Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

It was a very cold day at Wagga Wagga on Saturday, 18 August this year when Vietnam veterans commemorated the 50th anniversary of Australia's involvement in Vietnam, but no-one was complaining because the suffering that our soldiers endured in Vietnam was so significant that hardly anybody could afford to complain about the chilly winter of Wagga Wagga. Compared with what our men and women endured in Vietnam it just pales into insignificance.

It was against the backdrop of an overcast sky that almost 100 people gathered in the aptly named Victory Memorial Gardens on that very cold Saturday to mark that very important occasion. The Victory Memorial Gardens commemorates our victories in World War I, but our efforts in Vietnam should never be understated and will never be forgotten. Wreaths were laid at a very special memorial. It is a black granite four-sided obelisk on a six-sided base with gold inlaid lettering. This particular memorial was unveiled on 18 August 2007. Around the base the words etched into that splendid memorial are 'mateship', 'courage', 'professionalism', 'loyalty', 'innovation', 'teamwork' and 'Lest we forget'.

These are words which sum up the wonderful dedication and commitment that our brave men and women put into the Vietnam campaign. This began when the first members of the team arrived in 1962, and they were followed by almost 60,000 Australians, including ground troops and Air Force and Navy personnel, who served until 1975.

It was Anzac Day, April 25 1975, when the last of the embassy staff were flown out of that particular conflict situation. It was Australia's longest involvement in any conflict. The war was the cause of the greatest social and political upheaval in Australia since the conscription debate of the Great War of 1914-18. Many soldiers, sadly, received a hostile reception on their return home. Group Captain Tony Checker of the Royal Australian Air Force base at Forest Hill, Wagga Wagga, made an address at this 50th commemoration service. He said: 'Under a clouded sky we remember a clouded war. Australia's involvement was contentious and vigorously debated.' He summed it up when he said, 'It is shameful that Australian soldiers had to wait until 1987 for their welcome home parade.' He was quite right: that is shameful.

The Riverina's contribution to the Vietnam War was significant. Many soldiers served from the Riverina and went to the Vietnam War, including 140 who listed their place of birth as Wagga Wagga. There were many others from the Riverina, too: there were 103 from Griffith; 29 from West Wyalong; 44 from Narrandera; 57 from Temora; 65 from Leeton; and from Gundagai there were 20, including a young lad by the name of Neil Anthony McInerney, who was killed in action in South Vietnam in 1968.

It was a tragic story which I recounted in my Anzac Day booklet this year. Private McInerney had been home from his active service only a month earlier to attend his father Barton's funeral. He left for Vietnam soon after. There were six children in the close-knit family—five boys and a girl—and losing two members in such a short space of time was, indeed, heart wrenching. That was the sacrifice that many families made so that they could serve their nation in Vietnam. Private McInerney had spent 195 days in the 1st Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment before his death on 7 October. He was only 20 years old.

The mind boggles at the sacrifice of these young people, many of whom had been conscripted by a numbering system—a mere lottery—to go and place their lives on the line in the service of our nation and of people from another country. These were people they had never met and had perhaps only ever read about—maybe they had not even done that. They were conscripted to serve and they did so gallantly, bravely, courageously and with great sacrifice. Five hundred and twenty-one Australians died in the Vietnam conflict and more than 3,000 were injured, and the mental scars endure to this day. As long as there are Vietnam veterans about we will continue to remember the sacrifice made in Vietnam—indeed, long after the last Vietnam veteran has passed from this earth we will go on commemorating their wonderful service.

This is particularly prevalent in Wagga Wagga because it is the home of the soldier. Every recruit in the Australian Army does their initial training period at the Kapooka Military Base at Blamey Barracks, just outside Wagga Wagga. This city is also the home of a Navy base and a Royal Australian Air Force base. The military is very important to Wagga Wagga, as are the Vietnam veterans who so bravely served our country in its hour of need.

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