Emotional ceremony in Australia as Vietnam war dead finally return

The remains of Australian troops killed in the Vietnam war and their families were returned to Sydney on Thursday in a formal military ceremony, half a century after being buried in Malaysia and Singapore.

Thirty-three bodies, interred in Malaysia’s Terendak Cemetery and Singapore’s Kranji War Cemetery, were brought home in flag-drapped coffins on two Royal Australian Air Force C-17 Globemaster aircraft.

Almost 60,000 Australian military personnel fought alongside the US in Vietnam, with 521 losing their lives. All remains were returned to Australia, except for 36 in Malaysia and Singapore.

In May last year, prime minister at the time Tony Abbott offered repatriation to the families, with the bodies of 25 servicemen, including 22 soldiers killed in the Vietnam war, and eight dependents now back to Australia.

The other three soldiers died in the fight against communist insurgents in Malaysia, according to the Army Museum, which oversees Terendak Military Cemetery.

The ceremony at Richmond air force base near Sydney, marking one of the biggest single repatriations of Australian servicemen, was attended by Governor General Peter Cosgrove, Vietnam war veterans and the families of those who died.

“Today’s ceremony is an opportunity to commemorate the sacrifice of the men and women who serve in our armed forces and the families who support them,” Defence Minister Marise Payne said.