For Retired Squadron Commander Tony Wheal, Vietnam Veterans Day is one of the most important days on the calendar.
While not as big or well-publicised as Anzac Day, Mr Wheal said it was “certainly as significant” to Vietnam veterans.
“It’s a day when we remember those poor buggers that didn’t come back, or if they did they came back in wooden boxes,” he said.
“You never forget those blokes, never. I certainly haven’t.
“There’s a couple that I knew quite well… I can still see them in my imagination and they haven’t aged a day. So it is quite a significant day.”
The son of an RAAF officer, Mr Wheal wanted to be a pilot since he was a child.
He joined the RAAF as a cadet pilot in 1966, graduating in February 1968. In April 1969 he was posted to 9th Squadron, based in Vung Tau in Vietnam.
“We flew in support of 1st Australian Task Force… we supported the Army in the field, we moved troops, food and ammunition, we did medivacs when required,” he said.
“It was the best flying I ever did in my life, but I wouldn’t want to do it again. It was extremely satisfying because you were supporting Australian troops.”
Mr Wheal spent a year flying Iroquois helicopters in Vietnam before returning to Australia, later transferring to the RAAF’s logistics branch.
He and his wife moved to Barwon Heads in 1999 and he retired in 2002.
He took on the treasurer role at local organisations such as the aero club and op shop, and joined the committee to establish the town’s Bendigo Bank branch.
He was the Barwon Heads RSL sub-branch president for a year, initiating the merger with the Ocean Grove sub branch in 2011 and becoming treasurer of the club for eight years, where he is still an active fundraiser.
“Certainly on Anzac Day, we get huge support from the local population,” Mr Wheal said.
“I’m not a local yet. When I first got here I was told I wouldn’t be for 25 years, but that’s gone out to 40 now.”
