By Roger Childs
My 23 years of military service took me to Afghanistan, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and various humanitarian operations in New Zealand. –Tim Costley
A traditional service
The early 6.30am service featured the traditional elements – wreaths being laid; flags lowered and raised; anthems being sung; a speaker recalling the days of ANZAC cooperation and the Last Post and the Reveille played on the bugle. Retired Wing Commander, now Otaki MP Tim Costley, was the main speaker and recalled his service in action in East Timor when some Kiwi soldiers were killed and wounded. A large crowd was present in front of the War Memorial and near the Memorial Hall to witness proceedings and pay their respects.
Two small planes flew directly overhead just as a Paraparaumu College Senior Student was providing an excellent rendition of the National Anthem.
Remembering the unpopular war
The memorial now has a new plaque to honour two Kapiti soldiers who died in the Vietnam War. One of them was Alastair Don who was killed when the land rover he was travelling in was blown up by a Viet Cong landmine. His descendants were there to witness the unveiling. Former local president of the RSA, Chris Turver was a war correspondent at the time and he was injured in the explosion. He spoke poignantly about the tragic incident.
New Zealand sent volunteer medical teams, engineers, artillery and infantry to South Vietnam after considerable pressure from the Americans. Both Australia and New Zealand were part of the ANZUS alliance at the time and the Menzies and Holyoake governments, well aware that participation in supporting corrupt governments in Saigon was not popular with the public, reluctantly agreed to support the Americans.
When the New Zealanders returned in the 1970s there was no official welcome home and Vietnam Vets were not welcome in RSAs or allowed to march in parades on Anzac Day until 1987. Finally in 2006 there was an official government apology and a “welcome parade” on Queen’s Birthday in Wellington in 2008.
The addition of the Vietnam plaque on the Paraparaumu Memorial is long overdue.
What a crime excluding those dear men who fought in Vietnam … so so wrong. When president of our local RSA my father fought hard to get a plaque installed (in I think the late 90s) on our town’s cenotaph in memory of a local soldier who fought in that war. The ugly thing about all that denial of recognition was the horrible health aftermath they suffered from Agent Orange, also denied until the year my father died in 2007. War is a racket said General Smedley Butler. He was right IMO.