Letter to the editor: Gunnedah Vietnam veteran

I am writing to place on record my utter dismay and angst with the comments made by the current President of the Gunnedah RSL sub-branch in the article published in the NVI on Thursday 15th August 2019 (page 3).

In the article headed "Stand with our Vietnam Veterans" it was stated that: 1. "We have decided that 2019 is the year we stand with the Vietnam vets and show them that we care..." and 2."What disturbs me is the fact that those of us who have worn the uniforms of any Australian Defence Forces have done nothing in Gunnedah, since 2006, to join our Vietnam Vets commemorate their day at the Gunnedah Cenotaph.

Sorry but I, for one, absolutely refute this statement. From 2003 until 2017 I, along with a small band of helpers, organised and was the MC at Anzac day services, Vietnam Veterans day services and Remembrance day services, as many of the citizens of this town would remember, mostly in the era of RSL Presidents Roy Law and Peter Clarke. On each Vietnam Veterans day we held a service at the cenotaph with a local minister saying prayers, had a bugler, the ode, laid wreaths and sometimes even had guest speakers, such as Lt Col Phil Hayden, a Vietnam veteran. On a few occasions we also had finger food and drinks at the GSBC hosted by the Gunnedah RSL.

Whilst these services may not compare with the one held today against the backdrop of the magnificent murals recently painted on the walls of the Water Tower Museum, they were still very solemn occasions held to honour and remember those who served and more importantly those who died during the Vietnam War and to say "have done nothing" is an insult not only to those that served in Vietnam, but also to the volunteers who organised these services, and more particularly the citizens from Gunnedah who attended on the day. I also recall that in 2015, the Gunnedah RSL placed 13 brass plaques at the cenotaph to honour those who served in all theatres of war since 1901, including the Vietnam War.