Summer 2016 Edition
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SUMMER 2016 EDITION VV DAY 2016: 521 REASONS TO NEVER FORGET IN THIS ISSUE President’s Report. Museum Day 2016. Secretary’s Report. Family Race Day Seymour. Ladies luncheon. Medical/Health/Wellbeing issues. Sub Branch activities. Vietnam Veterans Day 2016. St Paul’s Cathedral Melb. Honour the dead but fight like hell for the living VVAA Victorian State Branch—Executive ABN: 34 750 672 219 State President Bob ELWORTHY AM Mob: 0402 106 262 5241 1813 State Vice President Ken BAKER Mob: 0409 586 669 9747 8125 State Secretary Peter BRIGHT Mob: 0437 936 391 State Assistant Secretary 5444 1871 Sue McQUEEN Membership Officer Mob: 0400 821 457 State Treasurer Bob GLAUBITZ Mob: 0412 689 630 9551 1353 State Assistant Treasurer Martin RUDELBACH Mob: 0419 906 602 State Branch Kevin HUNTER Mob: 0408 448 280 Welfare Officer State Branch 9743 5756 James COGHLAN Executive Member Mob: 0409 293 902 State Branch Peter BLACKMAN Mob: 0400 363 143 Executive Member State Branch 9801 5537 Amat (Aff) BINNOORE Executive Member Mob: 0409 365 210 State Branch 5444 1871 Lindsay McQUEEN Executive Member Mob: 0488 068 880 Executive Member State Office Manager Maurie BENSON Mob: 0417 588 886 Editor FSB-VIC Education Team Rob LOWE 0419 591 676 VVAA Victorian Branch—State Office Address: VVAA Victorian Branch MEMBERSHIP MAIL: Anzac House C/O CVVSC L3/4 Collins St PO BOX 820 MELBOURNE VIC 3000 BENDIGO VIC 3552 Phone: (03) 9655 5588 Fax: (03) 9655 5582 Secretary: [email protected] Office: [email protected] Newsletter: [email protected] Web Site: www.vvaavic.org.au Office Hours: 1000 - 1400 Hrs Monday–Friday DISCLAIMER: The material in ‘FSB-VIC’ is in the nature of general comment only and neither purports nor is intended to be advice on any particular matter. No person should act on the basis of any matter contained in ‘FSB- VIC’ without considering and, if necessary, taking appropriate professional advice upon their own particular cir- cumstances. The VVAA, the authors and editors expressly disclaim all and any liability in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by any such person in reliance, whether whole or partial, upon the whole or part of the con- tents of ‘FSB-VIC’. Honour the dead but fight like hell for the living FROM THE PRESIDENT What a ride! Our 2016 com- dents who attended. The Veterans Unit promoted the day memorations exceeded even through schools, and on social media and the Government the most optimistic of predic- provided transport subsidies to encourage schools to attend. tions, with every event being Marching through an honour guard of hundreds of school an unqualified success. No children will remain long in the memory. Support for other other state branch could have state branches pales by comparison, and my views on the achieved what we together lack of support and interest from the Federal Government have achieved; a year of com- for anything other than Canberra centric commemorations memorations, remembrance, and things 6RAR have been made known to the Federal thanks and celebration the likes of which Vietnam Veterans Minister for Veterans Affairs. nationwide have never seen before. I am indebted to your By any measure, VV Day 2016 was an outstanding success: Commemorations Committee and particularly Chair Ken congratulations Maurie Benson and the Commemorations Baker for their tireless work and infinite patience dealing Committee. A great gunfire breakfast, feeding the hordes of with me, and to your state executive who lent their support school children after the service at the Shrine, the largest to the commemorative program as well as keeping support contingent of Vietnam Veterans to march, thousands of to the Branch at its usual high standard. Every activity was spectators, pipes and drums from the Rats of Tobruk and delivered on time and on budget-thanks to Bob Glaubitz Haileybury College, the Navy Melbourne Band, artillery and individual activity managers. Thank you also to all the salutes, fly over, inspiring speeches by the Governor and others who were press ganged into action and to all the vol- Premier, a haunting re-enactment of the placing of the Long unteers: without you we could not have achieved what we Tan Cross, volleys from a firing party, pipers playing the have done. We can rightly look back on 2016 with great lament and massed pipers playing “Amazing Grace”, 521 pride and how we did it the Vietnam Veteran way and in crosses across the lawn, a drum band, school children bear- partnership with the Victorian State Government. I reckon ing 98 national flags and Choir Victoria finishing the com- our mates who are not with us would have been delighted. I