Image Gallery: December 2007
Lance Corporal John Gillespie returns home
19 December 2007
The remains of Lance Corporal John Gillespie, arrived home after a brief stopover in Darwin. Family, government representatives, veterans and current Defence Force members gathered at RAAF Base at Point Cook in Victoria where a ramp ceremony was held to officially welcome the soldier home, after nearly 40 years missing in action.
The remains of Lance Corporal (LCPL) John Gillespie, a medical assistant, formerly of 8th Field Ambulance, were repatriated from Hanoi to Australia today.
LCPL Gillespie was killed when No.9 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force IHUH (Huey) helicopter he was travelling in was shot down over South Vietnam on 17 April 1971. The helicopter was tasked to evacuate a wounded South Vietnamese soldier in the vicinity of the Long Hai hills near Vung Tau, South Vietnam.
On impact, the helicopter caught fire. LCPL Gillespie was trapped in the wreckage of the helicopter and could not be rescued because of the ferocity of the fire. Due to the intensity of the fighting, the remains of LCPL Gillespie could not be recovered.
In recent times, a group of former servicemen formed an organisation, Operations Aussies Home (OAH), dedicated to finding and repatriating the remains of the six Australian Servicemen left in South Vietnam after Australia withdrew from the country. So far, OAH, in conjunction with the Australian Army, has identified and repatriated three of the missing servicemen.
| 20071219adf8239682_034 Chaplain Ted Macmillan leads the bearer party for the remains of Lance Corporal John Gillespie who haves been returned to Australia after almost 40 years of missing in action. (Date taken: 19 December 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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| 20071219adf8239682_053 Soldiers from 1st Combat Service Support Battalion form the bearer party for the remains of Lance Corporal John Gillespie whose remains have been returned to Australia. (Date taken: 19 December 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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| 20071219adf8239682_061 Soldiers from 1st Combat Service Support Battalion form the bearer party for the remains of Lance Corporal John Gillespie. (Date taken: 19 December 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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| 20071219adf8239682_071 Chaplain Ted Macmillan leads the bearer party for the remains of Lance Corporal John Gillespie who has been returned to Australia after almost 40 years missing in action. (Date taken: 19 December 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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| 20071219adf8239682_115 Jim Bourke of Operation Aussies Home, at the ramp ceremony for Lance Corporal John Gillespie in Victoria. (Date taken: 19 December 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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| 20071219adf8239682_142 Corporal Tara Neilson plays the Last Post at the ramp ceremony for Lance Corporal John Gillespie whose remains have been returned to Australia after almost 40 years. (Date taken: 19 December 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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| 20071219adf8239682_158 Fellow Veterans at the ramp ceremony of Lance Corporal John Gillespie on his return to Australian soil. (Date taken: 19 December 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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| 20071219adf8239682_204 Peter Aylett of Operation Aussies Home, at the ramp ceremony for Lance Corporal John Gillespie on his return to Australian soil. (Date taken: 19 December 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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| 20071219adf8239682_229 Fellow Vietnam Vets prepare to carry the casket of Lance Corporal John Gillespie at the ramp ceremony on his return to Australian soil. (Date taken: 19 December 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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| 20071219adf8239682_270 Fellow Vietnam Veterans carry the casket of Lance Corporal John Gillespie at the ramp ceremony on his return to Australian soil. (Date taken: 19 December 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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| 20071219adf8239682_320 Widow of Lance Corporal John Gillespie, Carmel Hendrie and daughter Fiona Pike, at the ramp ceremony on his return to Australian soil. (Date taken: 19 December 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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| 20071219adf8239682_379 Ryan and Jordan Pike, John's grandchildren and their father Phil at Lance Corporal John Gillespie's ramp ceremony. (Date taken: 19 December 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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| 20071219adf8239682_462 Soldiers from 1st Combat Service Support Battalion form the bearer party for Lance Corporal John Gillespie, whose remains have been returned to Australia after almost 40 years missing in action. (Date taken: 19 December 2007) Low Res | High Res |
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