Our day today began at 4:30am to attend our private dawn service on Vung Tau beach. We were joined by a few other Australians to pay our respects to the many men and women who have served for our country. Kev recited the Ode and Tamsin played the Last Post on her flute. This was followed by a minute silence and Tamsin bringing us back to the present by playing the Rouse. Each one of us felt very moved by our commemoration of Anzac Day.
Mr Blackmore, Mrs Curran and Bec held their own service at 11am Australian time, to coincide with the Collie town service, at Notre Dame Cathedral in Saigon. Bec read the Ode and they each lit a candle to pay their respects.
At 9am we hopped on the bus with all of our luggage and met a local guide, Wombat. He gave us a map of the Phuoc Tuy province so we could follow where we were going on our way to Long Tan. Our first stop was the Long Phuoc tunnels which have been reconstructed and made slightly bigger as the originals were destroyed in the war. We walked through a 120m long section of the 1.2km long tunnel.
We then continued to the SAS Hill, passing many rubber tree plantations. We learnt that this was the Australian base where Kev's Batallion were stationed. We also saw the SAS runway that is now used as a public road. We were shown some photos from the war, and Mrs McDonald recognised that the navy ship in one of the photos was in the same fleet as the ship her Dad served on. In conjunction to this we visited a kindergarten that some Vietnam Veterans built to help the Vietnamese people.
Throughout the morning Wombat asked us a few questions and awarded a Long Tan coin to those who answered them correctly.
Upon arriving at the Long Tan Cross we were split into two groups as requested by the Vietnamese police. We were handed a yellow rose each to lay on the cross to pay our respects to all soldiers involved in war. Each service started with Bobbie beautifully singing the New Zealand National Anthem followed by everyone singing the Australian National Anthem. A few short poems and the Ode were read before Tamsin played the Last Post. For the second service we were accompanied by the Australians that were present at our dawn service. We were extremely privileged and thankful to be able to commemorate Anzac Day at this significant site.
Following these moving ceremonies, we headed to Ba Ria for lunch at a local restaurant before meeting a Viet Cong Veteran, Mr Tam. After lunch we were given the opportunity to ask Mr Tam some questions. He joined the army at the age of 14 after losing his Father and Grandfather to the American Soldiers at the age of eight. Mr Tam was injured in the war and still has a bullet lodged in his skull as it is too dangerous to remove. He was based in the Long Phuoc tunnels and Long Tan. It was another humbling experience to see Mr Tam and Kev meet and embrace after being on opposing teams in the war, at the same location, in the same time period.
We said thank you and goodbye to Wombat before heading back to Saigon to meet up with Mr Blackmore, Mrs Curran and Bec. On the way back to Saigon, we experienced a lot of rain, reminding us of home!
When it was time for dinner Cameron came racing to the lobby, however he had forgotten to put shoes on. It left us questioning how one would forget to put shoes on. At dinner the conversation on one table revolved mostly around the plumbing and bathroom set up in Vietnam. I (Ashliegh) tried to demonstrate how the Vietnamese people use Western toilets. When we left dinner, Kev, Bobbie and Olivia had a small dance party.
We had a moving day commemorating Anzac Day in such a significant place.
"At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them. Lest we forget."
Ashliegh, Shanice & Tierni
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