John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

On indulgence, I know that all members of the House will be aware of the recent return to Australia of the remains of two Australian soldiers killed in the Vietnam War in the 1960s. The funeral service for Lance Corporal Richard Parker is currently taking place in Canberra and is being attended by the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, representing the government; and the funeral for Private Peter Gillson will be held in Melbourne on Friday of this week. This is an extraordinary story of commitment by mates of those who served in Vietnam coupled with a determination to fulfil the obligation that all men and women who fight in our armed services feel towards the recovery and, where appropriate, the repatriation of the remains of those who have died in battle.

On 18 November 1965, during Operation Hump, the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, encountered a well-dug-in Vietcong force. After a savage fight, 1RAR was forced to withdraw, leaving these two brave diggers on the battlefield. The story of the search for Lance Corporal Parker and Private Gillson is one of great mateship, perseverance and sacrifice in the best of the Anzac tradition. A remarkable and quite selfless Australian, Jim Bourke, and his dedicated Vietnam veteran team from Operation Aussies Home persisted tirelessly with their inquiries, their research and their advocacy to compile insights and evidence beyond historical material and official records. That perseverance ultimately led to the recovery of their fallen countrymen.

The search, I am pleased to say, also saw great cooperation between the Australian and Vietnamese governments. I record the gratitude of the Australian government to the Vietnamese government for its assistance. I want to thank, on behalf of the government and the House, Operation Aussies Home, the ADF, the Department of Defence, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, our Ambassador to Vietnam, Bill Tweddell, and the Defence Attache, Captain John Griffith, for their dedicated pursuit of the remains of our missing countrymen.

Four Australian servicemen are still missing in Vietnam. We are doing all that reasonably can be done to fully account for their remains. That is of great importance to their families, those who served with them, the broader defence family and all of the people of Australia. The repatriation of the remains of Lance Corporal Parker and Private Peter Gillson, attended with appropriate solemnity and dignity in a very proper Australian way, brings to an end the search that has been conducted for so long for them. We hope that in the fullness of time a search for the remains of the other four who are still missing can be brought to a similar conclusion. But it is important that we again record our great respect for those who served their country in Vietnam, indeed for those who serve their country in any theatre of battle, and also at a time like this we think of those thousands of Australians who are risking their lives in many battlefields at present in our name, on our behalf and for the values that we all hold dear.

I again express on behalf of the government and the House sincere condolences to the families of Lance Corporal Parker and Private Gillson. The repatriation ceremonies and the funerals this week, although very sad events, will be of immense importance to them and will be of immense comfort and solace to people who have waited so long to be reunited with the remains of their loved ones.

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