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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-09-08 Daily Xml
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CONDOLENCE MOTION: FLYING OFFICER MICHAEL HERBERT

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:30): I move:

That the House of Assembly expresses its sincere regret at the death of Flying Officer Michael Herbert, the last South Australian Vietnam veteran to be returned home; gives thanks for the courage and sacrifice of a young man who died in the service of our nation; and as a mark of respect to his memory the sitting of the house be suspended until the ringing of the bells.

Yesterday, I attended, along with many other members of this parliament, the Concelebration Mass at St Francis Xavier's Cathedral to commemorate the return to South Australia of Flying Officer Michael Herbert.

I want to acknowledge in the gallery today Michael's brother, Shane, and also Lieutenant-Colonel Jim Bourke from Operation Aussies Home, which I think has been inspirational to all Australian people, and also to Bill Denny for his terrific advocacy on behalf of Vietnam vets.

Flying Officer Herbert was aged just 24 when, along with his navigator, Pilot Officer Robert Carver from Toowoomba, he failed to return from a successfully completed bombing mission in Vietnam on 3 November 1970. For almost four decades the family and friends of Michael Herbert awaited news of his fate.

The aircraft wreckage was eventually found near the border with Laos in April this year. Yesterday, 38 years, 10 months and five days after his final mission, Michael Herbert came back to his eternal home. South Australia's last brave son, who was lost in Vietnam, has returned to us, and his funeral service yesterday, which I think all of us found deeply moving, closes a poignant chapter of a painful conflict.

The war in Vietnam continues to hold a central, challenging place in our collective memories. It divided and sundered the Vietnamese people for whom it was fought. It brought suffering and loss to warrior, widow and orphaned child.

For thousands of Vietnamese families the war also precipitated a perilous voyage aboard flimsy craft, across roiling seas, to this continent. Theirs is a story of immeasurable courage and of commitment to their children and their new home. Of course, it was wonderful to see so many South Australians of Vietnamese origin in the cathedral yesterday honouring Michael Herbert's sacrifice, being led by our Lieutenant-Governor, Hieu Van Le, who came here as a refugee from that conflict.

For thousands of Australian servicemen the war brought unfair and undeserved blame and derision at home. Their courage and service to our nation was, at first, neither properly recognised nor decently honoured. Those who returned came back to the country and town streets, and the farms, factories and suburbs they now saw with newer, harsher wisdom borne of pain and extreme hurt about the way they were treated.

In 2006 this state took a significant step to full and proper recognition and reconciliation when we together unveiled the Vietnam War Memorial at the Torrens Parade Ground. I particularly want to pay tribute to Bill Denny in his role achieving that war memorial. It represented the first occasion that we as a state had formally honoured the South Australians who lost their lives in Vietnam and expressed sorrow to their families for their great loss.

The memorial itself commemorates an alliance, a mateship shared by two very different peoples, that was forged by bravery, compassion and an honest, decent quest for freedom. Fittingly, the two soldiers on the memorial stand side by side in perpetuity, dignified and resolute, proud and unbroken. For the next of kin and for both Vietnamese and Australian veterans the memorial has become a place where they can sit and reflect and remember and find some measure of solace. I trust that Michael's return to the state of his birth, to his loved ones, school friends and fellow servicemen also brings resolution and peace.

Michael Herbert was born in Freeling in 1946. His parents, Jack and Joan, both served our nation during World War II—his mother in a searchlight battery with the Army; his father in the Royal Australian Air Force. It was wonderful to see Michael's father in his Air Force uniform yesterday in the cathedral.

Michael quickly developed his dad's affinity for the Air Force. As a schoolboy, Michael joined the Air Training Corps where, at one time, his father also served as his commanding officer. Michael gained his civil private pilot's licence at age 16 while he was still a student at Sacred Heart College, and the following year he was appointed as a cadet at the Royal Australian Air Force Academy. I think he got his pilot's licence before he got his driving licence.

Upon graduating with his pilot's wings, he was posted to No. 2 Squadron as a Canberra bomber pilot. Michael Herbert arrived in Vietnam on 25 February 1970. He knew that service in Vietnam involved significant risks. The 2nd Squadron flew in support of all the forces that were fighting in that part of Vietnam. He accepted the risk because his goal was to serve his country in combat.

At 7pm on Tuesday 3 November of that year, Michael Herbert and Robert Carver took off for what was expected to be a routine bombing mission. The weather was clear, the aircraft was flying well above the range of known anti-aircraft artillery, and there were no known enemy surface-to-air missiles in the area. Having delivered their payload, they turned for home and received confirmation from the radar operator of the successful completion of their mission. A minute later their plane vanished from the radar screen and the two young men were lost without trace.

It has since emerged that the plane was in fact discovered by local people in the region sometime around 1978, but the find remained a secret until January this year. The first Australian servicemen to set eyes on it were taken to the wreck site, located in dense jungle not far from where it was reported missing on 14 April all those years ago. The remains of Flying Officer Michael Herbert and Pilot Officer Robert Carver were formally located on 18 July. Flying was Michael's life—a life he gave in the service of our nation.

