Hundreds of Australians were killed in the Vietnam War and there was an invisible toll left on those of the 60,000 others who served.
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00:00 In the capital, surviving Vietnam veterans were asked to stand.
00:07 A touching reminder of just how much the times have changed.
00:19 When I got back in '67 I was invited to an RSL meeting and I was made a bit of a fuss
00:27 of, which I felt again very proud, I was the first Vietnam veteran to join. And then after
00:34 the meeting guys came up to me and made comments and said, "Pity you weren't in a real war."
00:39 They deserve every bit of recognition they can get because it was disgusting when they
00:43 first come home that, you know, they weren't applauded for what they'd done.
00:48 Of the 60,000 Australians who served in Vietnam, 523 were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded.
00:56 The war claimed well over one million lives, including hundreds of thousands of civilians,
01:01 not to mention the invisible toll on veterans who returned home with little support.
01:07 All endured the effects to varying degrees then and soon after and as with so many veterans
01:14 it would come upon us much later in life.
01:20 At a service in Ipswich, the Prime Minister said the nation had matured.
01:24 We can disagree with a war without that diminishing the respect that we feel for every man and
01:31 every woman who puts on our uniform and serves in our name.
01:39 At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.
01:51 Reconciliation is a vital part of our future.
01:53 [Bell tolls]
01:55 [Bell tolls]
01:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]