Recognition: Graham Christie with his service medals.
By Michelle Herbison
by michelle herbison
Queenscliff will host the state’s only regional march to honour Vietnam veterans this Saturday, according to an organiser.
Graham Christie said the Queenscliff march would celebrate the 50th anniversary of Australian troops’ deployment to Vietnam in 1962.
Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance will host a service to celebrate the 44th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, also on Saturday.
Mr Christie said the Queenscliff march would draw participants from across the region to celebrate Vietnam veterans without having to travel Melbourne.
He hoped the smaller-scale march would also attract Vietnam veterans who had “never marched before”.
“There are lot of people in Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula who won’t wear their medals and won’t talk about it. It took 20 years to be welcomed home.
“We couldn’t even join the RSL because they didn’t call it a war. But we were just soldiers – we didn’t create the thing.”
Mr Christie encouraged Vietnam veterans to march in remembrance of the more than 500 troops lost in the war and numerous others who died prematurely after returning home.
He also wanted to commemorate the troops who fought in May 1968’s Battle of Coral-Balmoral.
“It took 40 years to record this battle and it was the biggest and bloodiest battles fought by Australia in Vietnam.
“We were in a support base in the middle of nowhere and 250 Australians were attacked by about 4300 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong.”
The 26-day battleclaimed the lives of 26 Australian troops.
“Long Tan itself only lasted four hours – and they deserve all the recognition they got – but it was a shame the largest battle wasn’t spoken about,” Mr Christie said. The Australian government didn’t want the rest of Australia to know we’d lost so many blokes.”
The Queenscliff march will include local identities conducting readings as well as Hannah Donald, 10, reading a poem.