Sadly, Joan Herbert, who devoted countless hours to writing hundreds of letters asking for help to locate her missing son, passed away in 2003. I am told she described the ceremony held in 2002 to dedicate the memorial gates erected in Michael's honour at the main entrance of Sacred Heart College as the funeral Michael never had. The other members of Michael's family—father Jack, sister Kerryn and brother Shane—were together yesterday when Michael finally returned home.

Ceremonies such as yesterday's are important for Australia's soul. They mark an everlasting companionship between the living and the dead—a handshake across the void. So often we visit war graves and try to touch with our minds the relatives who sometimes we did not even know—the ordinary heroes who made us proud and continue to make us proud. We sing hymns and we lower the flag half-mast; we fire the guns in salute and hope that somewhere, somehow, they can hear us in our acknowledgement of the magnitude of what they did and what they lost on our behalf.

On behalf of the people of South Australia, we offer the family and friends of Michael Herbert our condolences for their loss and our admiration for their unyielding courage. To Flying Officer Michael Herbert, we offer our deep and abiding gratitude for his service and for his sacrifice. He will forever hold a treasured place in the hearts and memories of our state and our nation. I know I speak for all members of this house and this parliament in saying that we are all so pleased that Michael is now home at last.

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:15): I rise today to second the Premier's condolence motion and I acknowledge, as did the Premier, the presence of Michael's brother Shane, Jim Bourke and Bill Denny in the chamber. I speak on behalf of the opposition in expressing our sincere regret at the death of Flying Officer Michael Herbert and, indeed, regret for the loss of all young South Australian lives cut short as a result of war.

Some 47 years after the first Australian troops landed in South Vietnam, the last Australian serviceman missing in action has now been laid to rest. Flying Officer Michael Herbert, who was born in Freeling and grew up in the beachside suburb of Glenelg, was just 24 when he was declared missing in action during the Vietnam War. On 3 November 1970, the Canberra bomber in which he was returning to base crashed in the jungle in Vietnam's Quang Nam province. Flying Officer Herbert was just two months shy of finishing his tour of duty. He had been in Vietnam only since February that year. However, in that short time he had flown 199 missions.

Flying Officer Herbert's body and that of Pilot Officer Robert Carver were found in the southern Vietnamese jungle in July this year—and it is interesting to note that it was a private organisation that found those last missing in action young Australians. A service was held to farewell Robert Carver in Queensland last week and a very moving state funeral was held for Flying Officer Michael Herbert in Adelaide yesterday.

The Vietnam War is the most controversial war Australia has been involved in and at the time it caused massive social unrest in Australia. The war was the cause of the greatest social and political dissent in Australia since the conscription referendums of World War I. It is also the longest conflict in which Australian troops have been involved. From the time of the arrival of the first Australian troops (known as 'the Team') in 1962, almost 60,000 Australians, including ground troops and Air Force and Navy personnel, served in Vietnam. Some 521 Australians died as a result of the war and over 3,000 were wounded.

By 1969, as many of us would remember, anti-war protests were gaining momentum and, as American troops were gradually withdrawn, the focus of the Australian troops became training South Vietnamese regional and popular forces. Many soldiers who served in Vietnam met a hostile reception on returning to Australia. The community's anger about Australia's involvement in the conflict was unfairly projected onto those returning soldiers. It is of some comfort that over recent years there has been a significant change in the community's attitude and the respect given to our Vietnam veterans.

The sacrifices made by the Vietnam veterans and their families are today recognised for the sacrifice and courage they deserved. It is with these sentiments that Flying Officer Herbert was finally laid to rest yesterday. Flying Officer Michael Herbert's farewell may have been 39 years overdue, but it was a fitting goodbye to a young life cut short by the injustices of the war. The eulogies given and the tributes paid made it clear that he was, indeed, a fine young man. His death in the line of duty left a family back here in Adelaide without a son and without a brother, a family left wondering what had happened to their beloved young man and a family left wondering whether they would ever be able to say goodbye properly. As a mother myself, I can well understand how hard it must have been for Michael's mother, who did not live to see his return. However, I understand that she did find some comfort in the service held at his old school, Sacred Heart College, and the naming of the main gates in his honour.

I was at Flying Officer Herbert's funeral yesterday and I was very moved by the eulogies given. I was also moved by the presence at the funeral of representatives of the Vietnamese community, including, of course, our own Lieutenant-Governor, Hieu Van Le. An incense bowl in recognition of Michael's service and sacrifice was placed with other emblems during the service by the Vietnamese representative.

It may have been 39 years since Flying Officer Herbert disappeared, but the wounds are still very fresh for his family and friends. Time in this case has not healed all wounds. Hopefully, now that their loved one has been laid to rest with the honour deserving the last Australian missing in action to be returned from Vietnam, some closure can be achieved. I commend the motion to the house.

