Veterans, teachers and students of Tongala Primary School officially opened the Lone Pine Memorial Garden on Wednesday, October 25.
The garden honours the sacrifice of the country’s servicemen and women.
Vietnam veteran Dallas Burrage travelled from Coffs Harbour to be at the opening.
“I thoroughly enjoyed being in Tongala today. The children were lovely, and the crowd appreciated the opening of the memorial garden,” Mr Burrage said.
Mr Burrage served his time in National Service and served with the 3rd Cavalry Regiment from 1970 to 1971.
Australia formally withdrew its forces from the war a year later.
“Australia eventually withdrew its forces in 1972 after the agreement by the North Vietnamese at the Paris Peace Accords to go and cease hostilities,” Mr Burrage said.
During our conversation, Mr Burrage recalled serving Australia in the Vietnam War.
“We’re bound together as a team. That’s part of the overall shared experience, and then when you go on active service, your life depends on your mate next to you,” he said.
“And you never want to let them down, so you develop a strong bond of looking out for one another.”
While Mr Burrage is proud of his service to a grateful nation, he laments that conflicts keep happening.
“Many years ago, I read a quote that said war only happens when politicians stop talking. As long as politicians keep talking, war can always be averted,” Mr Burrage said.
“When someone joins the armed forces, there is much personal sacrifice. And perhaps one day, we will no longer have any use for it.”
Another of the guests was Federal Member for Nicholls Sam Birrell, who spoke of the support that saw the garden’s redevelopment become a reality.
“I commend the passion and efforts of teachers, staff, students and the wider school community in developing this project,” Mr Birrell said.
“It will allow the local community to unite and remember our heroic servicemen and women.”
“Projects like this aim to honour our service personnel, but also help inform, and this memorial, which sits pride of place at Tongala Primary, will educate students for future generations.”
A total of $5000 was donated via the Federal Government’s Saluting Their Service grants program, which helped kick-start the project.
“It was wonderful to join the Tongala community in opening the Lone Pine Memorial Redevelopment,” Mr Birrell said.
Upon completion of his National Service, Mr Burrage returned to his civilian role.
“I spent 30 years in the NSW police force. Initially, I was with the police force before the National Service, then after my two-year stint, I was able to return to the service in NSW.