BOB Menzies ran his finger down a list of 43 Australian soldiers still missing in action more than six decades after the Korean War ceasefire and stopped at the name of Reginald Donald Rootes.
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“I trained him as a recruit, he was a good Digger,” Mr Menzies said, still making sure after all these years that his mate’s sacrifice is not forgotten.
Mr Menzies – who described himself as a “rising 87-year-old” – was one of three Wagga Korean War veterans who attended a chilly commemorative service in Wagga’s Victory Memorial Gardens on Wednesday to mark the 63rd anniversary of the ceasefire.
The other two were Alan Evans and Harry Edmonds.
Former federal parliamentarian John Sullivan was the fourth Korean veteran at the service, driving over from Narrandera.
More than 50 people attended the service, including Mater Dei Primary School pupils Julien Learmont and Ella Small, who together delivered the keynote address.
Although 17,000 Australian defence personnel served in Korea between 1950 and 1953, Julien said the Korean War was known as the forgotten war.
“It’s very hard to imagine the horrible experiences and dreadful conditions that these people went through in Korea, but I think for what the soldiers went through they deserve to be remembered,” Julien said.
Ella said the Korean War had an influence on Australia, but no one thinks about it in depth.
“To have the honourable opportunity to talk to you today I had the chance to do a lot of research on the forgotten, Cold, Korean War and I am truly shocked that no one really thinks about a war like this, a war that hasn’t been officially ended,” Ella said.
“It is very disappointing that more people don’t know about this event.”
The students each gave an extensive rundown of Australia’s involvement in the three-year conflict that cost 340 Australian lives.
After the speeches, Mr Edmonds thanked the school pupils for their contribution to the service.
“The research you put into this must have taken hours,” Mr Edmonds said to them.
Then he turned to the crowd which endured cold and wet conditions to attend the service.
“Thank you for coming out today; without you we would not have a service,” he said.
Member for Riverina Michael McCormack, Wagga mayor Rod Kendall, RSL sub-branch president Kevin Kerr, senior officers at RAAF Base Wagga and the Army Recruit Training Centre and representatives of ex-service organisations were among those who attended the service.