NAA ceremony commemorates Vietnam War veterans and ships

Captain David Willoughby Leach passing ‘the weight’ to Captain Alan Antony Willis of the Royal Australian Navy to symbolise the official handover of gunline duties during the Vietnam War

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. Approximately 61,000 Australians served in Vietnam from 1962 to 1973, and 523 sadly perished as a result. The war itself officially ended on 30 April 1975, two years after Australia withdrew.

To observe this significant anniversary, the Naval Association of Australia (NAA) held a commemoration ceremony on 25 May in Brisbane’s South Bank. 

While Vietnam is largely remembered as a soldier’s war, the Royal Australian Air Force and Navy were both heavily involved in operations that between them spanned clearance diving, transportation and escort, medical aid, and evacuations. By holding this 50th anniversary ceremony, the Queensland chapter of the NAA highlighted the contributions of all the men and women who were deployed to Vietnam to serve their country.

HMAS Hobart in 1969

A unique focus of the ceremony was the recognition of HMAS Perth, HMAS Hobart, HMAS Brisbane (II), and HMAS Vendetta for their part in the Vietnam War. The four destroyers rotated from 1967 to 1971 as part of the US Seventh Fleet on the ‘gunline’.

They played a significant role in providing naval gunfire support and intercepting local vessels disguised as fishing boats. HMAS Vendetta was deployed once, HMAS Brisbane (II) twice, and HMAS Hobart and HMAS Perth three times each. HMAS Hobart and HMAS Perth both received US Navy Commendations. 

In the lead-up to the ceremony, former HMAS Brisbane (II) Gunnery Officer, Captain Ralph T. Derbidge MBE RAN (Retired), shared his memory of serving in the Navy during the Vietnam War. 

“You could always tell a destroyer crew-cum-Vietnam War sailor – but you couldn’t tell him much. They were good, and they knew it,” he says.

The NAA invited all current serving crews and veterans from the Australian Navy, Army and RAAF to attend the ceremony, which was held at the Jack Tar Memorial in the South Brisbane Memorial Park. 

For more information about the NAA please contact media@navalassocqld.org.au.

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