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON (Croydon—Attorney-General, Minister for Justice, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (14:20): I rise to support the Premier on this important motion. We are familiar with the words of the Gospel of St John:

Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Mr Speaker, that is what we remember today: the altruistic sacrifice of a young South Australian, made in the prime of his life, and the impact his loss has had on his family, his comrades and our state. We were diminished by the loss of Michael Herbert nearly 40 years ago.

Michael and his family are South Australians through and through. Jack Herbert, Michael's father, and his mother, Joan Skehan, both came from Port Pirie. Both parents served their nation in the Second World War. At the end of that conflict, the family settled in north Glenelg, in a home that is still theirs today. Jack and Joan had four children: Michael, Anthony Peter (who tragically died in infancy), Kerryn and Shane. I am pleased that Shane can be with us today as we honour Michael, his father and mother—the whole Herbert family.

Michael was always infatuated by flying, and a career as a pilot was his choice at an early age. He was a member of the Air Training Corps at 13 years, and obtained his private pilot's licence at 16 years (before he could shed his L plates on the road). Michael was selected to attend the RAAF academy at Point Cook, Victoria, in 1964 and graduated in January 1969. He then completed the No. 30 Operational Bomber Conversion Course before joining 2nd Squadron RAAF in Vietnam on 25 February 1970. Michael was a keen, popular and professional pilot. He flew 198 missions in just over eight months before he disappeared, together with his navigator and friend Robert Carver, while conducting a routine night bombing mission on 3 November 1970.

Mr Speaker, to me, the loss of a soldier, sailor or airman in the service of their nation is a tragedy. Invariably, it is the loss of a young Australian, taken from us in the prime of his life. It says sad things about war and the capacity of leaders not to be able to find suitable alternatives to armed conflict. It should also remind us of the tragedy it visits on families. Michael's loss is a clear example of the pain of such a loss. Michael was to remain lost in the bosom of Vietnam for 39 years, 9 months and 28 days until the discovery of his remains on 18 July, a little over seven weeks ago.

I cannot imagine the pain endured by Michael's family during that time. The not knowing, the uncertainty and the lack of closure would have been more than many could bear. Michael's sacrifice on behalf of his country must be remembered but so, too, must the sacrifice and courage of his family. They have stood tall. No-one could come through this experience unchanged but, through all of this, the Herbert family retained its dignity. They never gave up. They stared down pity. They absorbed the blows of uncertainty and contradiction. They replaced all those emotions with those of courage and determination.

Mrs Joan Herbert was the mother who never gave up—the mother whom the family knows has guided the process of the recovery of Michael's remains. Jack Herbert is a classic of that stalwart World War II generation who offered his life in the service of his nation, saw his son's life taken in the service of his nation, who was focused on providing the strength of character and example all good fathers strive to provide. Seldom will you ever see the strength of purpose and devotion shown by this man, and I think all of South Australia regards it as a blessing that Jack Herbert could be at Michael's funeral yesterday. Michael's sister Kerryn and brother Shane have lived this tragedy for almost their entire lives. Kerryn was a teenager when Michael was lost and Shane only 11 years old. Both of them have carried this legacy with dignity and courage.

It is difficult and dangerous to compare sacrifice, but the certainty of loss must account for something positive. The knowing must bring some peace. The uncertainty of loss sadly brings the opposite. It exaggerates and extends pain. It prevents resolution.

Shane is with us today. On behalf of all present I acknowledge him. I congratulate you, Shane, on your courage. I am immensely pleased that Michael is home. We remember your mother Joan and ask that you pass on the thoughts of this house to your father.

The finding of Michael Herbert did not happen by chance. After all, nearly 40 years had elapsed and I know that during that period there was at least one occasion when the family was incorrectly told that Michael's remains had been found.

We like to say that Australians place special emphasis on 'mateship' and 'loyalty'. We hear it spoken about on ANZAC Day and other important days of remembrance, but do we live the word? Well, not all of us. I do not know why. Maybe the true strength of character and morality necessary to pursue a cause in the face of all adversity is just not part of the moral fibre of all of us.

Every so often, however, the stars align and good things happen. Such was the case when Lieutenant-Colonel Jim Bourke, a career Infantry Corps officer, formed Operation Aussies Home in 2002. Jim and his mates are special men. Jim served two tours in Vietnam. His first concluded prematurely when he was shot through the jaw and in his second he was part of the famed Australian Army training team and led a company of Montagnard soldiers out of Plieku. He was part of what was known as the 2nd Corps Mobile Strike Force. After the war, in the 'end of the war list', Jim was decorated for gallantry. He was awarded the Medal of Gallantry, our nation's second highest gallantry decoration.

Jim lived the phrase uttered by Warrant Officer Kevin Wheatley VC just before he offered his life for a friend; that is, 'Australians don't run out on their mates.' Disturbed by years of inaction from federal governments of both persuasions, Jim set about finding the six soldiers missing in action in the Vietnam War. He was supported by 44 members of the public—concerned Australians and members of the families of those missing.

