Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Monday I attended the funeral of Cliff Dohle, who passed away on 2 February. Cliff was a Lilydale resident. He was a great Australian. He was someone who served this nation with distinction. He was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam; he was a helicopter pilot in the Battle of Long Tan. In 2006, after the 40th Anniversary of Long Tan Day, I spoke in the Main Committee about Cliff’s magnificent contribution. All members are familiar with the Battle of Long Tan. It is the battle that Vietnam Veterans Day is named after. On that day when 6RAR were confronted with an overwhelming force of the Vietcong in a rubber plantation just a short way from Nui Dat, Australian helicopter pilots Cliff Dohle and others resupplied 6RAR at the critical time of the battle. Had they not done so we would be remembering Long Tan in very different terms today.

Cliff is one of the great heroes of that time. He was part of a generation that served Australia so very well. He passed away just over a week ago, and his wife, Joan, and his children, Helen, Peter and Lisa, remembered his great contribution at a very touching funeral service in Seville. The Australian nation and this parliament owe much to the Cliff Dohles who served this country with such distinction. We owe much to that generation who fought in Vietnam to the best of their ability. It is a chapter in Australian history that we must continue to work on. The Vietnam veterans were poorly treated. There is no doubt about that and both sides of this House recognise that.

Cliff Dohle is one of a passing generation now. His contribution as a member of the Air Force is very much part of our history—history we should remember and commemorate. (Time expired)