Brian Day
The prime minister in Vietnam
Like most Australians who have had an interest in Vietnam and our Asian neighbours for many years, I watched with great concern the first visit by an Australian prime minister to that region.
It is unfortunate that what seemed to be a step forward in the relationship between Australia, Vietnam and the Vietnam veteran community should end in such a divisive demeanour.
It seems such a pity that the advice sometimes received by the PM is not always correct and in the best interest of the parties that are historically related to Vietnam in one way or another.
To be advised that there are no Australian servicemen buried in Vietnam is far from the truth; there are six Australians missing in action (MIA) in Vietnam, two Air Force and four Army. Even though their bodies have not been found they are still dead and still in Vietnam.
As for offending the Vietnamese government by honouring our dead, this is more fiction than fact. The Vietnamese have a great deal of reverence for the dead, regardless of who they are. Had the PM laid a wreath for the fallen Australians in Vietnam, I am sure the Vietnamese would have respected such an act of homage, remembering that the war has been over for Australia since 1973.
There should be a monument — not just a soulless concrete emblem, but a living monument. In the province where the Australian Army fought, there is a hospital at Baria, the capital of what was Phuoc Tuy and is now Baria/Vung Tau. This hospital has been supported by the Australia Vietnam Society and Freedom From Hunger since 1988. It should be the living memorial to the Australians who died in Vietnam.
Some traditional form of memorial emblem should be erected in the grounds as a focal point for wreath laying and remembrance, but the hospital and its helping of the people we once classed as enemies would be the true memorial gesture. This would show the Vietnamese people that Australia is capable of more than just waging war.
Finally, whether the Vietnam War was right or wrong is not a veteran problem. Veterans should not be made to carry the political burden any longer. Politicians make war, not soldiers; soldiers fight the war and pay the price of political decisions, right or wrong.
It's about time the past was put to rest in an honourable way, not by blame or condemnation but by looking forward with respect for all sides and all people who have that historical link with one of the worst tragedies in Australian military and political history.
[The writer is a life member of Vietnam Veterans and national secretary of the Australia Vietnam Society.