Jim Bourke was also supported by other members of the military. Former Warrant Officer Peter Aylett—himself a two tour veteran of Vietnam—prepared himself to undertake the arduous journey through the jungle with the RAAF recovery team to the wreck site. Behind the scenes there were little known Australians who helped complete the jigsaw. Paul Darraouzet, a businessman and philanthropist, was taken with Jim Bourke's endeavour and provided the financial assistance that allowed Jim and his team to do their good work.

Operation Aussies Home was also assisted by other members of the Defence Force. Major Jack Thurgar, a Vietnam veteran who served with the SAS and was subsequently decorated, now works with the Army History Unit. Jack was one of the first to discover the plane on 14 April and returned to the site to play a key role in the excavation in July. The RAAF recovery team, led by Wing Commander Michael Warby and Squadron Leader Jim Cottrell, also deserve recognition.

But, in the end, the discovery of all six young men left behind when our nation's involvement in the Vietnam War ceased is in some way down to Jim Bourke. He, too, is in the Speaker's Gallery today. Jim, we salute you. Your aim was to fully account for all those lost in Vietnam. You have achieved that. I commend to the house your words: 'It is our sacred duty to these men who gave their lives. I think we as a nation have a moral obligation to their families. That's how I see it and that's what's driven us. We're doing it for the families.' The refreshing simplicity of the infantryman shining through!

Today we remember Michael Herbert. We acknowledge the pain endured by his family and their courage and dignity. We also remember those who made the momentous events of the last week possible. I conclude with the last words of the eulogy given at Michael's funeral in St Francis Xavier's Cathedral yesterday:

We cherish the memory of Michael (and Robert Carver) and will continue to honour their sacrifice.

Home at last.

Home at last.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite) (14:30): I rise to support the motion and, as we have heard, note that Michael Herbert was born in Freeling, South Australia to John and Joan and completed his secondary schooling at Sacred Heart College in Somerton, close to their home in Glenelg. We have heard of Michael's interest in aviation and of the beginnings of his career. We have heard that, after graduating in 1967, he moved from RAAF Base Point Cook for training and then on to RAAF Base Pearce, graduating with his pilot's wings in January 1969, then posted to No. 2 Squadron as a pilot of Canberra bombers.

Flying Officer Michael Herbert arrived in Vietnam in February 1970. He is survived by a loving family, who miss him terribly. Michael was one of many thousands of proud Australian men and women who served to protect our way of life in action in South Vietnam. These were difficult times for Australia, for a world gripped in a Cold War, but particularly for the people of South Vietnam, many of whom were there yesterday.

I recall as a student at what was then Daws Road High School, at the northern foot of Centennial Park Cemetery, the gun carriages driving by our school during these tragic years delivering the dead to be buried at Centennial Park with full military honours. Over 500 died, thousands were wounded. Others returned to resume normal lives. Many others returned shattered men, deeply hurt. Some, like Michael, did not return, until now. He was not alone: six young Australians lay in the bosom of South Vietnam, not found but with each other.

As Ashley Ekins of the Australian War Memorial has noted, the term 'missing in action' has long brought anguish to the families of our servicemen lost in war. Of the 60,000 Australians who died in the First World War, over one third were recorded as 'missing'. Almost half the Australians who died in Gallipoli have no known grave. Many bereaved families were haunted for a generation by the memories of sons, brothers, fathers and husbands who had disappeared without trace. The scale of the loss made this a shared national experience—and yesterday's funeral was part of that experience—starkly recalled in scores of overseas war cemeteries with headstones inscribed with Kipling's simple words: 'An Australian soldier of the Great War...known unto God'.

There was no such solace for the next of kin of servicemen listed as missing in action during the Vietnam War. As I have said, over 500 died. Among them were six Australian servicemen—four Army soldiers and two RAAF airmen—who were initially recorded as 'missing in action' (MIA) in four separate incidents. In all six cases, their classification was subsequently amended to either 'killed in action' or 'missing in action—presumed dead'. All six servicemen were at the time perhaps identified as having simply no known grave.

The first Australian combat unit to fight in Vietnam was the 1st Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, a regiment with which I served (6th Battalion). 1 RAR was also the first to have soldiers recorded as missing in action. In November 1965, 1 RAR joined an American battalion of the 173rd D Brigade on Operation Hump, a five day search-and-destroy operation into the enemy dominated territory of War Zone D, about 40 kilometres north-east of Saigon. This area was known to contain a Vietcong stronghold and the base for an enemy regiment, as well as an enemy supply route linking the communist war zones to the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

For the first two days, the rifle companies of 1 RAR had sporadic enemy contacts as platoons patrolled through swamp and thick jungle. On the afternoon of 8 November, while the soldiers of A Company were pushing through dense rainforest near the top of the Gang Toi hills, they struck a strongly defended Vietcong bunker system.

