Media Releases & Speeches
SPEECH
Minister for Veterans' Affairs
Minister for Defence Science and Personnel
Minister for Indigenous Health
Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on the Centenary of Anzac.
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AUSTRALIAN MONUMENT DEDICATION, KOREA
Today we remember all those who served at sea, in the air and on land, those who nursed the wounded, those who never made it home and the families of those who are still listed as missing.
Towards the end of June 1950, the people of South Korea had their world turned upside down, the communist North had invaded their land.
Like other members of the United Nations, Australia had no hesitation in coming to the aid of the people of South Korea.
Two Australian military officers, Major Stuart Peach and Squadron Leader Ronald Rankin, having conducted an inspection of South Korean troop dispositions in the days before the invasion, were instrumental in convincing the United Nations that North Korea was the aggressor.
Australia truly was in this was from the very beginning.
By the first days of July, Australian sailors and airmen were operating in Korean waters and airspace, our soldiers followed on the ground not long after
One of our veterans here today – Milton Cottee – was involved with one of the first missions of the war with the No.77 Squadron, evacuating US civilians out of Korea.
The war raged for three years from 1950 to 1953 and ended in July 1953 when an Armistice was signed.
And although the fighting had ended, Australians continued to serve in Korea post-Armistice, with the last of our soldiers returning home in 1957.
More than seventeen thousand Australians served in Korea during the war and in the post-Armistice period, more than twelve hundred were wounded, thirty were taken prisoner of war.
Three-hundred-and-forty were killed during the war and a further 18 lost their lives in the post-Armistice period.
But as painful as Australia’s loss was, we should also remember that more than four million Korean and Chinese people, allies and enemies, lost their lives, over half were civilians.
Nor should we forget that thirty-three-thousand American servicemen were also killed along with thousands of other allies from the United Nations.
The war in Korea exacted an enormous toll in military and civilian lives.
Among Australia’s dead were men who had seen and survived combat in the Second World War only to die when they might have expected to live out their lives in peace.
Men such as Charlie Green, the youngest Australian to command a battalion in the Second World War who was killed when a shell exploded outside his tent at the conclusion of one of the Korean War’s early battles.
And men like Squadron Leader Lou Spence who flew in the Second World War, took part in Australia’s first peacekeeping mission in 1947, and was killed when his aircraft crashed on operations just three months after the outbreak of war in Korea.
The Korean War was instrumental in defining Australia’s place in the post-World War Two world.
It was the first collective United Nations wartime action in which we participated as combatants.
Honouring our commitment to that great organisation, borne of the Second World War, and of which Australia was a founding member.
Our sailors, soldiers, airmen and nurses served as part of an international force and they gained international respect.
For the courage, the endurance, and the professional skill they displayed during the War.
They answered the call and went to war to ‘right a wrong,’ to defend the freedom of the South Korean people, to combat military aggression and to try and stop the spread of Communism at a time when this ideology seemed to be gaining strength.
At places like Kapyong, Maryang San, the Hook and Han River, Australian soldiers engaged in combat as bloody as any that some of their number experienced in the Second World War.
And on the seas Australians fought a series of famous and less-well known battles: each one hazardous and each one fought to advance the United Nations cause in Korea.
Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Daly described the conditions our men and women faced.
"I remember the dust, the heat, the enervating humidity, the bitter cold of winter when the men slept with their boots on and weapons cradled lest they should be found frozen in an emergency; the soldiers on listening post, lying silently on the frozen ground trying to remain alert, knowing they were responsible for the safety of their comrades."
At sea, freezing weather tested men and equipment beyond the normal hazards, of high seas, storms, typhoons, extreme conditions and uncharted mud flats.
On land, over harsh terrain, in difficult conditions, they displayed the great qualities of their Anzac forebears: courage, endurance, mateship and sacrifice.
They served with great distinction, and in doing so wrote another chapter in our nation’s Anzac story.
A chapter in a story which we honour here today.
All of the veterans here with us today know first hand what I have described, the intense fighting, the horrendous weather conditions, the feeling of losing a mate or a loved one.
Kevin Grayson, one of the veterans with us today, remembers.
"[We were] A group of Aussies from all walks of life, smelling that far adventure.
[We] were always loyal, firm and strong; capable and efficient under all conditions, a remarkable breed whose lives were shaped by the Anzac legend."
They were involved in all aspects of the war, on the sea, and in the air.
Mike Skennar fought with the 2RAR at “The Hook”, surviving two days of assaults from the Chinese who eventually withdrew the night before the Armistice was signed.
This conflict cost five Australian lives with another twenty-four wounded.
The selflessness of our sailors, soldiers, airmen and nurses is evident in you all.
For some of you this visit has been the first time back since you were here all those years ago.
Like Ray Deed, who fought in the famed battle at Kapyong, and is here to pay his respects to mates who never made it home.
Talking with you all has highlighted to me the importance of mateship in these difficult circumstances.
Like Ken Barnett, who has vivid memories of his service aboard the HMAS Warramunga, and recalled the comfort and the guidance of the sailors, and officers, he served with, saying it was a privilege to serve with them.
Stan Connelly, who fought in both the Battle of Kapyong and Maryang San, remembers the high level of trust and loyalty between the younger, inexperienced soldiers and the Second World War veterans who had answered ‘the call of the bugle.’
We will never forget your service, or your sacrifice.
We remember the courage of Nurse Valma Keylar, who looked after some of the twelve hundred wounded Australians, only to lose her very own brother, who is buried here in this cemetery.
We acknowledge the great loss for Ian Saunders, whose father, Private John Saunders, is one of forty-three Australians listed as missing in action here in this cemetery on the UN Memorial Wall.
All of you have shown amazing courage and to you I say a simple thank you.
We are here today to honour all those who served in the Korean War.
We recognise the significant losses this War brought to the people of South Korea, the innocent civilians, men, women and children.
We hope for the day that true peace is upon us.
It is an honour to dedicate this monument today to all those who fought and fell.
To all the veterans here today, to those who are back in Australia and to those to never made it home… you will always be remembered.
You served when people feared that another World War was imminent, and you made sacrifices for a country that, at the time, most Australians knew nothing about.
Your resilience, spirit and valour set an example for the generations of servicemen and women that followed.
This monument honours you and the 17,000 Australian sailors, soldiers, airmen and nurses who served to defend South Korea.
The Korean War is often referred to as the ‘Forgotten War.’
…we will make sure it is forgotten no more.
Thank you
Media inquiries:
Minister Snowdon: Alice Plate 0400 045 999 or 02 6277 7820
Department of Veterans' Affairs Media: 02 6289 6203
Editors’ notes: Follow the mission on Facebook at DVA Aus or on Twitter at @dvaaus.
Images and full biographies of veteran representatives, historical images and factsheets on the Korean War are available on the DVA Media Centre at www.dva.gov.au/media.
For images of the day’s events please email dvamedia@dva.gov.au