Australian Vietnam War dead finally return home

DECADES after the Vietnam War ended, the remains of 22 fallen Australian servicemen have finally arrived back in Australia for burial on home soil.

Under full military honours their coffins were unloaded from two RAAF C17 Globemaster jets at Richmond RAAF base in Western Sydney, with hundreds of emotional family members, friends and Vietnam veterans watching on.

Also arriving home were the remains of three servicemen killed on deployment in Malaysia, and eight dependants — partners and children of servicemen who died overseas and were interred in a Malaysian cemetery.

Service personnel from all three arms of the Australian Defence Force acted as pall bearers as the coffins were brought off the planes, with senior officers, Premier Mike Baird and Governor-general Sir Peter Cosgrove among those forming an honour guard.

Among the honour guard was Australia’s only surviving Vietnam War Victoria Cross recipient, Keith Payne.

The solemn procession of hearses then drove to Parramatta under police escort, marking the end of 50 years of campaigning to repatriate all of Australia’s Vietnam War dead.

A summary. Until 1966, it was the policy of the Australian government that servicemen who died overseas should be buried as close as was practical to where they fell. Australia had a significant troop presence as part of Commonwealth forces in Malaysia at the time so soldiers who fell in Vietnam were buried in the cemetery at the Commonwealth military base of Terendak. From early 1966, policy changed so Australian dead would be repatriated to Australia but prior to that date, a number of Australian servicemen were buried at Terendak.

The reason for the current repatriation is primarily that Terendak is no longer a Commonwealth military base and hasn't been for some time - while Malaysia remains a member of the Commonwealth, Terendak is now solely a Malaysian base. Security considerations have made it difficult for Australians to visit the graves for some time - the Malaysians have done their best to be accommodating, but they have understandable and reasonable concerns about the security of allowing foreigners access to a base and that has made the process complicated. The relatively small number of remains involved, and the fact that many still have close family members still living, meant a decision was taken to repatriate these people to Australia if family members wanted it. A few chose to leave their loved ones in Terendak, but most accepted the offer.

There are some interesting photographs and more information at the linked article.

It may seem cruel but at the time it was the first time any offer had been made to bring the remains home at all - the option had not even been offered in previous wars. People wanted this option and so the government decided to offer it but at cost. No profit was being made - it was a very expensive process as it generally required a dedicated flight.

Part of the reason policy changed in 1966 was that the level of commitment to the war changed in that year and so Australia was now running regular troop convoys to and from Vietnam. This made repatriation of remains much cheaper (there was no longer a need to charter an aircraft specifically to do it).

...it was a very expensive process as it generally required a dedicated flight.

I guess I need to remember that Australia was a relatively small country that lacked the resources and capabilities that we,or the Brits,had.Perhaps we could have helped our great allies,the Aussies,get this done.But LBJ wasn't a particularly warm (or fuzzy) kind of guy.Many Americans who remember him today think of him as being one of our worst recent Presidents.

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