Kalamunda RSL

Another reminder the dangers exist in Training
Rest easy Digger
We will remember them

Thank you to all that provided wreaths for the ANZAC Dawn service. Also to the schools like Wattle Grove Primary School who have placed wreaths from their school services at the memorial.

We will remember them.

Jam night at the Kala RSL

Today marks the 51st anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War (30 April 1975), when North Vietnamese forces took control of the Presidential Palace in Saigon.

The war started in 1955. Australia joined with the US and other allies in 1962, remaining in country until 1973.

During this period, nearly 60,000 Australians from all three services served in Vietnam.

523 personnel died as a result of the war, and around 3,000 were wounded.

Many of those who returned suffered both physical and mental health issues, which still impact them today.

Their service and sacrifice will not be forgotten.

Lest we forget.

📷 Australian War Memorial EKN/67/0130/VN

Second Lieutenant John O’Halloran is – put simply – a real-life war hero.

He was just 21 years-old when he guided 6 RAR's B Company 5 Platoon through some of the biggest conflicts of the Vietnam war, including Operation Hobart and the Battle of Long Tan.

But he faced his hardest military challenge at Operation Bribie, leading a fixed bayonet charge against a deadly Viet Cong jungle stronghold. For that action he initially received a ‘mention in dispatches’ in 1967.

In 2025, more than five decades on, he was awarded the Medal for Gallantry for acts of courage. He will receive that honour at an Investiture ceremony at Government House in Perth next week.

A true hero, finally honoured.

Australian Honours and Awards

Kalamunda Primary School service
Kerry, Maurice and Rod