultures.

Jane Bout

When asked to portray my Auntie Stella in the documentary my initial reaction was that being in front of a camera was way out of my comfort zone . However with such strong memories of Stella
from my childhood and growing up with the wonderful recollections of my mothers close ties to her cousin ,John , there was never any hesitation in saying yes.

As a relative of Stella I felt extra privileged to be able to portray this strong women who carried the burden of the loss of her young son ,and only child ,for the rest of her days . As soon as I received
the phone call from John Schindler with an outline of what he wanted me to wear for the documentary I knew I had the perfect thing. After Stella died I inherited a few items which included an item of her clothing , a black crepe coat . Also with the passing of my mum I inherited a cameo brooch which had also belonged to Stella. Wearing these items of hers I felt I had linked the past
and the present , it gave me the strength to portray her and made me a little less fearful of my limited acting ability. The whole experience was very emotional and bitter sweet but also
healing,comforting and uplifting.

It was a wonderful once in a lifetime experience to be given this opportunity to be part of the telling of our family’s story. Thank you so much to all those that contributed to making this documentary
possible.

Samantha Murray

Samantha Murray, known to most as Sam, is a 19 year old student at the University of Technology Sydney. She is currently in her second year and studying for a Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science.

Sam has always been very active in her local community, playing competitive sports such as Netball and Soccer during her junior years, and later having completed her Bronze with the Coogee Surf Life Saving Club, completing several extension courses. Today, Sam is representing the Coogee Surf Club in the U23 Women’s Surf Boat Rowing in Australia’s ‘only’ all-Female crew.

Sam also works with children and adults as a qualified Austswim swimming instructor, teaching valuable life lessons of Swimming and Water Safety, at Heffron Swimming pool, based at Maroubra.

Notwithstanding this she has represented the State (NSW/ACT) in the under 18s female AFL development camp and has been the Coach with the Under 14s AFL girls teams at her local Maroubra Saints AFL club.

Sam is passionate about helping people and contributing back to her local community.  These roles have increased her knowledge and interpersonal skills with people in general and in the sports arena.

Paul Malgapo

Paul has appeared on major US feature films Unbroken and San Andreas.  Using his martial arts experience and knack for action, Paul also features his skills in lead roles for short films such as “Greed” and “Sunnybank Stakeout”, where he not only stars but also choreographed the fight scenes.

Paul has been keeping his acting skills honed under the tutelage of acting coaches Peter Rasmussen and Gareth Harris for over a year.  Paul is a well cultured and artistic man. He is the head instructor of Self-Defence/Martial Arts classes in New Farm and holds a black belt in Wing Chun Kung Fu running a curriculum of Kung Fu, Boxing and Muay Thai.

With a strong belief in the world wanting to see more ethnic diversity in leading roles, Paul is ready to start the revolution!

Phillip Hua

Phillip Hua portrayed the Japanese machine gun sergeant. Phillip is of Vietnamese origin. In Abu Dhabi (2007), he was involved with the first team in constructing a vocational educational institute for the UAE. During this period, he produced his first documentary, “Convenient Truth, Masdar City,” which was showcased at the annual Masdar City Leader’s convention hosted by the royal family of the UAE.

Phillip serves his community by volunteering and teaching new lifesavers for the Coogee Surf Life Saving Club. Recently, he has returned to his country of origin to help build a safety culture and lifesaving skills for the Vietnamese people.

Barton Williams

Originally from Adelaide South Australia, Barton brings a wealth of acting and life experience to his name. With a B.Ed./B.T and as a former national water ski champion, surf lifesaver and martial artist Barton has an array of high level specialty skills. Starting at the tender age of 10 years old Barton has been acting in front of the camera and on stage across South Australia and New South Wales. Barton was trained professionally as an actor at ACTT (Actors College of Theatre and Television) and as a TV presenter at NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art). Barton has an extensive range of TV (Home & Away Rescue Special Ops), Film (Motherfish & The Battle of Long Tan) and Theatre (A Quiet Night in Rangoon, How to lose sight) credits to his name. In addition to this Barton is a published children’s author and a producer of kids TV show. Barton is delighted to be part of Schindler Productions’ KNOWN UNTO GOD.
Bart serves his community by volunteering for Coogee Surf Life Saving.

