Post by colford on Aug 14, 2023 20:01:41 GMT 12
In August 2023, the Australian Government will mark the 50th anniversary of the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War with a national service at the Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial in Canberra on 18 August 2023 from 10:00am.
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs will deliver a televised service to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War at the Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial on Anzac Parade, on Friday 18 August 2023.
The service will be broadcast live across Australia by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and streamed online. The ABC will also make the broadcast available to other networks to provide all members of the community the opportunity to acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War in a solemn and dignified manner from their home. Attendance at the event in Canberra will be by pre-booked attendance pass, with Vietnam Veteran's and families of veterans, surviving family of Australian's killed during the conflict, receiving priority for the available event tickets.
Key Timings
Friday 18 August 2023
8:30am – Ticketek box office opens
9:00am – Entry to the site opens
Chartered shuttle buses operate continuously between the Canberra City Bus Interchange and the site from 9:00am until 10:00am
10:00am – Pre-service program commences
10:30am – Official service commences
11:30am – Official service concludes
Chartered shuttle buses operate continuously between the site and the Canberra City Bus Interchange from 11:50am until 12:30pm
Although not mentioned in the information online from Department of Veteran's Affairs and the Australian War Memorial - who will be conducting a special Last Post Ceremony at the AWM on the day, dependent on weather, serviceability, availability, etc, the service is planned to include a commemorative flypast of aircraft associated with the Vietnam War. HARS is planning to operate two of their DHC Caribou aircraft - both being Vietnam veterans - a C-47 and the RAN FAA Flight Bell UH-1B Iroquois as their contribution to a flypast near the end of the event. No.100 Squadron RAAF/Temora Aviation Museum is also possibly planning to fly their Cessna O-2, and E.E. Canberra, alongside Cessna O-1 aircraft belonging to affiliated pilots; with the RAAF potentially contributing a C-130J Hercules to the flypast representing the C-130A and C-130E Hercules operated by the RAAF during the Vietnam War. Flypast will be on a south to north axis along ANZAC Parade, from overhead the new Parliament House, over Lake Burley Griffin, along ANZAC Parade and over the Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial, over the Australian War Memorial, then over Mount Ainslie.
Weather forecast for Friday at this stage is not favourable for the event with 50% predicted chance of showers and low cloud during the morning, and possibly morning frost & fog.
RAAF will be operating a live stream of the event via their FB page on the day.
As distinct from the last major anniversary of the event a few years back for the 40th anniversary, no word of a USAF B-52 flypast at this stage.
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs will deliver a televised service to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War at the Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial on Anzac Parade, on Friday 18 August 2023.
The service will be broadcast live across Australia by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and streamed online. The ABC will also make the broadcast available to other networks to provide all members of the community the opportunity to acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War in a solemn and dignified manner from their home. Attendance at the event in Canberra will be by pre-booked attendance pass, with Vietnam Veteran's and families of veterans, surviving family of Australian's killed during the conflict, receiving priority for the available event tickets.
Key Timings
Friday 18 August 2023
8:30am – Ticketek box office opens
9:00am – Entry to the site opens
Chartered shuttle buses operate continuously between the Canberra City Bus Interchange and the site from 9:00am until 10:00am
10:00am – Pre-service program commences
10:30am – Official service commences
11:30am – Official service concludes
Chartered shuttle buses operate continuously between the site and the Canberra City Bus Interchange from 11:50am until 12:30pm
Although not mentioned in the information online from Department of Veteran's Affairs and the Australian War Memorial - who will be conducting a special Last Post Ceremony at the AWM on the day, dependent on weather, serviceability, availability, etc, the service is planned to include a commemorative flypast of aircraft associated with the Vietnam War. HARS is planning to operate two of their DHC Caribou aircraft - both being Vietnam veterans - a C-47 and the RAN FAA Flight Bell UH-1B Iroquois as their contribution to a flypast near the end of the event. No.100 Squadron RAAF/Temora Aviation Museum is also possibly planning to fly their Cessna O-2, and E.E. Canberra, alongside Cessna O-1 aircraft belonging to affiliated pilots; with the RAAF potentially contributing a C-130J Hercules to the flypast representing the C-130A and C-130E Hercules operated by the RAAF during the Vietnam War. Flypast will be on a south to north axis along ANZAC Parade, from overhead the new Parliament House, over Lake Burley Griffin, along ANZAC Parade and over the Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial, over the Australian War Memorial, then over Mount Ainslie.
Weather forecast for Friday at this stage is not favourable for the event with 50% predicted chance of showers and low cloud during the morning, and possibly morning frost & fog.
RAAF will be operating a live stream of the event via their FB page on the day.
As distinct from the last major anniversary of the event a few years back for the 40th anniversary, no word of a USAF B-52 flypast at this stage.