Posted on 05/30/2007 4:05:03 AM PDT by Aussie Dasher
THE remains of two Australian soldiers killed in the Vietnam War will be repatriated early next week.
A team of Australian veterans unearthed the remains of Lance Corporal Richard Parker and Private Peter Gillson in southern Vietnam last month.
The pair were killed during a November 1965 battle in Dong Nai province, east of Saigon, but their bodies could not be recovered at the time.
The Federal Government is finalising repatriation and funeral arrangements.
The families of the two men have been invited to travel to Vietnam with an official party for the formal handover of the remains.
The group includes Veterans Affairs Minister Bruce Billson, Land Commander Australia Major General Mark Kelly, members of Operations Aussies Home and former and current members of the pair's regiment.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
God rest their brave souls.
Welcome home.
God Bless and keep them and their families.
There’s something about bringing them home that brings closure. May they be in heaven.
Aussie soldiers going home.
Well done good and faithful diggers!
Did they misspell “believed” on that gravestone? Is there a British variant of the spelling?
It is misspelled. The headstones are not official. The area is hard to get access to, and a few years ago, an Australian named Matthew D'Arcy who had managed to get access to it at a time when few people could, had those headstones manufactured at his own expense, I believe while in Vietnam. The spelling mistake was made during manufacture.
It was considered a minor problem versus being able to place the markers in the vicinity of where the men were believed to (and are now known to have) lay.
Thanks and praise to God for bringing closure to the families of these heroes, and for blessing them to return the remains of their loved ones back home.
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