Thread: They are coming home

Category: | NT News

Originally Posted by Narangga

Category: | NT News

Bring them home was the initiative of Bob Shewring, VVAA NT. It was started by Bob & his mates to see if Reg Hillier could be bought home. At the time it cost 1/2 a years pay [ 500 pounds, $30,000 in today's money] to have the KIA buried in Australia. Bob's investigation found that up to nine were bought back at Government expense. Also, none of the men were buried in a British or Australian War cemetery. And, as for Kevin Conway, he was first buried in Saigon, then exhumed and buried at Ulu Pandan, Singapore. Then because of land develpment, exhumed again and buried at Kranji. Exhumed twice, buried three times.

So you see, Reg Hillier was the catalyst for this operation. And Adelaide River is only the second official War Cemetery in Australia, after the Unknown Soldier at the A.W.M. Welcome home, Reg., and all the others, finally it feels like the War is over.

OPERATION -

Media Release

The Hon Dan Tehan MP

Minister for Veterans? Affairs
Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC
Minister for Defence Materiel





Embargoed until 12 midnight 28 May 2016


29 May 2016




Military repatriation chance to welcome home Australians



Australia will welcome home 33 Australian service personnel and dependents, including 22 Vietnam War veterans, on Thursday, 2 June in one of the largest, single military repatriations in this country's history.


The returning Australians, 21 Vietnam veterans, three servicemen and eight dependents, had been interred at Terendak Military Cemetery in Malaysia, with the single other casualty of the Vietnam War still interred overseas returning from the Kranji Military Cemetery in Singapore.

A military repatriation ceremony and private memorial service will be held at RAAF Richmond in Sydney on June 2, after two Royal Australian Air Force Aircraft C-17 Globemaster aircraft bearing the Australians land at about 10:30am.

Minister for Veterans? Affairs Dan Tehan said bringing the Australians home was an important moment for the families and for the country.

?The return of these Australians will bring closure to their families who have grieved for lost loved ones,? Mr Tehan said.

?They will be welcomed home with a respectful and dignified return to this country.

?For every Australian this will be an opportunity to acknowledge the sacrifice of all those who have died in service to their country.

?Representatives of our Vietnam Veteran community will attend and for some of them this will be a particularly moving occasion as they served with the returning servicemen.?

Mr Tehan said the Australian Government last year made an offer of repatriation to 36 families of Australians buried and Terendak and Kranji.

?Several families made the decision not to bring their loved ones home, and I am sure Australians will respect that decision and appreciate it was not made lightly,? he said.

At the conclusion of the private memorial service for the families, 33 hearses bearing the returning Australians will depart RAAF Base Richmond in a funeral procession at about 12.15pm and travel to the centre of Parramatta, arriving about 1pm.

The funeral procession will proceed via a green light corridor and under escort of the NSW Police Traffic and Highway Patrol Command, with assistance from the Transport Management Centre.

Mr Tehan encouraged members of the public wanting to pay their respects to line the route of the procession.

It will travel from RAAF Richmond to Parramatta CBD via Church Street - George Street - Smith Street - Station Street - Parkes Street, where the public will be welcome to view the procession and pay their respects. Motorists using these roads at that time may experience some delays.

Reinterment services will then take place in every State and Territory, except Tasmania, over the following few weeks, in accordance with the families? wishes.



Media enquiries:


Minister Tehan's Office: Byron Vale, 0428 262 894

Department of Veterans? Affairs Media: 0428 805 578

War hero Christopher Clark finally coming home after 50 year wait
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Christopher Clark (right), was killed in action during the Vietnam War on January 8, 1966, while trying to save a mate's life.



After waiting for more than 50 years, the family of Campbelltown Private Christopher Clark will watch their dream come true when his body is finally returned home to Australian soil during one of the largest single repatriations of servicemen and personnel in the nation's history.

Pte Clark's two brothers, sister and their spouses will travel to RAAF Richmond on Thursday for the emotion-charged return of the 33 service personnel, many of whom were casualties of the Vietnam War, and had been buried for decades in cemeteries in Malaysia and Singapore.

