On Sunday August 18 2024 Vietnam Veterans and Presidents, Vice Presidents and Members of Narrabeen, Pittwater, Avalon Beach and Palm Beach Sub-Branches, along with special guests, including the Patron of Vietnam Veterans (Northern) Association, the Hon. Bronwyn Bishop AO, Mackellar MP Dr. Sophie Scamps, and Pittwater MP Rory Amon, and past NSW RSL State President and current Chair of the Invictus Games Australia, James Brown, attended a Commemorative Service held at Palm Beach RSL (Club Palm Beach).
Vietnam Veterans Day takes place on 18 August. On this day we pause and reflect on service and sacrifice that Australian troops displayed throughout the war and commemorate all the battles fought by Australians in Vietnam, from large-scale operations to platoon and section-level encounters. We remember the sailors of the Royal Australian Navy who supported land operations, and members of the Royal Australian Air Force who served in combat and transport roles.
We honour those veterans who lost their lives during battle; returned home wounded, ill or injured; lost their lives in the years since they returned, and still carry the physical and emotional scars of their service.
The arrival of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam during July and August 1962 was the beginning of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War.
Australia's participation in the war was formally declared at an end when the Governor-General issued a proclamation on 11 January 1973. The only combat troops remaining in Vietnam were a platoon guarding the Australian embassy in Saigon. These six soldiers were the last to leave on 30 June 1973.
The majority of this deployment comprised army personnel, but significant numbers of air force and navy personnel, and some civilians also took part. During its 11 years of involvement, more than 60,000 Australians fought in Vietnam, at a cost of 523 who died and almost 2,400 wounded.
Music was provided by the Avalon Public School Band, and Adelaide Nichols led all in the National Anthem.
Mark Ferguson OAM, President of Palm Beach RSL Sub Branch and President of the Vietnam Veterans (Northern) Association gave the Prologue, Prayer of Thanksgiving and Commemoration of the Fallen.
.JPG?timestamp=1724050496342)
Mark served in Vietnam, joining the Army a few days after his 18th birthday. He trained at Wagga, then in Infantry Training at Holdsworthy for a further three months. He was in the 12th Platoon of the Delta Company of the 8th RAR (Royal Australian Regiment) which served at Malacca, Malaysia and then was sent to Vietnam, arriving November 17th, 1969. Of the 521 Australian service personnel died as a result of the Vietnam War, 496 of these were from the Australian Army. The Australian population in1968 was around 12 million, which means 1 in 200 served in Vietnam. Every community was affected.
Wreaths and books were laid by the following:
Mrk Ferguson OAM, Bryan Webester, President of Palm Beach Club, Deborah Carter, President of Pittwater Sub-Branch and Vice President of the Northern Beaches District Council, the Hon. Bronwyn Bishop AO, Dr. Sophie Scamps, Federal Member for Mackellar, Rory Amon, Member for Pittwater, Tamara Sloper-Harding OAM, Vice-President of Avalon Beach RSL Sub-0BranchBernie O’Neill, American Legion, Chris Hendrickson, Palm Beach RSL Sporting Clubs.
Following a luncheon provided by Club Palm Beach the Hon. Bronwyn Bishop AO gave a short speech to those present, stating, among other things, that;
‘’….we are living here in Australia, in a society where we have an obligation to look after everyone; people with disabilities, people who are disadvantaged, we have an obligation to look after everyone, not just special people. So when we have this Commemoration as we have had today, very much at a grassroots level, with its messages and allowing children to meet people who have Served our country, it is so important as there our counterproductive forces which we truly have to reject.
This is a good country, we are a good people, we have one and do a fair share of fighting in the world for what is right. But we also need to say; this is a nation, we are to be respected, and we are not to be torn apart.
If we do that at a grass roots level on a regular basis, we also learn to say thank you to those who have undertaken that obligation to look after others and make that apparent to those that came and will come after them. And so we say thank you, to Mark (Ferguson) and the team behind you – thank you for doing this, for reminding us. Your courage, your steadfastness, your fighting for Australia under an Australian flag, is something we can Commemorate and thank you for.
If we just remember that, and remain mindful of being of service, and being thankful to those who have served, what a wonderful nation this will continue to be. So thank you for reminding us of that, and for sharing that with the community. ‘’
Pittwater MP Rory Amon also gave his thanks to those who served and reflected on the nature of Service itself;
‘’Thank you Mark and thank you to all of you for being here today. I think Pittwater has such an amazing Veterans community at Pittwater RSL, Palm Beach RSL, Narrabeen RSL, Avalon Beach RSL and at War Veterans, where they are hosting a Vietnam Veterans Commemorative Service later this afternoon.
