A Better Life With chronic pain? - Vietnam Veterans Association of ...

DEBRIEF WINTER 10 EDITION
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The past twelve months have been difficult for the W.A.
State Branch. Following the resignation of David Watson,
as State Secretary, it was necessary to reshuffle the
State Executive positions. Peter Fox, was appointed
Treasurer, with Ian Holthouse, moving to fill the vacant
Vice President’s position. The State President assumed
the dual role of President/Secretary.
A successful Vietnam Veterans Day Service was held,
although the numbers attending were down a little to previous
years, possibly due to the weather on the day. The
W.A. Governor, Dr Ken Michael AO, attended our service
for the first time and complimented the State Branch
on the conduct of the service and our Memorial Pavilion.
The Memorial Day address was delivered by Dr Kenneth
Chern, Consul General of the United States of America.
Due to the minimum numbers on the executive during the
year and the resultant work load, for a few, some projects
have not got off the ground, while others have been delayed.
In particular the Web site upgrade is still work in
progress. At this time the executive are rethinking the
needs and direction for the website, before proceeding to
completion.
At this time the W.A. State branch is financially stable,
membership numbers are slightly down on the 2009 figures
but this seems to be a normal trend, with members
forgetting to renew on time and the numbers creep back
up to a peak as the year progresses.
A recent bequest of $10,000, was made to the V.V.A.A.
W.A. by a veteran, Phillip Pascoe, ex 1RAR, unfortunately
Phillip passed away a short time after making the
bequest. The money from the bequest will be used to establish
some form of memorial tribute to Phillip Pascoe,
be it a series of scholarships or the naming of a building
or similar in his honour. The executive are canvassing the
membership for suggestions on how the memorial tribute
be implemented.
The 2010 AGM was held on the March the 14 th , with all
existing executive members re-nominating for their positions,
leaving only the State Secretaries position vacant.
It was good to have some members nominate for positions
for the first time and to be able to welcome some
new faces on to the executive and committee. Following
the AGM, Gloria Fox, volunteered to take on the State
Secretaries position and was duly appointed.
Anzac Day 2010, the usual early start, put the flag up at
Anzac Cottage, 4.30am, tradition, the hour they went
ashore at Gallipoli [well it was still dark and I got to the
Dawn Service by 6.00am]. Following the Dawn Service,
a service was held at the Vietnam Memorial, at
7.30am, with approximately 500 people attending.
A Gunfire Breakfast was available at Rigby’s, prior to
the march through the city and a Memorial Service on
the Esplanade, again well supported by veterans and the
public. Following the official part of the day, in excess of
600 Vietnam Veterans, some younger Veterans and family
members, adjourned back to Rigby’s for an enjoyable
afternoon.
The day ended with the now traditional Sunset Service, at
Anzac Cottage, with guest of honour Marjorie Williams,
daughter of Gallipoli veteran Pte. John Porter, attending,
along with other descendents of the Porter family.
What lies ahead for the W.A. State Branch in 2010. Planning
is underway for Vietnam Veterans Day. The main
focus for the State branch has to be retaining but preferably
increasing membership and fostering veteran participation
in the association.
Richard Williams.
State President.
The 94 th Anniversary of Anzac Cottage.
On the 12 th of February 2010 was the 94 th Anniversary of
the building of Anzac Cottage in Mount Hawthorn, W.A.
The cottage was open to the public to mark the occasion,
with the Westralian Great War Living History Association,
dressed for the occasion, mpunting a display of WW1 equipment,
including an original bell tent.
The association was formed to create a memorial detachment,
to depict great war soldiers, because of the dwindling
number of WW1 veterans at the time. Since then other veteran
associations have asked the WAGWLHA, to produce
examples of soldiers from other 20 th century conflicts Australia
has been involved in.
The photo on the front lawn of Anzac Cottage, depicts typical
soldiers from the Great War. The 28 th Battalion officer
[Mike Bell] is wearing the KD[khaki drill] uniform, worn in
tropical climates. The 28 th wore the KD’s during their garrison
duty at the Citadel in Cairo. The others are wearing the
enlisted mans serge wool uniform, used at both Gallipoli
and on the Western Front. The battalions depicted are ones
fully or mostly raised in W.A. The bell tent is an original
from the period and was one of the most common types of
temporary field accommodation from this time.
Anzac Cottage will be open on Vietnam Veterans Day, and
hopefully the WAGWLHA group will be there depicting
Vietnam era soldiers.
Photo and script courtesy of Mike Bell.
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