As they crested a ridge, the leading Australian platoon suddenly came under a hail of fire from machine guns in well-sited bunkers supported by rifles and grenades. Five men were hit almost immediately at close range, the rest of the platoon quickly went to ground and began returning fire as the wounded men withdrew and were dragged back, all except for Lance Corporal Richard 'Tiny' Parker, who had been commanding the point section. Parker had fallen directly in front of the enemy bunkers. He was lying face down and was not moving. He could not be reached and he did not respond to shouts from his mates. This was the first time the Australians had encountered a Vietcong main force unit that had fought and stood their ground. They could tell from the sounds of heavy firing that the American battalion across the river had also run into trouble.

With his forward platoon pinned down, Major John Healy, commanding A Company, ordered another of his platoons to assault the enemy bunkers from the flank. As they advanced, this platoon was also kept in heavy crossfire from enemy machine guns concealed in bunkers. Private Peter Gillson, a machine gunner with the forward section, was hit by a burst of automatic fire as he stepped around the twisted roots of a tree. He fell just 15 metres from the enemy position, propped against the roots.

Gillson's platoon sergeant, Sergeant Colin Fawcett, crawled forward under fire to help the wounded soldier. Fawcett reached for Gillson's arm but could not feel a pulse at the wrist. He saw that Gillson had been hit several times. He attempted several times to drag Gillson's body out of the line of fire, but both the soldier and his machine gun were wedged tightly amongst the tree roots. He was forced to move back. Fawcett was later awarded the Military Medal for his brave actions. The assaulting platoon was now at risk of being encircled by the enemy and was compelled to withdraw under enemy fire. In the judgment of official historian Ian McNeill:

It would have been foolhardy for him to have pressed the attack…Healy had done all he could and his company had performed credibly…the men were depressed at leaving two soldiers behind.

The Australians wanted to return to the Gang Toi hills, a full battalion attack operation was prepared later in the month but was never conducted. No trace of the missing soldiers was found until recently. Peter Gillson's wife, with stoic resignation, later wrote to his platoon commander the following:

I am really proud to be called a soldier's wife, even though it is heartbreaking at times, but I suppose we all must expect these things, and when it does happen we must be as brave as our men were—but in a way I am very lucky because I have a son which Peter never saw. He is only four months old but he'll never know just how much strength he has given me to go on. I only hope that his son will grow up to be as fine a man as Peter was.

The court of inquiry conducted by 1 RAR shortly after the action recommended that Private Gillson be recorded as 'killed in action' and that Lance Corporal Parker be recorded as 'missing in action, presumed dead'. Both soldiers were officially listed as missing because at that time their bodies had not been recovered.

In 1969 Private David Fisher, a national serviceman serving with 3 Squadron, Special Air Service regiment, became the next soldier declared missing in action. In September 1969 Fisher was second-in-command of a five man, long range SAS patrol searching for signs of enemy activity in the Nui May Tao massif in south-eastern Long Khanh province. His patrol commander was Joe Van Droffelaar who later served with me in 1 Squadron in 1980 and who I know was very moved and had never got over the fact that he had come back without Fisher.

After patrolling for seven days in persistent rain, on 27 September the Australians had a series of sharp contacts with strong groups of Vietcong. Outnumbered and pursued through the jungle they called for a helicopter extraction. The helicopters arrived within half an hour just as the enemy were closing in on the SAS soldiers. During the hectic moments of the 'hot' extraction, while under fire and surrounded by the enemy, the members of the patrol clicked on their carabiners and attached themselves to ropes dangling from a helicopter and were lifted clear of the jungle.

As the helicopter gathered speed and helicopter gunships moved in to fire on the enemy on the ground, the patrol members noticed that Private Fisher was missing. He had fallen from his rope from a height in excess of 30 metres above the tree canopy. It was later suggested that, under pressure, Fisher may have attached his carabiner to the wrong loop of the rope or, as Van Droffelaar insisted, to his webbing rather than a rope.

An air search began within 10 minutes of the incident and a ground search began within five hours. The 10-man SAS patrol searched the jungle around the site, joined the following day by rifle companies who searched for the next six days. Fisher's body was not found until recently and he was declared missing in action, presumed dead. He had only two months remaining of his tour of duty.

Then, in 1970, the two RAAF airmen were declared missing in action in Vietnam, one of whom we address today. Flying Officer Michael Herbert and his mate Pilot Officer Robert Carver both of 2 Squadron were believed killed when their Canberra bomber disappeared while flying at night during a bombing mission in the north of 1 Corp region in South Vietnam. On 3 November 1970, Herbert, who was the pilot and aircraft captain, and Carver, the navigator and bomb aimer, had taken off from Phan Rang at 7pm heading for their target in Quang Nam province, 65 kilometres south-west of Da Nang.

The weather, as we have heard, was relatively clear and the flight to target was without incident. The Australians carried out their bombing run and released their bombs over the target at 8.22pm. After acknowledging a radio message they switched frequency for the return flight to Phan Rang. Shortly afterwards, the aircraft disappeared from the radar screen that was tracking it.

