August 18, 2017
All soldiers together as Vietnam War remembered
Wreaths were laid this morning at the National War Memorial Hall of Memories in Wellington as well as at cenotaphs around the county to mark New Zealand Vietnam Veterans' Day.
Returned Services Association vice president Bob Hill was supposed to lay one of the wreaths but instead headed for Whanganui for the funeral of one of his Victor company comrades.
It’s a reminder of the bonds between soldiers, and the burdens many of them carried from the war the politicians sent them to.
Mr Hill says many of the 3000 New Zealand men and women who served in Vietnam were Maori.
"We never looked at ourselves as Maori and Pakeha. We were all just dressed in green. We were just soldiers together," he says.
Mr Hill says as well as remembering those who served in Vietnam, he was also concerned about younger veterans who were in Afghanistan who will also suffer the lingering effects of conflict.
Copyright © 2017, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com