The Moama RSL Memorial Garden was the venue for a commemorative service which marked the 50th anniversary of the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War.
The service honoured and remembered the service of some 60,000 Australian men and women who served in Vietnam during the 11-year war.
More than 3000 Australians were wounded and 523 lost their lives.
Moama RSL Sub-branch president Ken Jones said Vietnam’s place in Australia’s history made the war last much longer.
“All war is ugly, but this time it was a bizarre reality. One moment these 19 and 20-year-old youngsters were in Australian camps and suddenly found themselves on planes — often a Qantas plane — and disembarking in a war zone in the energy-sapping tropics,” Mr Jones said.
“They were there because the law said that’s where they had to be, but so many people — too many, in fact — at home were so brutal in their criticism and their attacks on them.
“And when they came home after surviving their tour of duty, it did not let up. Even the RSL didn’t want to know initially. We weren’t even allowed to march until the late 1980s.
“These days, more often than not, we are the lead marchers, because the others are all but gone.”
The service was followed by a morning tea at the Moama RSL.
Riverine Herald photographer Aidan Briggs was there as the twin towns paid their respects.