Australian and American air units mounted an aerial search the next morning. The extensive search involved 67 sorties over an area of 16,000 square kilometres but it was hampered by poor weather conditions. The search failed to find any trace of the aircraft or crew and was called off after three days. Pilot Officer Carver had served only eight weeks in Vietnam and Michael Herbert who had qualified, as we have heard, at the age of 16 as a pilot had only two months to go to finish his tour.

As we have heard, the cause of the disappearance was never determined. The ageing Canberra bomber was flying well above maximum range of entry of anti-aircraft artillery and there were no known North Vietnamese surface-to-air missile launch sites in the flight path. Although discounted by an RAAF court of inquiry, it is argued that the most likely explanation of the aircraft's sudden disappearance without remains at that time may have been a catastrophic midair explosion caused by one or more bombs being hung up in the rack after release.

For the parents of those lost, the term 'missing in action' became increasingly difficult to live with. After the years of uncertainty, Robert Carver's parents eventually gave up hope that he would be found. Mr Sydney Carver had his son's name placed on the Toowoomba War Memorial. Every day, he passed the memorial and never failed to look at the inscription.

Mrs Joan Herbert continued her dream that her son Michael was alive and roaming the jungles of Vietnam, dreams that eventually developed into nightmares. Over the next decade, she wrote more than 600 letters to Vietnamese and other political leaders inquiring about his fate. The families of both RAAF officers said they could not rest until the truth was known. Now the truth is known.

The last Australian soldier to be listed as missing in action was Lance Corporal John Francis Gillespie of 8 Field Ambulance. On 17 April 1971, Gillespie was serving as a helicopter medic during a 'dustoff' (helicopter medical evacuation) operation in the Long Hai hills of Phuoc Tuy province. Four South Vietnamese regional force soldiers had been injured by a mine explosion and the difficult terrain demanded a helicopter evacuation, but the Long Hai hills were an insecure landing zone.

The caves and dense timber of the Long Hais had long harboured a major Vietcong base and the dustoff operation required the protection of helicopter gunships. As the first wounded soldier was being winched up, the hovering helicopter was hit by machine-gun fire. It crashed to the ground and burst into flames. Although the crew escaped, Lance Corporal Gillespie and three other soldiers were engulfed in the fireball.

A helicopter crewman, Corporal Robert Stephens, repeatedly entered the burning aircraft and tried in vain to rescue Gillespie until being forced back by the flames. Stephens was later awarded the British Empire Medal for his courage. Gillespie's body could not be recovered from the burning wreckage, which was reduced to slag by the fire. Private Gillespie was listed as 'missing in action', apparently on a technicality because his remains could not be found at that time. The classification was subsequently altered to 'killed in action'.

The last Australian combat troops were withdrawn from South Vietnam in 1971. For the next decade the question of Australian servicemen missing in Vietnam received little official attention. Then, in May 1984, a joint Foreign Affairs and Defence mission travelled to Vietnam to investigate the Australian missing in action cases with the assistance of Vietnamese government officials. The five-member team visited Quang Nam, Da Nang and Dong Nai provinces and walked the sites of the two incidents. They were prevented from reaching the other two sites due to uncleared minefields.

The team's investigations were hampered by the time lapse since the incidents, the uncertain nature of much of the information available and the movement of civilian populations and Vietnamese military units during and since the war. Unfounded media claims that the team had solved the mystery of the missing also aroused false hopes and angered some of the next of kin. Regrettably, the team members discovered no further information or traces of the remains of the Australians at that time. They concluded that it was most unlikely that any further information on the whereabouts of the remains of the six Australians would become available in the future.

The remains of Private Gillson and Lance Corporal Parker were located in southern Vietnam in April 2007. They were repatriated to Australia in June 2007. Human remains located in February 2004 were positively identified as those of Lance Corporal Gillespie early in December 2007. He was repatriated to Australia later that month. The remains of Private Fisher were located in southern Vietnam in August 2008. They were repatriated to Australia in October that year. And, now, the remains of Pilot Officer Carver and Flying Officer Michael Herbert have been found. May they rest in peace.

Here, I join others in thanking Jim Bourke, Jack Furgar and others from Aussies Home for what they have achieved. Your mission has been accomplished. Yesterday, several hundred veterans—Australians and Vietnamese—and their families said farewell to Michael. Today our thoughts are with his family, but also with the family of all Vietnam veterans. Thank you, Michael Patrick John Herbert. You served your country well. We will remember you. For so many years he lay in good company in South Vietnam. He now continues to lie in good company, the company of the brave, at home. Rest in peace.

