Vietnam Veterans Day at Mawson Park
On Thursday 18 August, Gemma, Rachel, Jorja and Emma and I attended the 50 year commemoration of the Battle of Long Tan at Mawson Park, Campbelltown accompanied by Mrs Fetterplace. Many different schools attended to honour the veterans that fought in Vietnam and to place either a book or wreath at the front of the memorial.
Rachel, Jorja, Gemma, Natalie and Emma at the Vietnam Veterans Day commemoration at Mawson Park on August 18
We honoured the Australians, South Vietnamese, Americans and New Zealanders who fought in the war by raising their flags and singing their national anthems. The service was dedicated to those who had fought and lost their lives in the Battle of Long Tan.
After the service we attended a small luncheon at Campbelltown RSL where all the veterans had come to have lunch together. The RSL had many different artefacts such as weapons, photographs, uniforms and badges from the Vietnam and second world war on display. All of us took our time to marvel at these artefacts and to take time to appreciate what the experience of the soldiers must have been like. Inside there were many veterans who came up to thank us for attending and even some who shared some stories with us about their experiences. Without a doubt hearing the stories and experiences from people who had been through the Vietnam war was the highlight of the day for all of us.
The commemoration was an amazing experience that I was lucky enough to attend and be involved with. I would like to thank Mrs Fetterplace for organising this experience for us and accompanying us to the service. Having an interest and studying this topic prior to attending gave us a deeper insight to the soldiers' experiences and gave us a view to what the emotional side of the Vietnam War was like.
Natalie M - Year 10 Student