Vietnam Veterans’ Day: Albany marks 50th anniversary of withdrawal of Australian troops from Vietnam War

Albany marked the 50th anniversary of the withdrawal of Australian combat troops from Vietnam on Sunday, with a poignant service at the Albany RSL headquarters on Stirling Terrace.

As rain fell on the South-East Asian Memorial atop Mt Adelaide, the service was moved indoors, with the City of Albany band starting proceedings with a concert of songs from the era.

Albany RSL president Helen Tasker opened the service, followed by a prayer from the Reverend Karen Cave.

Keynote speaker Major Mike Murphy (retired), the commander of a tracker platoon, recounted the day he left Vietnam as part of the 4th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, the last to leave Nui Dat in November 1971.

He paid tribute to the service people who made the ultimate sacrifice and those who still bear the scars of war, as well as the tracker dogs who had to be left behind.

Over a decade, about 60,000 Australians served in the defence of South Vietnam, with more than 3000 Australians wounded and 521 killed in the conflict.

Wreaths were laid at the foot of three white crosses, symbolising the three Albany men who never returned home from South Vietnam — Pte Ron Bell, Sapper Alan Duncuf and Pte John McQuat.