With Remembrance Day fast approaching, Shepparton RSL is asking people to dig deep and buy a poppy, pen or badge to raise funds for this years’ Poppy Appeal, which supports the RSL’s vital work helping local veterans and their families.
John Crozier and Kevin Lovelock are two of the valued volunteers who are helping to sell these items.
Both men were drafted during the Vietnam War, and Mr Lovelock was deployed as a member of the transport corps.
Coming from a family whose members served in both world wars, Mr Lovelock didn’t view conscription in a negative manner.
“I’ve grown up with all the stories of army and war. I was prepared and if I was called up, I’d go,” Mr Lovelock said.
Friendships forged during the Vietnam War remain intact, and Mr Lovelock still keeps in contact with those with whom he trained and served.
For him, and for many veterans, Remembrance Day is an occasion to commemorate the sacrifices of the men and women who served Australia not only in Vietnam but also in the world wars and every other armed conflict since.
He is pleased that younger people are taking more notice and showing appreciation of the sacrifices made by previous generations.
“I think that they are more likely to take note of it now than what they did some years ago ... there seems to be a resurgence in their interest, and then their attention to it,” Mr Lovelock said.
Remembrance Day on Friday will see Mr Lovelock at Kensington Gardens, where he and Mr Crozier live, paying tribute along with fellow veterans and residents.
Shepparton’s official Remembrance Day service is at the cenotaph, on the corner of Welsford and Fryers streets, and begins at 10.30am.
Prices for the various items being sold by the Shepparton RSL volunteers range from $2 to $50.
The poppy is found across Europe — famously blooming on the Western Front during World War I — and since the 1918 Armistice has become a symbol of remembrance.