The Hon. R.J. McEWEN (Mount Gambier) (14:48): Mr Speaker, 5722256, McEwen, R.J., Sergeant, 2nd Pacific Island Regiment. A serviceman never forgets to things: his number and his mates, even when the nation turns their back on his mates. This grievance motion gives us the opportunity to say to the Herbert family: we honour your son and the sacrifice he made, and we continue to share with you the pain. It also gives us an opportunity to say that many other shattered men came home and have not fully recovered, and we have not helped them, and we still owe them support.

Mr PENGILLY (Finniss) (14:49): I also rise to support the motion. I will not even attempt to repeat the words that have been so eloquently spoken this afternoon in this place. I also attended the funeral of Flying Officer Michael Herbert yesterday, and I would also like to acknowledge the presence in the chamber today of Michael's brother, Shane, Jim Burke and Bill Denny, all of whom contributed a huge amount to bringing Michael home.

I found it in an intensely moving funeral service yesterday. Nothing impacted upon me more than the words of Michael's brother, Shane, who spoke about his hero brother and the effect the loss of Michael had on Shane, as an 11 year old, and his family.

I swear that, in the cathedral yesterday, not only was Michael Herbert there in the coffin but he was also there in spirit. I also felt that those veterans who were there yesterday, particularly those members of 2 Squadron, all dropped around 39 or 40 years and had a spring in their step that they had not had for many years.

It is significant to me—and it is about Michael Herbert, not me—that those of us of that generation were in the Defence Force or were eligible for national service by virtue of our age. My number never came up. Some in this chamber probably were not even born when the Vietnam War was being fought. It was the first 'television' war. We also seemingly got used to hearing of our losses in Vietnam, particularly from the Army. As a 20 year old, I can recall the Canberra bomber being lost. I have a clear recollection of it because those things impacted heavily on my generation.

Being the father of two young sons—and I was talking to Shane, Jim and Bill earlier—the irony of yesterday was that I discovered that my eldest son was born 10 years to the day after Michael disappeared and my youngest son was born on the day (a number years later) that Michael Herbert arrived in Vietnam, and that had a very strong impact on me. I know that other members at the funeral yesterday felt the same way. I was speaking to members afterwards and they all felt that finally Michael was home.

As Jim Bourke and those involved said, they got them all home. As fate would have it, I walked back down King William Street and happened to be standing alongside Frank Hodge, who spoke yesterday and who was in 2 Squadron with Michael Herbert. I noted his comment on the PM program last night to the effect that we have been able to complete a job that we started 39 years ago to bring these guys home.

It goes back to the absolute spirit of Australian service personnel. If you go back to Simpson and his donkey in Gallipoli where he brought them down and if you go to Kokoda during the Second World War where there is a famous picture (and I cannot remember the names) of an Australian digger helping another one over his shoulder, this is what Australian defence personnel are all about.

As the member for Waite so eloquently said, they get them home. It was a good thing for this chamber to know what has happened (and will always happen, I am sure) with Australian defence personnel serving overseas. I am very pleased for the Herbert family—for Shane, his father, sister and the rest of the family—that Michael is finally home resting in Adelaide and that life will go on. It truly was the end of an era for Australia bringing the last serviceman home and having him buried. I support the motion.

Mr GRIFFITHS (Goyder—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:54): It is with a very heavy heart that I rise to support the condolence motion for Flying Officer Michael Herbert. I do not know the Herbert family in any way but it was a great privilege for me to be there with hundreds of other people to pay my respects for a very brave man who, tragically, at the early age of 24 lost the opportunity to live his life.

The service of our nation is one that thousands of Australians have undertaken. The member for Waite referred to the First World War and the 60,000 Australians who passed away. A statistic I find amazing from that service in the First World War is that, in a nation of a little under four million people at that time, 400,000 people served our nation in the Defence Force. It was 40 per cent of the men aged between 18 and 40 who served our nation in the Great War.

For me, though, the emotion of the day was encapsulated by Mr Jack Herbert's attendance at the ceremony. While Mr Herbert is quite ill and in hospital, his desire to be there to recognise the sacrifice his son had made was obvious to all of us. The fact that he was delayed by some 30 minutes in getting there from hospital made no difference to the hundreds of people who were in the church yesterday. We all respected the fact that the Herbert family had to be there in total to celebrate a day that was enormously important to them. To me, when he was wheeled into the church in his wheelchair wearing his pilot's uniform from his service in the Air Force in World War II, that really captured everything that is great and brave about Australians.

I think it is appropriate that this house pays tribute to the Herbert family. It was important that hundreds of people attended yesterday who, in many cases, would not have known Michael Herbert but wanted to be there to pay their respects. It was an emotional day for all of us, but one that will live long in the memories of the South Australians who were there. I support the motion.

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (14:55): I rise to support this motion. The Herbert family are constituents of mine and live at Kibby Avenue, Glenelg North. I should remind the house that Kibby Avenue is named after William Kibby VC, who was killed in action serving this country.

I give thanks to Michael Herbert for his supreme sacrifice for his country during the Vietnam War. I also thank the Herbert family for their sacrifice, and I am pleased that after many years the remains of their son and brother have been returned. To thank Jim Bourke and those who were involved in returning the remains of Michael Herbert to South Australia is something that goes without saying. It is so important to everyone here and particularly to the Herbert family.

