Ceremony commemorating the recovery of 20 sets of remains of 7th NVA Division soldiers – Battle of Balmoral May 1968.
Battle of Balmoral May 1968 – 7th NVA Division Remains-Recovery: Friday 26 April 2024.
The Australian Ambassador to Vietnam – Andrew Goledzinowski, the Defence Attache – Group Captain Michael Jensen, the Assistant Defence Attache – Lieutenant Commander David Ngothanh, and the Administrative Assistant WO2 Duncan Reid attended the remains-recovery ceremonies in Chòi Dúng hamlet of Bình Dương Province on Friday 26 April 2024. 3RAR Vietnam veteran (Coral and Balmoral) John Bryant – wearing light grey pants and white shirt with tie, and Luke Johnston (son of a 3RAR veteran and a Vietnam resident – seen offering incense) also participated in the ceremonies.
Regards, Ernie Chamberlain
The Martin B-57 Canberra, a twin-engine tactical bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, served for thirty years with the U.S. Air Force. But NASA still flies three B-57s, meaning the bomber, first flown in 1953, has been in service of some kind for over seventy years.
CLICK LINK to read the article…
The Martin B-57 Canberra Bomber Is Still Flying After 70 Years | The National Interest
Hi Ray (FRONTLINE), I’m sure that you have had a busy ANZAC Day. See below an “update” on the recovery of NVA remains from the Battle of Balmoral (May 1968):
Ceremony for the Recovery of Vietnamese Remains – Battle of Balmoral, May 1968.
Tomorrow – 26 April 2024, a Vietnamese ceremony (ie: lễ truy điệu ) will be held in Bình Dưỡng Province (forty kilometres north-east of Hồ Chí Minh City) to commemorate the recovery of the remains of NVA soldiers who fell in the Battle of Balmoral (ie Battle of Đồng Tràm). Australian Embassy officials – including the Australian Defence Attache (Hà Nội) Group Captain Michael Jensen, will attend the ceremony. Australian 3 RAR Vietnam Veteran 77 year-old John Bryant has assisted in the recovery of the remains – for background, including photographs, see: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-25/vietnam-war-veteran-returns-to-help-uncover-mass-graves/103766062 – including photographs of veteran John Bryant, recovery activities, and recovered NVA artefacts (see photograph inserted below).
Regards, Ernie Chamberlain
The One Percenters. Your perspective on this piece may change based on your actual age……
99% of people born between 1930 and 1946 (GLOBALLY) are now deceased…
If you were born in this time span, your ages range between 77 and 93 years old (a 16-year-age span) and you are one of the rare surviving one-percenters.
You are the smallest group of children born since the early 1900s.
You are the last generation, climbing out of the depression, who can remember the winds of war and the impact of a world at war that rattled the structure of our daily lives for years.
You are the last to remember ration books for everything from tea to sugar to shoes. You saved tin foil and poured fried meat fat into cans.
You can remember milk being delivered to your house early in the morning and placed in the “milk box” at the front door. Discipline was enforced by parents and teachers.
You are the last generation who spent childhood without television and instead, you “imagined” what you heard on the radio. With no TV, you spent your childhood “playing outside”. There was no city playground for kids. The lack of television in your early years meant that you had little real understanding of what the world was like. We got “black-and-white” TV in the late 50s that had 3 stations and no remote.
Telephones (if you had one) were one to a house and hung on the wall in the kitchen (who cares about privacy). Computers were called calculators; they were hand-cranked. Typewriters were driven by pounding fingers, throwing the carriage, and changing the ribbon. INTERNET and GOOGLE were words that did not exist.
Newspapers and magazines were written for adults and your dad would give you the comic pages after he read the news. The news was broadcast on your radio in the evening. The radio network gradually expanded from 3 stations to thousands.
New highways would bring jobs and mobility. Most highways were 2 lanes and there were no Motorways. You went downtown to shop. You walked to school.
Your parents were suddenly free from the confines of the depression and the war, and they threw themselves into working hard to make a living for their families.
You weren’t neglected, but you weren’t today’s all-consuming family focus. They were glad you played by yourselves. They were busy discovering the postwar world. You entered a world of overflowing plenty and opportunity; a world where you were welcomed, enjoyed yourselves. You felt secure in your future, although the depression and poverty were deeply remembered.
Polio was still a crippler. Everyone knew someone who had it.
You are the last generation to experience an interlude when there were no threats to our country. World War 2 was over and the cold war, terrorism, global warming, and perpetual economic insecurity had yet to haunt life. Only your generation can remember a time after WW2 when our world was secure and full of bright promise and plenty. You grew up at the best possible time, a time when the world was getting better.
More than 99% of you are retired now, and you should feel privileged to have “lived in the best of times!” If you have already reached the age of 77-years-old, you have outlived 99% of all the other people on this planet. You are a 1% ‘er!
The geopolitical situation in the world is rapidly heating up. The conflict in Syria is still raging, it exploded almost in the very center of Europe when a full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine began, then erupted in Gaza between Palestinians and Israelis, the Houthis are mercilessly shelling merchant ships in the Red Sea, blocking the Suez Canal, China is carnivorous towards Taiwan. In such a situation, you need to be armed to the teeth. In such a situation, every piece of weaponry matters. The United States has begun a major modernization of the A-10 Thunderbolt attack aircraft.
Tomorrow is April 25th, Australians and New Zealanders unite to honour a pivotal chapter in our shared history – ANZAC Day.
This day carries immense significance, reminding us of the valour and dedication of those who served in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I, as well as those who followed in the service of the nation.
On this day, we pause to reflect on past sacrifices, to pay homage to the courageous individuals who defended our freedom, and to reaffirm our commitment to supporting those who follow in their footsteps.
The ANZAC spirit has become ingrained in the Australian ethos, representing unwavering support in times of adversity and a solemn vow to never abandon a comrade.
Through tough times, we’re reminded of the enduring power of mateship … a force that fosters unity and resilience, shaping our nation’s character.
As we gather to commemorate ANZAC Day this year, let’s honour the courage and sacrifice of those who served, and uphold the legacy they’ve bestowed upon us.
I share your thoughts of remembrance tomorrow and every day.
Ray
LEST WE FORGET
In this video, we delve into the surprising trend of EV owners shifting gears back to internal combustion engines. We explore the 7 startling reasons why this is happening. From reliability issues to charging challenges, we cover it all.