McCORMACK PRESENTS WORLD WAR II COMMEMORATIVE MEDALLIONS TO VETERANS
Member for Riverina and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack presented special commemorative medallions to four World War II veterans.
Mr McCormack said every living WW II veteran was eligible to apply for a medallion and a certificate, which are being presented by the Federal Government to say “thank you for your service” on the 75th anniversary of the end of the devastating six-year-long conflict.
“Over the past 75 years, time has healed wounds, both physical and emotional, and time has taken many of our World War Two veterans, but it will never take away our eternal gratitude for their service and sacrifices which defended the freedoms we enjoy today,” Mr McCormack said.
Mr McCormack presented medallions to Wagga Wagga veterans 94-year-old Mr Monro Preuss, 94- year-old Mrs Edna Thompson, 94-year-old Mr Norman Jeffs and 96-year-old Mr Bert Adams DFC, at the Wagga Wagga RSL Club. He was accompanied by the president of the Wagga Wagga RSL Sub- Branch, Mr David Gardiner.
Mr Preuss served as a wireless mechanic with the Royal Australian Air Force’s No 200 Liberator Special Duties Flight at Leyburn in Queensland and then at RAAF Base Rathmines in NSW, working on Catalina Flying Boats. The 200 Liberator Special Duties Flight supported Z Force’s secret operations in the Pacific.
Mrs Thompson signed up with the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force as a 19-year-old.
Mr Jeffs was a soldier with the 9th Division and served in New Guinea.
Mr Adams served as a Lancaster bomber navigator with the RAAF’s No 467 Squadron, flying out of Waddington in England, before serving as an instructor for navigators sent to the Pacific Theatre. Mr Adams flew 29 missions over Europe.
“Saturday, 15 August, is a milestone anniversary of Victory in the Pacific and the end of the World War Two which claimed the lives of more than 39,000 Australians,” Mr McCormack said.
“On that day in 1945 news of war’s end sparked dancing in the streets of our towns and in Wagga Wagga a massive crowd estimated at 10,000 people – nearly two-thirds of the population – gathered in the Victory Memorial Gardens to join in celebrations which included a fly over of Spitfires and Beaufighters, band music, flags, marching, cheering and plenty of victory speeches.”
Mr McCormack said some one million Australians served in the war overseas and on the home front and, sadly, only 12,000 veterans were still with us today.
“I say it often and I say it again now to Mr Preuss and Mr Adams and to all our other ex-servicemen and women no matter what conflict or peace-time operation they served in: ‘Thank you for your service, thank you for your sacrifices’.”
Mr McCormack urged all living Riverina and Central West WWII veterans, or their families on their behalf, to apply for a medallion and certificate online at www.dva.au/medallion
For those without internet access they can telephone 1800 838 372.
Mr McCormack is also encouraging Australians to learn more about the stories of WWII veterans.
“Access to Second World War service records and historical information has never been easier and now is the perfect time to capture the stories of the one million people who served and ensure they live on,” Mr McCormack said.
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) has brought together all of its nominal roles, including the WWII nominal roll, into one website to make it easier to search and find information on Australians who served in the war. The National Archives of Australia is also working to digitalise all of its WWII service records and the Australian War Memorial also has a wide range of useful information.
“The DVA’s ANZAC portal also has a range of historical educational resources free for download, showcasing the war from an Australian point of view,” Mr McCormack said.
For more information visit the DVA, National Archives of Australia and Australian War Memorial websites. Visit www.anzacportal.dva.gov.au/vp75 to learn more about WWII and to access the educational resources.
Mr McCormack is also encouraging Riverina and Central West residents to find a photograph of a relative or someone they admire from WWII and post a photo of themselves or family holding up that image, with some information about them, using the hashtag #OneInAMillion
Fast facts
• Australia had a population of around seven million in 1939, and over the course of the Second World War around one million Australians would serve in defence of our nation – at home and overseas.
• Australians fought against Germany, Italy and Vichy France in Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa, as well as against Japan in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
• Australia’s efforts at places such as Tobruk, El Alamein, Malaya, Singapore, the Coral Sea, Kokoda, Milne Bay, Borneo and in the skies over Europe have become iconic parts of our wartime history.
• Some 39,000 Australians lost their lives during the war, many more were wounded.
• More than 30,000 Australian service men and women, along with some civilians, were taken prisoner or were interned in the Second World War.
• While most of those who became prisoners of the Germans ultimately returned home, more than one-third of prisoners of the Japanese died in captivity.
• The war also changed Australian society, particularly the role of women.
• Nurses went overseas with the Australian Imperial Force in 1940 and many more followed in subsequent years.
• At home, the Women's Land Army was established to encourage women to work on farms. Women in urban areas took up employment in industries, such as munitions production, and in other occupations previously denied to them.