Minister for Veterans Hon Meka Whaitiri National Commemoration of the Vietnam War Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, Pukeahu National War Memorial Park 18 August 2021

Tēnei te mihi ki te mana whenua, a Te Ātiawa me ngā nō raro i Taranaki Maunga E mihi nei ki ngā mana, ki ngā reo E ngā ika a Whiro, E ngā pāraerao o tēnei pakanga Ka maumahara tonu tatou ki a koutou

I acknowledge the host people, Te Ātiawa and other Taranaki peoples I acknowledge the honoured guests and representatives To the veterans of this campaign We remember and acknowledge you

I am privileged to stand with you today to remember the sacrifices made by the 3,531 men and women who served their country with honour and bravery during the Vietnam War. In particular we pause to remember the 37 brave souls who lost their lives.

But firstly, a very warm welcome to all the veterans present. I offer each and every one of you my deep and sincere thanks for your service half a century ago.

I also acknowledge His Excellency Mr Leasi Papali’i Tommy Scanlan, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps; and invited members of the Diplomatic Corps; Hon MP; Air Marshal Kevin Short, Chief of Defence Force; Andy Peters, President, and Vic Timu, Executive, of the Vietnam Veterans Association; Dennis Montgomery representing the New Zealand Surgical Team, Sarah Stuart-Black and John Dyer representing the New Zealand Red Cross; and representatives of the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association, Members of the National War Memorial Advisory Council and Taranaki Whānui.

Sadly, a number of veterans have passed away in the last year. Today, let us remember and reflect on the lives and deeds of those who are no longer with us.

Let us also recall the suffering and endurance of the Vietnamese people, and the friendship between our two countries.

The year 2021 marks 50 years since New Zealand’s combat forces were withdrawn from Vietnam. Also withdrawn in 1971 was the New Zealand Services Medical Team, a reminder to us today that New Zealanders served not only in the jungle but also in the air, in training camps, hospital wards, villages and local communities – as service personnel, medics, aid workers and volunteers.

On a side note – today is the anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, an intense fire fight involving Kiwi gunners on 18 August 1966 when the gunners played a key role in assisting Australian infantry.

The Vietnam War was a war that brought particular challenges, with no front line and the constant threat of surprise attack – close-range fighting in dense foliage; heat and rain; and sleeping with only sandbags as protection from deadly shrapnel and mortar.

Richard Easton, who served with the first and second Victor Companies, described the impact of these conditions: You are in constant wet and constantly patrolling. You could go for a month and not see anything – your piano wire just gets tighter.1

Thirty-seven New Zealand military personnel and two civilians lost their lives and 187 wounded. Another four New Zealanders died serving with Australian and American forces.

Back home, this was a time of change for New Zealand, with increasing cynicism about our involvement in international conflict.

Families of service personnel found themselves on the receiving end of anti-war sentiment. As a family member of a soldier who died in Vietnam recalled: Oh, God, how it hurt – not many people talked about Vietnam, the controversial war. Whether it was right or wrong made no difference to the pain, the awful pain, of losing our brother.2

Returning veterans were faced with disapproval in their own communities – and, with the physical and emotional burden of what they had experienced in Vietnam, for many it was hard to carry on as normal with families, friends and colleagues. It is regrettable that they were not given the support they deserved.

The Memorandum of Understanding of 2006 and the apology from former Prime Minister on 29 May 2008 finally provided official recognition of the harm done to our Vietnam veterans.

The work by Vietnam veterans leading up to the 2006 MOU, and since, has undoubtedly improved the lot of all New Zealand veterans. For example, the Health

1 In: No Front Line: Inside stories of New Zealand’s Vietnam War. Claire Hall. Penguin Books, 2014. (P. 111). 2 In: Long Time Passing: New Zealand Memories of the Vietnam War. Claire Loftus Nelson. National Radio, 1990 (p.52) From a letter to North and South magazine, March 1990. The writer prefers to remain anonymous. and Wellbeing Expos and forums organised by Veterans’ Affairs – first rolled out for Vietnam veterans – proved so positive that these events are now open to all our veterans and their whānau. Your hard work has helped ensure that our service men and women who have returned in recent years from Afghanistan and in other operational areas around the world have been much better supported than you were when you came home.

Today let us reach out in our thoughts to all those who served in Vietnam – to those who are here this morning, those unable to be here, those who lost their lives in the conflict and those who have since passed. Let us also take time to consider how veterans and their families continue to live with the consequences of their service and sacrifice.

This site is a place to honour and remember our veterans. Thank you for joining us here this morning, for your service and sacrifice, and for the continued support as we carry the legacies of those symbols of remembrance for all New Zealanders who did not make the journey home.

By gathering in commemoration, we pay tribute to your contribution and ensure it is never forgotten. I finish with the time-honoured words, which will never lose their poignancy: we will remember them.

Titiro whakamuri

Kōkiri whakamua