Vietnam Veterans’ Day in Australia – some reflections
20th August 2007
Dear Viewers
August 18th was Vietnam Veterans’ Day in Australia. Originally it was a day to commemorate the Battle of Long Tan in 1966. But now it has been adopted by all veterans.
The Vietnam War was Australia’s longest military commitment to any conflict. Between 1962 and 1975, about 60, 000 Australians served in Vietnam or its waters and airspace. Unfortunately, members of the Maltese-Australian community were not immune from the conscription of the National Service. Indeed, my husband Louie was one of the eight Maltese-Australians from North Sunshine (one of the Western suburbs in Melbourne) that were conscripted in the army in the late 1960’s and took part in the Vietnam War.
Louie joined the army when he was 22 years old on February 1968 and left for Vietnam on September 8th 1968. He belonged to 1 RAR and 5 RAR. He became a rifleman, machine gunner and rifle scout. Like his Maltese-Australian mates he managed to come back home physically unscathed, but psychologically traumatised.
As a wife of a Vietnam veteran, I attended for the first time a special ceremony that was held at the East Keilor R.S.L. Club to commemorate this event. During the event I thought of Louie and his mates. I thought of the horrific personal stories that (in Louie’s case) started to unfold only these last 3 years even though we have been married for 35 years. Thirty-six years since his return from Vietnam he is still emotionally scarred. This is manifested on his daunting expression on his face whenever there is a trigger that takes him back in time and space – a helicopter hovering in the neighbourhood, Vietnamese people walking around in the St. Albans shopping centre, poignant smells coming out of Asian shops down in Alfrieda Street….. The list goes on and on. I thought of the anguish that family members have endured while their beloved ones were on the battlefield in Vietnam.
The chilling stories that Louie’s mother, brothers and sisters have shared with me over the years still send a shiver down my spine.
From anecdotal evidence I can see that the Maltese community in North Sunshine drew a lot of strength from each other to help them go through these critical times. Another source of strength was their strong religious beliefs.
The service that was held at the East Keilor R. S. L. Club reached its climax as the Ode and the Last Post were played and the Australian flag came down to half mast. As the bugle played, the cenotaph around which the crowd was gathered and its surroundings were shrouded in dead silence. Having attended another ceremony at the Shrine of Remembrance and the Shelter of Peace to commemorate Operation Pedestal the previous week I also thought of the Maltese servicemen and women who took part in World War 11. What a price all these people had to pay (and are still paying) to serve their country and its people!
Honouring them is one way of showing appreciation for paying the ultimate price. Last but not least, in honouring them we are honouring our selves and the soldier within as we strive to master the challenges that we need to take in everyday life.
Best wishes
Dr. Victoria Borg |
