A shiver ran through the crowd on Thursday afternoon as the rotors and blades of three Kiowa helicopters chattered in formation overhead during the 50th anniversary commemoration service for our Vietnam veterans.
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Every person turned or craned a neck around, to watch as the three helicopters, the same models used in the Vietnam War, drew close, coming out from the late afternoon sunspray.
For those who did not know a war, breaths were held, children tugged excitedly at adult hands.
Those who intimately knew the sound of those machines, connected to hope or fear or resignation or relief, their blazers or shirts hanging askew from medals earned for their contribution to Australia, likely had a very different feeling.
The event began with a march from Campbell Park up Byron Street, and turned at Lawrence to the Inverell War Memorial and Cenotaph. People lined the streets to applaud the men as then marched, followed by RSL members, dignitaries, veterans, families, schoolchildren, and cadets.
Vietnam veterans gathered from across and district and up the coast to pay tribute to their fallen mates, fellow servicemen and nurses who served during the long and dreadful war which seemed to many in vain.
The service led by Inverell RSL president Pat McMahon attracted a sizeable community crowd who lined the pavement and lawns to take part.
The order of the day took time to observe four Inverell men killed in action: Corporal Alexander Henry Fotheringham, 1965, age 28 Private Peter John Arnold, 1967, age 21; Private Peter Shaun McGarry, 1967, age 20 and Lieutenant Corporal RE Power, 1970, age 22.
Veteran Shayne O’Brien recited the poem Jungle Green by Peter Orlinski:
But in my restless sleep I still can see, my young Aussie mates, mates who never came back home with me.
- Peter Olinski, from Jungle Green
Local Desi Kearsey recited her own composition, I Sit in Silence.
Inverell trumpeter Lee Evans reprised his role of bugler for The Last Post and Reveille.
Community members, groups, the Inverell RSL sub-branch and schools all took time to lay a wreath in memory and respect for those who served. The Inverell cenotaph was soon awash in floral tributes.
Though the last Australian returned from Vietnam decades ago, there was a tangible feeling the men missing from the service were still very present in the minds of those who returned.
After the service, a more intimate crowd gathered around the Vietnam Memorial beside the Inverell RSM Club for a smaller ceremony where Danny Baldwin raised the flag to the sound again of bugler Lee Evans.
Inverell Vietnam Veterans committee president Peter Tome placed a wreath at the base of the memorial.
It was a more personal moment for the men who say then share a bond that seems unbreakable, regardless of their battalion, or time of service.
After the smaller ceremony came time for the group to break up and move to the RSL for the special dinner.