SEVERAL dozen veterans and scores of family members gathered in Manly last week to honour those who served in the Vietnam War, including five local men whose names are etched into the suburb’s war memorial.
The annual Vietnam Veterans Service was held by the Manly Lota RSL Sub Branch at the War Memorial in Richard Russell Park on Tuesday, August 18.
Redlands Sporting Club Chief Piper Sandra Capra and Moreton Bay Boys College music captain and bugler Camilo Suarez provided music for the service.
Vietnam Veterans Day was originally known as Long Tan Day, commemorating the Battle of Long Tan in 1966, when 17 Australians were killed and 24 wounded in the Australian military’s highest single-day loss of life during the Vietnam War.
In 1985, Prime Minister Bob Hawke renamed it Vietnam Veterans Day and established it as a National Day of Remembrance.
Manly Lota RSL has held a commemorative service ever since.
Five Manly and Lota residents died during the conflict, which ran from 1962 to 1975.
Their names are inscribed on the Richard Russell Park memorial, while their photographs are displayed at the entrance to the Manly Lota RSL.
The commemoration came shortly after Manly Lota RSL President Harry Pregnell and Junior Vice President Bruce Christensen led local veterans on one of the final organised tours of Brisbane’s Victoria Barracks.
The Federal Government plans to sell the historic inner-city barracks early next year, with public tours set to end shortly.
Mr Pregnell, a former gunner in the Royal Australian Artillery, completed his final Army posting as the last Regimental Sergeant Major of Victoria Barracks from 1996 to 1999.
The Army has since progressively relocated operations, largely to Gallipoli Barracks at Enoggera.
During the visit, Mr Pregnell was pleased to reconnect with several tour guides who had served with him as regular soldiers at Victoria Barracks, including during his time as Ceremonial Warrant Officer Class One of South East Queensland and a familiar face in the barracks’ Sergeant’s Mess.
For the veterans gathered in Manly, the service and the return to Victoria Barracks were reminders that, while places and postings may change, Army traditions and bonds endure.
