As Vietnam veterans led the Wollongong Anzac Day march towards the Cenotaph for the first time, Albion Park sisters Judith Moon and Tracey Simpson cheered.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"Go, Dad!" they shouted from the sidelines outside City Diggers, snapping a picture and waving as their father Will Simpson marched past.
Almost 50 years after the end of the Vietnam War, Ms Simpson said she was proud to see veterans like her dad leading the remembrance march and being recognised the way they should have been when they first returned from service.
"It felt pretty significant, 50 years - and he's still marching," Ms Simpson said.
What happened when [Vietnam veterans] came home isn't the way it's reflected now, and it shouldn't have ever been that way.
- Tracey Simpson
"It's good, especially for the younger generation, because what happened when they came home isn't the way it's reflected now, and it shouldn't have ever been that way. It's good that the younger ones can realise that they did what they had to do."
The Simpson family were among thousands of other veterans' relatives and spectators lining Kembla, Burelli and Church streets to watch the annual march.
Before it all started, as the bands could be heard tuning up in Crown Street Mall, postie vans drove up and down the crowd lines, handing out Australian flags.
These were waved with enthusiasm - especially by younger members of the crowd like Russell Vale friends Esther Adamson and Olivia Costello, both six-years-old.
The warm sunny weather made for one of the best turn outs in recent years, which was in stark contrast to the past three years when parades were small or cancelled completely due to COVID-19.
NSW Health Minister and Keira MP Ryan Park, who attended the Dawn Service at Corrimal, also paid tribute to Vietnam veterans, who are now helping to shift the way Anzac Day is commemorated.
"I pay tribute to my father in law Phillip Lamond for his bravery in Vietnam, a war that took the lives of so many young Australians, many of whom like Phillip were conscripted during a time of great unrest in our country," he said.
"I thank all those who have and continue to serve our nation and convey my deepest gratitude and sympathies to the families of those who didn't return from the battlefield and for whom today can be one of mixed emotions."
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
