On Thursday, services were held across the State and the Nation to commemorate Vietnam Veterans Day.
The day is held on the anniversary of the battle of Long Tan, where Australian troops fought bravely against the odds, a long way from home, for a cause that bitterly divided their country.
All wars are brutal, but the Vietnam War had some distinguishing features that made it uniquely harrowing. The first was Government conscription. The second was national contempt.
Being made to go to war against your will, and/or being shunned by sections of your own community when you returned, must have compounded the trauma immeasurably. It was a shameful and inexcusable act by an Australian public that should have known better.
Because it was a Parliamentary sitting week, I was unable to attend our local commemorations, but I did have the opportunity to attend the Melbourne service at the Shrine of Remembrance.
It was very special to see a live performance of ‘I Was Only 19’ by the song’s writer, John Schumann, of the Australian band, Redgum.
That song will be familiar to most of us. If you are too young to know the original version, you might be familiar with Triple J’s Like a Version cover by The Herd.
Apart from being an iconic Australian song, it also happens to have a special connection to the Mallee.
The song refers to a soldier named “Frankie” in the following lyrics:
“Then someone yelled out “Contact,”
“And the bloke behind me swore,
“We hooked in there for hours, then a God-almighty roar,
“Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moon,
“God help me, he was going home in June.”
The “Frankie” character was indeed a real person – Private Francis Hunt, a Mallee boy from Birchip.
To Private Hunt and the many other Mallee boys and girls who served in the Vietnam conflict, thank you for your service and your sacrifice.
You are heroes.
Lest we forget.
