Vets reunite at RAAF Tindal

Volume 48, No. 22, November 30, 2006

IN HONOUR: Gordon Dunn lays a wreath at a memorial plaque during a national reunion for 5ACS at RAAF Base Tindal. Photo by LAC Steve Duncan

By SGT Mark Eaton

MORE than 200 World War II veterans, family and friends came together at RAAF Base Tindal recently as part of a national reunion.

The veterans were part of the RAAF Airfield Construction Squadrons (ACS) who operated under adverse physical conditions to build airfields in support of vital aerial campaigns in the South-West Pacific during 1942 to 1974.

The ACS have a long association with the Northern Territory, being responsible for construction and maintenance of many airfields, including Tindal, Coomalie, Daly Waters, Livingstone, Strauss, Fenton, Hughes, Bathurst Island, Melville Island and Winnellie.

For the 5ACS members who were originally stationed at Tindal, it was a good opportunity to see how the base had developed and also attend a remembrance service in honour of those who fell during the war and for those who passed away since 1955.

The last of the squadrons were disbanded more than 25 years ago but their service, legacy and motto, ‘We Prepared the Way’, lives on in the form of lasting assets, including facilities and airfields, many of which are still important to the Air Force today.

.