Lance Corporal Richard Parker and Private Peter Gillson

Reception Ceremony

RAAF Base Richmond

6 June 2007

Members of the families of Lance Corporal Richard Parker and Private Peter Gillson, Parliamentary colleagues – Alan Griffin, Louise Markus and Graeme Edwards; Land Commander Australia, Major General Mark Kelly; Brigadier Bill Rolfe, Repatriation Commissioner; serving men and women of the ADF; Jim Bourke and his Operation Aussies Home colleagues; ex-service organisation representatives; veterans, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

Today, two families and a broader community come together, united by tragic events from many years ago, that has seen many different journeys now merge into a moment of collective mourning.

Not the kind of mourning that leaves people uneasy or uncertain about the future – but one that produces the opportunity for a sense of peace, of calm and of comfort.  Denied for four decades, but now in reach for many, is the prospect of a newfound serenity, certainty and closure.

As a consequence of the tireless work of a remarkable group of tenacious Australians, backed by the support and moral obligation of a grateful nation and aided by the cooperation of one-time combatants but now collaborators, Australia honours Lance Corporal Richard Harold John ‘Tiny’ Parker and Private Peter Raymond Gillson – soldiers in the finest ANZAC tradition.

Both men served in South Vietnam with A Company of the 1^st Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment.  1RAR arrived in South Vietnam almost 42 years ago to the day, and a handful of months later, in November 1965, A Company encountered a strong enemy force; dug in; their fierce, intense and sustained automatic fire opened up on 1 Platoon and took the life of Lance Corporal Parker.  Some time later, in an assault on the enemy position by 3 Platoon, Private Gillson was hit and fell.

Due to intense enemy fire, nightfall fast approaching, the need to evacuate casualties and avoid further losses, artillery and armed helicopter fire directed onto the enemy position, recovery attempts were thwarted.

For the soldiers involved with that tragic contact, bound by an enduring brotherly bond known best by those who have served, made vital and vivid by the unconditional interdependency of mortal combat, this was not and could not be the end of the story.

Mates lost; battles passed.  But soldiers carried the weight and worry, without respite, of an invisible and unimaginable ‘backpack’, of unfinished business, of mates not returned.

Eternally bound together by a shared experience and a motto of the Royal Australian Regiment of ‘duty first’, Operation Hump has continued, more than 41 years on, now some 15,155 days on, the return of their mates remained an enduring commitment – one not just of duty, but one also of profound compassion.

Both men were married and Private Gillson had an infant child – a four month son Robert, who for the first time, could get close to his Dad, with whom he shares an uncanny likeness.  At last able to share an adventure with his Dad, not the boyhood kind many take for granted, but one borne of the indescribable bond of father and son – with Robert opting to be by his Dad’s side, on board the Herc for the final journey home.  Without a doubt both parents thoroughly proud of the decent, determined and thoughtful man you have turned out to be.

It is fitting, that yesterday the Parker and Gillson families were able to come together to support each other.  To unite for this final journey – a journey that at times must have seemed never ending, and perhaps never likely to end, that is now in reach of its solemn destination.

For the families of the loved ones lost, today is a day of great emotion – of elation, of grief; a day of tears, both of joy and harrowing sorrow.  We extend our unbridled sympathies, support and condolences.

A grateful nation carries forward its special duty and moral obligation to those who have done all that their country asked of them and in doing so, paid the ultimate price.

For more than four decades, much of this story has been written and settled, yet incomplete.

The chapters already written record the service and sacrifice of Lance Corporal Parker and Private Gillson; their courage and commitment; the loss of a husband, a brother, a father, a son, a mate.  How mates, veterans of A Company and Vietnam more generally, held fast to a conviction to get them home – to finish the story of these two diggers.  The conviction that has not wearied or waned, despite the slow passage of many, many years, that a new chapter need be written – a conclusion.

A chapter largely penned by the passion and perseverance of mates who never gave up and rarely let a day escape without remembering and recommitting to their goal.

A remarkable and selfless Australian, Jim Bourke, and his dedicated Vietnam veteran team from Operation Aussies Home, particularly those who have escorted their mates home with Jim and the Regimental family, Gordon Peterson, Trevor Hagan and Clive Williams, and their band of veteran supporters, persisted tirelessly with their inquiries, research and advocacy, to compile insights and evidence, beyond the historical material and official records, to make it possible to get to where we are today.

This final chapter in the story of Lance Corporal Parker and Private Gillson, could not be written without Jim Bourke and Operation Aussies Home.

Guided and encouraged by loving and patient families, keen for closure but cautious about prospects, ‘Team Australia’ stepped forward and worked to reach for the best of all possibilities.  This approach brought to the table the very best endeavours of many.

The very best of Operation Aussies Home, of Army and its proud traditions and duty; of the Australian Defence Force and its capability; of the expertise of the broader Defence enterprise; of Foreign Affairs and its outstanding diplomatic talents, particularly Ambassador to Vietnam, Bill Tweddell and Defence Attaché Captain John Griffith; of the gracious families and their wise counsel and considered engagement.

To the Government and people of Vietnam, who know the pain and price of war, who commemorate as we commemorate the immense human and material cost of conflict, Australia thanks you.

Our sincere appreciation recognises and records the collaboration between our Government and officials, the cooperation of Vietnamese authorities, the assistance and advice of your veterans, the hospitality of your local communities and the valued facilitation of your Ambassador and Embassy in Australia.

The product of this shared sense of purpose, commitment and conviction, is the opportunity to finish unfinished business; to discharge in full our duty; to accomplish a mission more than 41 years in the making; to lay properly to rest two soldiers in the soil of their homeland, within the reach and reflections of their families, back amongst the mates whose thoughts and brotherly bond never left them or faded.

So today, the new chapter, the final chapter of the story of Lance Corporal Parker and Private Gillson, is further written.

Let the final chapter read and record: two brave servicemen lost; now forever young; never forgotten; found, recovered and repatriated with great care and dignity; carried home by the hands of mateship; returned to those who love and were loved; honoured and laid to rest by a grateful nation; at home at last, always remembered.

Media information:

Cameron Hill (Mr Billson)  0408 2390521

Defence Media Liaison     (02) 6265 3343 or 0408 498 664

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