Thank you for putting on this service which is among the pinnacle Commemorative Services held for Vietnam Veterans each year. We appreciate your service in that conflict and how you continue to serve the community by hosting this Commemorative Service each year, and everyone here who has served in a theatre of war wherever that may have been and whenever that may have occurred.
I remember this time last year when I shared with you the news that was around at that time about the actions of veterans in other theatres of war. I remember saying then that it was unfair that we would judge military personnel by the standards to which we hold civilians in a civilian society. Humas are not designed to go into theatres of war; they can be trained and mentored but we were never built for the horrors of war. And so when we put humans into those different situations we’re going to get different outcomes.
I stand by that position and view; we cannot hold people who stand to defend our country and preserve our freedoms to the same standards to which we hold people who go about their lives without fear, without living under threat or any intimidation o a day-to-day basis.
It’s important that we continue to honour our Servicemen and Women. There may be many things that the united States of America may not do well, but one thing they do do well is honour their Serviceman and Servicewomen. That’s why it’s so important that occasions like this serve as a basis for us to honour our Veterans and their Service, be that past, present or even future Service.
Thank you so much for your past Service but also you current Service through your roles with our RSL Sub-Branches.
Long may these traditions continue because if we forget them we will be ill-prepared for when the next conflict comes. It is so important that you continue to educate, and continue your work so all the generations know the sacrifices that you made because in the future they may be called upon to make that sacrifice themselves.
Thank you – I pay tribute to every single one of you.
Lest we forget.’’
Ensuring their legacy carries on this Vietnam Veterans’ Day: 2025 Long Tan Bursary
On Sunday August 18 2024, The Hon Matt Keogh MP, current Australian Minister for Veterans' Affairs, stated;
''Today on Vietnam Veterans’ Day we pay tribute to the more than 60,000 Australian veterans who served in our uniform in Vietnam.
We remember the 3,000 Australians wounded in the line of duty and the 523 who lost their lives.
Australia’s Vietnam veterans did our nation proud, but for too long they were not recognised as they should have been.
Last year we marked 50 years since the end of Australia’s involvement in Vietnam, and with that came appropriate national acknowledgement of the service and sacrifice of each and every one of our Vietnam veterans, and their families.
18 August has long held special significance for Australia’s Vietnam veterans, the anniversary of the bloody battle that was Long Tan.
Today we continue to honour Vietnam veterans by supporting their descendants, with the opening of the 2025 Long Tan Bursary.
Eligible children and grandchildren of Vietnam veterans can now apply for up to $12,000 to assist with the cost of their tertiary education. ''
To apply for the Long Tan Bursary, visit the Australian Veterans' Children Assistance Trust (AVCAT) website.
Applications close on 31 October 2024.
Below run a few photos from before this years’ Vietnam Veterans (Northern) Association Commemorative Service commenced + this one of the Vietnam Veterans present after the lunch, photographed here with Patron The Hon. Bronwyn Bishop, Pittwater MP Rory Amon, and past State NSW RSL President James Brown:
.JPG?timestamp=1724047455060)
.JPG?timestamp=1724049326310)
.JPG?timestamp=1724049399599)
.JPG?timestamp=1724049579337)
.JPG?timestamp=1724049481571)
.JPG?timestamp=1724049644172)
.JPG?timestamp=1724049729127)
.JPG?timestamp=1724049806923)
.JPG?timestamp=1724049901235)
.JPG?timestamp=1724049944558)
.JPG?timestamp=1724049981162)
.JPG?timestamp=1724050042815)
.JPG?timestamp=1724050083442)
.JPG?timestamp=1724050159539)
.JPG?timestamp=1724050228262)
.JPG?timestamp=1724050294714)
.JPG?timestamp=1724050338278)
.JPG?timestamp=1724050407941)
.JPG?timestamp=1724050450064)
.JPG?timestamp=1724050572756)
.JPG?timestamp=1724050628947)
.JPG?timestamp=1724050670511)
.JPG?timestamp=1724050697797)
.JPG?timestamp=1724050744232)
.JPG?timestamp=1724050836628)
.JPG?timestamp=1724050904495)
.JPG?timestamp=1724050966437)
.JPG?timestamp=1724051031083)
.JPG?timestamp=1724051096499)
.JPG?timestamp=1724051172235)
.JPG?timestamp=1724051225971)
.JPG?timestamp=1724051253624)
.JPG?timestamp=1724051307593)
.JPG?timestamp=1724051380043)
.JPG?timestamp=1724051425532)
.JPG?timestamp=1724051472268)
.JPG?timestamp=1724051507374)
.JPG?timestamp=1724051566885)
