Enlisting as a soldier in 1940, he saw action during the Second World War in North Africa, Greece and Crete, before being commissioned as a lieutenant and serving as a platoon commander in New Guinea during 1944–1945.

He later served as a company commander with the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) during the Korean War, where he fought at the Battle of Kapyong.

[3][4] One of his uncles, William Reginald Rawlings, who was killed in action and after whom Saunders was named,[5] had been awarded the Military Medal for service with the 29th Battalion in France.

[11] The armed forces later adopted a policy to accept only persons "substantially of European origin or descent", but at the time Saunders encountered no barriers to his enlistment.

[16] He recalled that his fellow soldiers "were not colour-conscious", and that during training in northern Queensland his white mates would sit alongside him in the "Aboriginal" section of movie theatres.

[17] His natural leadership qualities gained him temporary promotions in quick succession: within six weeks of enlistment he was a lance corporal, and after three months he made sergeant.

[9][18] After completing his training, Saunders was assigned to an infantry unit, the 2/7th Battalion, which was serving overseas in North Africa at the time.

[20] It was originally bound for Alexandria,[21] but after the ship was attacked in Suda Bay by German aircraft and began to sink, the men of the 2/7th, including Saunders,[20] were picked up by several British destroyers and disembarked on the island of Crete.

After this, it took part in a devastating bayonet charge at 42nd Street, along with the New Zealand Maori Battalion, which killed 280 German soldiers according to the website of the Australian War Memorial.

Adopting Cretan dress, learning the dialect, and enlisting the help of local inhabitants, Saunders managed to remain hidden for eleven months.

[2][26] He rejoined his old unit, the 2/7th Battalion, which had re-formed in Palestine and been brought back to Australia along with the rest of the 6th Division to help defend against the threat posed by Japan's entry into the war.

"[31] Saunders went before an officer selection board that had been set up on the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland, where the units of the 6th Division had been based following their return from New Guinea.

[1][33] The precedent of his commissioning had caused the Army some concern due to its "special significance", and as a result the paperwork for its confirmation was eventually sent to the Commander-in-Chief, General Sir Thomas Blamey, for approval.

[34] Blamey is reported to have "insisted upon following the usual procedure", believing that there should be no difference in the way Saunders' commission should be treated to any other soldier who had completed the necessary training.

[36] Due to the discriminatory laws in force at the time, Saunders had fewer rights as a citizen than the white Australians he led.

[15] Returning to Australia, he volunteered for service in Japan with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force, but the government would not accept Aborigines for the operation.

[34] Saunders spoke publicly against this policy, calling it "narrow-minded and ignorant";[40] the wartime restriction on non-European enlistments in the armed forces was not lifted until 1949.

[44] Facing discrimination that he had rarely encountered as a soldier, he worked in the ensuing years as a tram conductor, a foundry worker, and a shipping clerk.

[46] Promoted to captain, Saunders led C Company during the Battle of Kapyong in April, when 3 RAR and a Canadian battalion held off a Chinese division north-east of the South Korean capital Seoul.

[6][50] Leading a Vickers machine gun platoon at the Battle of Maryang San in October, he reportedly shared the following exchange with a fellow 3 RAR officer: as they surveyed the forbidding mountain before them, Saunders' companion remarked, "No country for white men", to which Saunders replied, "It's no country for black men, either.

"[57] His community work was recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours of June 1971 when he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Civil Division.

[10][70] The Australian War Memorial holds Saunders' medals and several personal effects in its national collection, along with an official portrait and several photographs.