Jonathan Mackay

Also known as Jono, is a 32 year living in Hervey Bay Queensland. He was first made aware of the documentary from the Hervey Bay SLSC, as he is a patrolling member there. He gave John Schindler a call to find out more, and after a lengthy discussion on his reasons for telling this amazing story, Jono felt a desire to help out and felt honored for the opportunity. Being an ex-servicemen himself, Jono had an uncanny tie to these men and he felt their presence, and was a little bit emotional in the process. After walking the Kokoda Trail in April 2013 Jon wanted to know more about these heroic men and this gave him that opportunity. Jono sincerely hopes you enjoy this documentary as much as he did filming it, and that it does justice in telling the story of the unsung heroes.

Adam Stone

Adam is a Visual Storyteller based in Sydney, using a still camera as his preferred medium for @adamstonephotography. With a curious eye and keen sense of where the story is hidden he seeks to expose “the moment” in a creative and attention-capturing way to both challenge and interest the audience. Adam travels throughout Australia and internationally to discover the stories of moments, people and places in a way people can relate to and be inspired by. Whether he is in the middle of a corporate event or with a couple celebrating their engagement, Adam is looking for the stories which connect us all. As a member of Coogee Surf Life Saving Club the past 3 years, Adam gives back by immersing himself in education, physical training, and becoming a driver of the inflateable rescue boats. The story of the young Lifesaver “Spike” struck a chord and so it has been an honour to portray Major Gluth as an actor, take still photographs and even film various scenes.

Julien Vincent

Julien Vincent is an 18 year old French-Australian born and bred in Sydney. He is currently studying a Bachelor of International Studies and a Bachelor of Media (Communication & Journalism) at the University of New South Wales. He joined the nippers at Coogee Surf Life Saving Club at the age of 8, before later obtaining his Surf Rescue Certificate and then his Bronze Medallion. Julien helped John Schindler conducting interviews of veterans and family members and also helped transcribing some interviews, as well as helping with the shooting of re-enactments and playing the role of a cameo. He is the winner of many prestigious awards for his continuing efforts in serving the community, notably the Coogee SLSC 2012-2013 Patrol Person of the Year Award and the 2014 Australia Day Young Citizen of the Year Award. Julien represented Australia at the Centenary Mission in Paris in July 2014, taking part in the annual Bastille Day Parade alongside 79 other countries, commemorating the “War that would end all wars”.

Callum Hawkins

Callum is a 19 year old Surf Lifesaver. Born and bred at the beach he joined the nippers at Coogee Surf Life Saving Club at the age of 5 and advanced through the age groups to complete his surf rescue certificate and bronze medallion. Callum is pursuing a career in outdoor leadership, specialising in sea kayaking and mountaineering expeditions. He first heard about the production when on training expeditions overseas in Canada and flew home early to start filming 24 hours later. Callum was very keen to be part of this production as he felt it represented the true Australian values of mateship, sacrifice and the desire to serve others that lifesavers and soldiers share. Callum has achieved his Gold Duke of Edinburgh award, most outstanding Cadet and Junior for Coogee surf club and has recently made it onto the World Expeditions Himalayan Mountaineering team that will be attempting an Australian first ascent on several high altitude peaks in the Himalayas in October 2015

Connor Murray

Connor Murray, 19 years of age who lives in Hervey Bay, Queensland, played the part of an Australian soldier in the film. Connor has been involved in many sporting clubs for many years and one of the most rewarding and memorable ones is Hervey Bay Surf Lifesaving Club, which is also where he was asked to be part of the film.

He became a member of the club since the age of 10, doing nippers and eventually cadets. Through being a part of the Surf Club, Connor has gained many qualifications and one of the most significant is gaining his bronze medallion, this has enabled him to further his skills and had given him the opportunity to be a lifeguard with Australian Lifeguard Service working in the Wide Bay Capricorn Branch.

Connor eventually participated in the Australian Army Cadets Corps in Hervey Bay for 4 years. He was also selected for the F88 Austyer drill team for his company in 2010, this entailed the section learning the proper drill movements associated with the rifle. In the 4 year period that Connor was with the cadets, he gained the rank of Lance Corporal. He is currently also employed by the AFL as a Program Leader in the Wide Bay- Burnett region.