Vietnam Forces National Memorial, Canberra on:
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The Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial is on Anzac Parade, the principal ceremonial and memorial avenue in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The memorial was dedicated on 3 October 1992. It commemorates the 50,000
The Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial is on Anzac Parade, the principal ceremonial and memorial avenue in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The memorial was dedicated on 3 October 1992. It commemorates the 50,000 Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), wh ...
, Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
, and Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
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and associated personnel who served in Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
during the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
.
Design
Three concrete stelae, rising from a shallow moat, form the dramatic centre and enclose a space for quiet contemplation. A low stone block is both a seat and a place for laying memorial tributes. Fixed to the right wall are 33 inscriptions, quotations intended to recall events of military and political importance. The memorial features a photograph by Australian Army photographer Mike Coleridge - '' Members of 5 Platoon, B Company, 7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, 26 August 1967'' The photograph, etched on the rear wall, shows soldiers waiting to be airlifted to the Australian base atNui Dat
Nui Dat (Núi Đất) is a former 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) base now part of Ba Ria city in Ba Ria–Vung Tau province, Vietnam. It is not the name of an official ward, it just means "dirt hill" ( núi đất).
History 1966–1972
In ...
after Operation Ullmarah. The walls offer anchors for wires that suspend a halo of stones: A scroll containing the names of Australians who died in Vietnam is sealed into one of the stones.
Six seats surround the memorial, each dedicated to an Australian serviceman missing in action
Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, ex ...
in Vietnam.
The memorial was designed by Tonkin Zulaikha Harford in association with sculptor Ken Unsworth AM, and built largely from funds donated from the public to the Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial Committee.
See also
*Military history of Australia during the Vietnam War
Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War began with a small commitment of 30 military advisors in 1962, and increased over the following decade to a peak of 7,672 Australian personnel following the Menzies Government's April 1965 decision to u ...
External links
* {{coord, 35.287, S, 149.143, E, type:landmark_region:AU-ACT, display=title Military memorials in Canberra Military history of Australia during the Vietnam War Vietnam War monuments and memorials in Australia