By Xavier Smerdon
WYNDHAM remembered those that gave the ultimate sacrifice as returned service men and women marched along Watton St on Sunday.
President of the Werribee RSL sub-branch, Daryl Ryan, said Anzac Day was a time for the public to thank the soldiers that gave their lives for our freedom.
“It gives us time to reflect,” Mr Ryan said.
“We reflect on those that we know that lost their lives and we reflect on those that are still fighting overseas.”
Every year the Werribee RSL marches a week before Anzac Day so that its members can attend services in the city on the actual day.
Mr Ryan, a veteran of the Vietnam War, still remembered how he and his fellow soldiers were treated when they returned to Australia.
“That was harder than actually serving,” he said.
“You weren’t allowed to wear your uniform down the street, but everyone had short backs and sides, so they could still tell who the soldiers were.”
Mr Ryan said he was called a “child killer” and spat on when people discovered he was a soldier.
Luckily, he was welcomed into the Werribee RSL with open arms.
“I was very fortunate that the Werribee sub-branch was one of the few that openly accepted Vietnam veterans back then,” he said.
Mr Ryan, who has been a member of the RSL since the ’70s, said being a member was all about supporting each other.
“It’s about comradeship,” he said.
“And also about looking after the older veterans, the World War II veterans.
“Whatever we went through, they had it a lot harder.”
