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| Down Under |
| Repatriated Vietnam War soldier laid to rest |
| 2007-06-15 |
| Contrary to much propaganda from the enemy within, we were not alone then and we are not alone now. ALMOST 42 years after he was killed in battle in Vietnam, an Australian soldier was laid to rest today in home soil, among family and comrades and with full military honours. Private Peter Gillson, whose remains were found and brought back from Vietnam last month, was today buried at Melbourne's Fawkner Cemetery, after a funeral service held at St Paul's Cathedral. Mr Gillson's widow, Lorraine Easton, who has since remarried, his son Robert Gillson, two brothers and a sister all spoke at the service. Vietnam Veterans' Association of Australia (VVAA) Victorian president Bob Elworthy, one of hundreds of Vietnam veterans to attend the service, said it had been an important day which allowed many to move on. "It was just a brilliant service and reflected on his short life and family," Mr Elworthy said. "I've been chatting with a lot of veterans today who lost a lot of mates in action and couldn't attend their funerals because they had to go on serving. "A lot have said today's service for Peter Gillson has been a form of closure for them." Current serving soldiers from Private Gillson's regiment, the First Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR) formed an honour guard and firing party for his burial. As his coffin was lowered into the ground, three separate volleys of gunshots were fired and the Last Post was played. Veterans' Affairs Minister Bruce Billson and Victorian Premier Steve Bracks attended the service. Mr Billson said the significance of finally bringing Private Gillson's remains home was shown by the hundreds of veterans in attendance. "This has been a profoundly significant day for a great many people and for those members of the fallen soldier's family," Mr Billson said. "His son Robert spoke about how important it is he'll have a place to go to talk to his dad, a focal point for his family and their grieving." Private Gillson was just 20 when he was killed on November 8, 1965, during a battle east of Saigon. His remains, along with those of 25-year-old Lance Corporal Richard "Tiny" Parker, who also was killed in the battle, were unearthed in April after years of searching by a group called Operation Aussies Home. VVAA national president Ron Coxon today paid tribute to the Operation Aussies Home group. He said finding the remains of the two men, had brought closure to the soldiers' mates, who had been unable to retrieve their bodies after they were killed because of the battle going on around them. "The blokes from their company that actually served with them said they just felt like it was all complete because now they were all home – for 40 years they hadn't felt complete because they left two blokes behind," Mr Coxon said. Welcome home, mate. |
| Posted by:Atomic Conspiracy |
| #2 I hope the Aussies treated their returning soldiers better than America's elites did ours. May God damn to Hell forever all those cowardly bastards who turned their backs on our men and women who fought so bravely. Those left-wing sons and daughters of whores are directly responsible for the carnage that happened after we left--and they're trying to do the same thing again now in Iraq. I hope this time we as a nation are smart enough to stop them. |
| Posted by: Mac 2007-06-15 14:50 |
| #1 We are blessed, still, by the sacrifice they and so many of their mates made then. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-06-15 07:43 |