Louise Markus (Greenway, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

On indulgence: I rise to honour the life of Private David Fisher, whose remains were finally brought home to rest on Friday, 10 October at the RAAF Base Richmond, in my electorate of Greenway. A funeral for Private Fisher was held yesterday in Sydney, and I understand that the Hon. David Johnston, shadow minister for defence, attended.

The story of Private Fisher is one of courage, selflessness and duty to his country. The repatriation of Private Fisher is a story of patient persistence by a number of people: by Mr Brian Manns and Major Jack Thurgar of the government investigation team, who were instrumental in locating Private Fisher’s body, and by Jim Bourke and his team at Operation Aussies Home, who worked hard to have repatriation cases like Private Fisher’s brought home. It has taken 39 years to recover Private Fisher’s body from the jungles of Vietnam, but he is home at last.

Private Fisher joined the Army as a volunteer and became a member of the Special Air Service Regiment, SASR. He tragically fell from a rope, approximately 200 feet in the air while suspended below a RAAF helicopter during a ‘hot extraction’ of his SASR patrol at Nui May Tao, 32 kilometres north-north-east of Nui Dat. A hot extraction involves a rapid extraction, often under enemy fire, in which soldiers are suspended by ropes below a helicopter until a suitable and safe location allows them to load on board. Despite an immediate air search by the aircraft involved, followed by a light helicopter search and subsequent ground patrols from the SASR led by the squadron commander and two infantry rifle companies over a 10-day period, no trace of Private Fisher was found.

Those of us who have never faced battle can only imagine the horror of those days and the tragic loss felt by the members of Private Fisher’s Special Air Service unit. To seek and not find their mate, their brother in arms, and then to have to leave him behind I am sure left an indelible sense of loss, which repatriation to Australia, to his final resting place, could only help to give some sense of closure.

The special bond the Special Air Service unit had with Private Fisher has held fast across the years and was strongly evident as former members of his unit accompanied his casket home. It was a very moving moment when Private Fisher’s former commander in Vietnam, retired Colonel Reg Beesley said, ‘I can now close the roll book’ and referred to Private Fisher as ‘one of his lads’. I was privileged to attend the repatriation ceremony and to see the outpouring of love and respect for Private Fisher. He was respected as a soldier and as a man. He will be honoured as a soldier who paid the ultimate price for his country. His name is entered on the Roll of Honour and will never be forgotten.

The repatriation ceremony held last Friday was a sombre affair. I spoke to Private Fisher’s family and met with his step-mother, Peg. Also there were his sisters Annie, Julie and Penny; his brother-in-law Peter; and niece Nicci. They spoke of the hope they had held in their hearts that David would have been found alive, despite the reality of time and geography.

Private Fisher was the last of four Australian Army soldiers lost on operations and not recovered during the Vietnam War. Two of the other soldiers, Lance Corporal Richard Parker and Private Peter Gillson, were repatriated to Australia in June 2007, and Lance Corporal John Gillespie was returned in December 2007. There are still two Royal Australian Air Force personnel, Flying Officer Michael Herbert and Pilot Officer Robert Carver, still unaccounted for.

Earlier I mentioned Jim Bourke from Operation Aussies Home. I would like to acknowledge again his tireless efforts to locate and repatriate our servicemen and women. His work brings comfort to grieving families, mates and comrades. For the wider community, the repatriation of servicemen and women brings home the danger that the men and women in the Army, RAAF and Navy face in the service of our country. I wish Jim Bourke and his team well in their endeavours to recover all of Australia’s lost sons and daughters and bring them home.

As Private Fisher is laid to rest, our thoughts go out to the families of all servicemen and women who have laid down their lives in the service of this country. We as a nation salute their service and honour their memory.

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