I was very pleased yesterday to attend the funeral and see Father Tony Kain, who is the Catholic priest at Glenelg. Tony is a terrific bloke and I know that the affection between the Herbert family and Father Kain is genuine and that has been the case for many years. I was also very pleased to see there students from Sacred Heart College (which is also in the seat of Morphett) to help celebrate the life of Michael Herbert. I was very pleased to stand with them as part of the guard of honour in Wakefield Street after the funeral service. It is a very poignant reminder for me every time I drive past those gates at Sacred Heart College that Michael Herbert lived and died for us in South Australia.

Michael Herbert will not be forgotten. You are only dead when they stop talking about you, and I know that people will keep talking about Michael Herbert because he was a real hero for all of us here in South Australia. I would like to say thank you to the Herbert family for what they have had to put up with, and I wish them the very best for the future.

Ms CICCARELLO (Norwood) (14:57): Yesterday marked a sad but proud day in the history of South Australia. We paid tribute to a young man for his exemplary bravery. We said our goodbyes and we finally laid him to rest in his home town among his family, friends and colleagues.

Flying Officer Michael Herbert from Glenelg, along with his colleague Pilot Officer Robert Carver from Toowoomba in Queensland, were both just 24 years old when they paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. They had completed a bombing mission in Vietnam and were returning to base when their No. 2 Squadron Canberra aircraft, call sign Magpie 91, went missing about 65 kilometres south-west of Da Nang. One can only imagine the heartbreak of their families and friends when searches and investigations failed to yield any information about the crash or, indeed, a location that would lead to their whereabouts.

I have closely followed developments in this case this year. Therefore, we were all very pleased when the crash scene and the remains of the two men were discovered in April this year and what this must have meant for his family and friends. They were the last two soldiers unaccounted for from the Vietnam War, and we can now close a chapter in Australian military history.

I visited Vietnam on the 40th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan with the Attorney, the member for Morialta, the Lieutenant-Governor, Mr Hieu Van Le and Mr Bill Denny. It was also the first time the Lieutenant-Governor had returned to Vietnam following his escape, along with his wife Lan and a boatload of refugees, who were the first to arrive in Darwin following a very perilous voyage. I think we were all heartened by listening to our Lieutenant-Governor say that when he arrived in Darwin he was greeted by people in a small tinny and they said, 'G'day mate. Welcome to Australia.' At the Long Tan memorial we were able to pay tribute to all those who had courageously fought and given their lives, and we could only imagine the suffering and discomfort they must have endured in such a hostile and testing environment.

The Vietnam War was a turbulent time in Australia and throughout the world. It was a conflict that was deeply controversial and it framed the politics and mood of a generation. However, despite any individual feelings that one might have about that war, we should never forget the 60,000 Australian soldiers who shouldered the responsibility of a nation and the 500 young men who lost their lives.

My brother, and all his peers, faced the dreaded prospect of being called up by the extraction of a marble, and we sometimes felt guilty at the relief we felt when, by luck of a birth date, they were spared having to go to war.

The funeral of Flying Officer Michael Herbert must be, without question, a bittersweet time for his loved ones. I offer my sincere condolences to his family and friends and trust that this time will put an end to decades of uncertainty and grief.

I also put on record my thanks to the many Australian-Vietnamese organisations for working so hard to locate our missing men in Vietnam and return them home with dignity. I also acknowledge the Payneham RSL for three years ago having erected and dedicated a memorial to those who fought in Vietnam. I finish with the fourth verse of Laurence Binyon's poem entitled 'For the Fallen', which is particularly appropriate at this time. It says:

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (15:01): I also acknowledge the sacrifice that Michael Herbert made for this country, as many thousands of servicemen and women have done over the years. I acknowledge all those servicemen and women who have gone into service for this country, both here and overseas, in past and current wars. I have been very fortunate to say goodbye to my brother on two deployments—one to Rwanda and one to Iraq—and welcome him home twice. It is very hard to imagine the strain on a family such as the Herbert family, for 39 years not knowing exactly why and where their brother and son was. It was fantastic to see yesterday the strength of the family—Shane in his eulogy, Kerryn, and also father Jack, who certainly told the doctors he was going to his son's funeral. I have the utmost respect for that. So, Michael, may you rest in peace. You will not be forgotten.

The SPEAKER (15:02): I also express my gratitude to those responsible for the repatriation of Flying Officer Herbert's remains, and add my thanks to the family of Flying Officer Herbert. I can only begin to imagine the trauma of not knowing what has happened to a loved one. Hopefully, the repatriation of his remains will go some way to mitigating the terrible treatment of returned servicemen from Vietnam. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. I ask all honourable members who support the motion to do so in the traditional way.

Motion carried by members standing in their places in silence.


[Sitting suspended from 15:03 to 15:11]


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