Keith Douglas Young lived in St Kilda before working his way to America as a deckhand on a tanker. In his working career he was: a yachtsman, aeroplane mechanic, assistant surveyor in Central Australia, gold prospector, deep-sea diver for pearls, sailor, butler to a Hollywood film star, assistant veterinary surgeon at a 'cat and dog' hospital, student at Hartford University, USA, public speaker, and author. After graduating at Hartford University, his services were in demand and he toured 38 states giving lectures on Australia and Australian life.
He became an executive member of the Adventurers' Club of America, an exclusive club, comprising only members who had world experience in unusual adventures. With the advent of the Second World War he tried unsuccessfully to join the Royal Canadian Air Force, and enlist in the AIF from Washington. He worked for the British Purchasing Commission for two years and then enlisted in the US Army. (The Argus, 7 August 1944, p. 5)