Younger brother Kevin Clark said it has been a long road home for his brother, who was killed in action at age 20 during the Vietnam War in 1966, and the family was very pleased to be getting him and the other boys home for a proper burial.

?There will be sadness and tears and feelings that it's the end of a long road. We're finally getting him home,?? Mr Clark said.

?It's not closure, it's the end of a chapter.

?I feel very proud of him and of all the boys who served their country??



http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/a...ac28?width=650

Private Christopher Clark was killed in action in Vietnam and buried in Malaysia.



Pte Clark, who was part of the Royal Australian Regiment 1st Battalion, was killed while trying to save a mate's life during an American search and destroy operation in Ben Cat in the Binh Duong Province, an area 56km north west of Saigon, on January 8, 1966.

He died two months shy of his 21st birthday and was buried at the Terendak Military Cemetery, in Malaysia, resulting in his family being unable to visit him and pay their respects.

Mr Clark said the family had no hesitation in accepting the Federal Government's offer when it was made to the families of personnel interred at Terendak and the Kranjii War Cemetery in Singapore.

http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/6...9wdvqswdfuqnr5

Private Christopher Clark died two months shy of his 21st birthday.



?If Chris had been interred in France or in Gallipoli in the war cemetery with his mates, (we would not have accepted the offer) but he was left in Terendak and this is why we wanted to get him home,?? he said.

The service personnel will be given a hero's welcome and arrive on two Royal Australian Air Force C-17 Globemaster aircraft at RAAF Richmond where a formal military repatriation ceremony will be held.

The formal ceremony will be followed by a private memorial service for the families who are being reunited with their loved ones.

Mr Clark, who now lives in Melbourne, said Pte Clark will then be interred at Woden Cemetery in Canberra on Monday, June 6.

?It's a central point between where all the family live and a place where everyone, the cousins, nieces and nephews, can go and pay their respects,?? Mr Clark said.

Mr Clark said his brother joined the Army at age 19.

He was 16 when Pte Clark was killed and remembers him as a typical 1960s larrikin.

?He was not a trouble maker, he was a larrikin who loved his family, he loved our Mum Nelly and our Dad Stan,?? he said.

Mr Clark joined the Navy in 1965 and the two brothers used to write to each other during the war.

He said Thursday's repatriation would be the culmination of a lot of work by a lot of people and he was grateful for their efforts.

http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/d...d456?width=650

Private Christopher Clark was a member of the Royal Australian Regiment 1st Battalion.

I hope this event can be transmitted live or as much as possible to tv.

I also hope our political leaders attend big time and not make it a political stunt.

This should be national headlines for the next week...by far the most important event currently happening in Australia.

I truely hope you are correct about a live broadcast.. Probably ABC24 ?

Question, are these fallen going to be given CWGC status and graves?
A lad who enlisted but died in training in WW2 is buried here at Ramco with the correct tombstone etc and a
Check is made annually to ensure the grave is correct etc apparently.

I would hope that these graves are treated as War Graves and hence not available EVER for "renewal" or reuse.




If you are anywhere near this route get out and get down there.

Wave the flag, show the respect deserved, these guys have waited near 50 years to get back to Australia.

Do it for yourself, do it for the families, do it for the fallen, do it for the veterans

But DO IT!

Digger, certainly the Rookwood Cemetery is a forever war grave as it is owned and run by the commission. All others, wherever, will be retained by the Australian Government.

The nine NSW/Sydney based boys were interred there last Friday, 8 within 24 hours of returning home, I had the privilege of being at Richmond, the cemetery and speaking to family of one. His eldest nephew was named after John and was very interested to hear directly what had happened.

Importantly the burial parties were representatives (current serving men and women) of the units the fallen were serving in. Quote, "The RSM insisted, he would not allow a 1RAR soldier to be buried by anyone else." The comradeship runs very deep in the military.

1 RAR Support Company is travelling to wherever to re-inter their fallen, I'm proud to say.

We will never forget.

Mike