Branch - Vietnam Veterans

In this edition:

From the President:

The Vietnam Veterans Branch presented the Educational Bursaries and Encouragement Awards at its AGM.

In this edition:

From the President:

Monthly lunches are becoming popular. Our budget is based on arranging these lunches (subsidised by the Branch) on a regular basis at the Mail Exchange Hotel in Bourke Street. We generally don’t schedule the lunch on the months that other Branch social activities are in place such as Anzac Day, VV Day and the AGM and they are advertised in our quarterlyNewsletter and by an email to all our members.............

In this edition:

From the President:

Hot off the press today is the Government’s response to the Final Report of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide and the acceptance of the overwhelming majority of the Commission’s recommendations.........

Corporal John 'Snow' Coughlan became the first RAAF member awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM), the highest flying award for non-commissioned ranks (other than the Victoria Cross), since World War II.

Applications for the AFA Victoria 2025 Bursary & Encouragement Awards close on 25 January 2025. APPLY NOW!

In this edition:

From the President:

As I mentioned in our last newsletter, Vietnam Veterans Day was expected to be a little different this year. Although the
VVAA (Victorian Branch) had encouraged its branches to support the anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan in their local
communities .............

In this edition:

From the President:

Hot off the press today is the Government’s response to the Final Report of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide and the acceptance of the overwhelming majority of the Commission’s recommendations...............

In February 2024, the Sub-Branch of the VVAA (Vic) and the Vietnam Veterans Branch of AFA Victoria held their AGM and, significantly, their last combined meeting.

Daughters of Air Force Nursing Officers presented with 2024 Bursaries and Encouragement Awards.

In this edition:

From the President:

As I mentioned in my recent general email to all members, members of our committee have worn a ‘second hat’ as members of the VVAA but time rolls on,..........

In this edition:

From the President:

Our progress on closing our connection with VVAA (as a SubBranch) continues. The VVAA (Vic) Treasurer has been liaising on our behalf with Consumer Affairs Victoria and after some delay,............

In this edition:

From the President:

I’m penning (typing) this President’s report on Vietnam Veterans Day having just survived the wind, the showers and 12 degrees at the Shrine of Remembrance. Ruth and I are off to Scotland in a couple of days to catch up with our bonnie daughter in Glasgow –............

The Prime Minister launches a commemorative medallion to honour those who served in the Vietnam War.

Vietnam Veterans Branch awards Educational Bursaries to three worthy students.

In this edition:

From the President:

As I began this report for the 2023 Annual General Meeting, I thought a good place to start would be to review the year from the Newsletters that our publisher, Geoff Rose, put together during the last 12 months..............

In this edition:

From the President:

You will also see information about our monthly lunches at the Mail Exchange Hotel at the corner of Spencer and Bourke Streets. I am hoping to announce some financial incentive to attract members to attend these lunches at our AGM.......

In this edition:

From the President:

Vietnam Veterans Day on the 18 August was a bit special this year. It marked 60 years since Australia’s first involvement
in the Vietnam War and 50 years since the withdrawal of Australian combat forces in 1972 (not forgetting, of course,
the humanitarian flights by HQ Richmond Detachment S in 1975)............

History & Heritage Branch will host a RAAF Vietnam Veterans Retreat at Ipswich Amberley Air Tattoo 29-30 Oct.

In this edition:

From the President:

I’m sure we were all relieved to see a return to normal arrangements for the Anzac Day March, although the overall number of banners and marchers were reduced. This, in turn, led to our contingent leaving a little earlier than the advertised step-off time...........

Two students received awards at the Vietnam Veterans Branch/RAAF Sub-Branch Vietnam Veterans Association (Vic) AGMs.

In this edition:

From the President:-

The past year has again seen the impact of COVID on the community as we comply with everchanging government requirements and using our own judgement to further restrict our personal activities to avoid large crowds or using public transport........

Two young students were presented with educational bursaries in support of their continuing academic studies.

In this edition:

From the President:-

On 12 November, I attended the VVAA State Council meeting in Ballarat and it was great to see the familiar faces of the sub-branch Presidents again after so many months and surviving the frustration of so many cancelled attempts to hold the meeting.
There were two features of the meeting that will be of interest to our members. Dianne Dempsey, the author of a new book titled “When He Came Home” gave a presentation of her work which stresses the important role that veterans’ wives had in holding their families together in the face of government and community indifference to the psychological harm that impacted so many veterans from the Vietnam conflict. The book is available on-line for about $30............