Aceituno, PTE Francisco Desderio Luie

Francisco Desderio Luie Aceituno (1872 – 1952), farmer and soldier, was born in Florida, United States of America, son of Desderio and Ellen Aceituno. He had one younger sister. His family heritage was of Spanish origin, probably due to Florida once being a Spanish colony. After an unknown time in England, he arrived in Western Australia in 1877 at the age of 4.

Aceituno married Edith Brown In Perth in 1888 at the age of just 16. By 1893, he was living in Bridgetown, South West, WA as a farmer. He finally became a citizen of the British Empire in Melbourne, Victoria in 1909 after having lived as an Australian for 32 years. Over two decades later, at the start of the Great War, he was still living in Bridgetown. At some point before the Great War, he and his wife stopped their marriage. 

Aceituno enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force on the 4th May 1916 and after completing his basic training he was posted to the 4th Reinforcements, 44th Battalion. He arrived at the front line in February 1917 and remained there until November 1917. During this time, he fought in the two bloodiest battles that the 44th Battalion experienced, Messines and Passchendaele. 

Aceituno was injured in the Kidney at the front line and had to be evacuated to England. He never returned to the Western Front and was medically discharged from the AIF in March 1918. He returned to Western Australia, moving to Armadale where he continued to be a farmer. Francisco Aceituno died at the age of 80 in Perth on the 11th of October 1952. 
Notes

His farm was called “Cubanup”, and it was on Jayes Road

Aceituno was an Australian soldier who was an expert in close combat,
He was physically and mentally tough, compassionate and courageous,
He led by example, he strove to take the initiative,
He was committed to learning and working for the team,
He believed in trust, loyalty and respect for his country, his mates and the Army,
The rising sun was his badge of honour,
He is an Australian soldier, Always!

Record completed by Luca Muir Anderson