Relief for Vietnam veteran's family after 36 yearsArticle from: Font size: Decrease Increase Email article: Email Print article: Print Submit comment: Submit comment Shannon McRae
December 20, 2007 12:00am
A FALLEN Digger finally got the welcome home he deserved when his coffin landed at a Melbourne air base yesterday, 36 years after he was killed in Vietnam.
John Gillespie was just 24 years old and had a young wife and toddler daughter at home when he died serving his country, killed when the RAAF helicopter he was in was shot down during a rescue mission in the Long Hai hills on April 17, 1971.
His remains were returned to his family for burial after they were flown in to the Point Cook RAAF base. His coffin was draped in the Australian flag, and troops formed a guard of honour.
Lance Cpl Gillespie's widow, Carmel Hendry, daughter Fiona Pike, two sisters and a brother were there, along with federal Veterans Affairs' Minister Alan Griffin, Vietnam
veterans, and Australian Defence Force officials and personnel.
Ms Hendry said while the return of her husband's remains closed a chapter in the family's history, it would herald a new beginning in which her daughter and her daughter's children would have a proper place to mourn and reflect on his life and ultimate sacrifice.
"It hasn't been easy for any of us," she said. "But with support from everyone, particularly the Government, we have made it. We have done this. We've got him home.
"We're relieved. We're exhausted. But we're just so happy he's on home soil and that we can say hello and have a beer with him."
Ray Zegers, who served alongside Lance Cpl Gillespie as a port door gunner and survived the enemy attack that killed his comrade, said he remembered the crash as though it were yesterday.
"I had a feeling something was wrong," he recalled.
"Unfortunately, something did occur. He had no chance whatsoever.
"It was the second blast that hit us. That was the end. I can remember the pilot saying 'Hang on, we're going down'."
He said it was a huge relief to finally see his mate home after 36 years.
The recovery of Lance Cpl Gillespie's body was done as part of a long-standing mission by Operation Aussies Home, headed by Vietnam veteran Jim Bourke.
Lance Cpl Gillespie's body was the third to be flown home from Vietnam as part of the operation, and a search is in progress for another three lost Diggers.
Mr Bourke said the search had been painstaking but ended with the best possible outcome.
"It feels really good to have this fella home," Mr Bourke said.
"The country has got a moral obligation to look after the families of these men, and we owe them the respect of at least endeavouring to find them.
"The relief that the families get makes it all worthwhile," he said.
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