memorations with “I am Australian”, all combined to make hope we honoured them well. it a memorable day for all who attended. A special mention There is one more important activity to be completed post- to Russell Topp and the Greensborough Men’s shed who 2016. Your Commemorative Committee has decided to pro- constructed the replica Long Tan Cross and 521 crosses, duce a pictorial book of the year which should be available each bearing the name of a Vietnam Veteran who died dur- for purchase in late February or Early March 2017. Bob ing the Vietnam War. Each flag was adorned with a nation- Farquar has the lead and we engaged Susan Gordon - al flag and a hand-made poppy-what a sight they made on Brown a professional photographer who has attended every the Shrine lawns-thanks to Alma and Gary Elliott and la- activity-apart from the History tour to Vietnam - and she dies. The ADF lent support with volunteers for crowd con- has produced some stunning images. The book will be a trol and marshalling, artillery pieces to signal the start of lasting reminder of our year and will encapsulate in photos the commemorations, the Navy Band and a firing party all of the memorable moments; It is sure to be in very high from the Defence Force School of Signals. demand and will be offered at a special discount price to The replica Long Tan Cross and the 18 flags bearing the 2016 financial members. names of the fallen at Long Tan have been retained and will I gratefully record here the magnificent support that our be placed at the museum. Of particular interest was the sus- 2016 commemorative program has received from the Victo- pension of state parliament for the duration of the VV Day rian State Government: nothing has been too much trouble commemorations which saw a very large number of MPs for the Premier, Minister for Veterans and the staff of the from both houses attend, what a tribute. Veterans Unit of Department of Premier and Cabinet. How Taking VV Day outside of the Shrine precinct brought with fortunate we have been to not only have all of our com- it a plethora of regulatory requirements needing careful memorative program fully funded, including a large grant planning and liaison to develop plans to cover road clo- to the National Vietnam Veterans Museum, but also to have sures, noise abatement, food handling, waste disposal, pub- the Government throw the full resources of the Veterans lic notices, site plans and site rectification, hydration, medi- Unit behind our program. An example of this support that cal, security, evacuation and a detailed emergency manage- should be readily identifiable to attendees on Vietnam Vet- ment plan. This was a straight up learning curve for us and erans Day was the large (over 2300) number of school stu- Honour the dead but fight like hell for the living 3 FROM THE PRESIDENT ( cont’d) we would not have met all of the external requirements bers decrease significantly: we have already seen the demise without the tireless work of Maurie Benson, support from of the NT and ACT branches this year, and I expect this DPC, the Shrine and RSL Victoria. My special thanks to the trend to gain pace. It is interesting to note that your state Shrine Trustees for allowing all floral tributes to be placed secretary has received the first request from an interstate at the replica Long Tan Cross and allowing us to place the member to join our branch, and I anticipate that we will see crosses in the lawns. more. We will initially place these members into our head- quarters sub-branch. I am proud that we addressed the issue I followed our Vietnam History tour on Facebook and was of closure some time ago and made some hard but sensible at the airport to welcome the tour party home. What a great decisions regarding how we would manage the process, and group of fine young Australians we chose to send on the thus have prepared well for the inevitable. tour; they did us, themselves and Victoria proud. I must say, like many others, I issued a big sigh of relief when they On the matter of closure, I attended a special meeting of the all returned safe and sound. The tour had no problem ac- Castlemaine Sub-Branch in September where the member- cessing Long Tan as all of the necessary permits had been ship made the courageous decision to close at the end of the obtained well in advance, and the tour group size was easily year. This closure is a portent of what is to come, with the accommodated: a salutary lesson for others perhaps? A Murray Border Sub-Branch to also close at the end of the magnificent photo of the tour group at the Long Tan Cross year. I wish to take this opportunity to thank all the mem- will no doubt be prominent in the pictorial book.