Ouyen veteran comes home from Vietnam

OUYEN-born Corporal Francis (Frank) John Smith enlisted in the army in 1958 after growing up in the Mallee, where he got into typical Mallee boy mischief with his siblings.

He loved the army and had only been serving in the Vietnam War for three months when he made the ultimate sacrifice.

Cpl Smith was 25 when he died of a gunshot wound from a sniper at Ben Cat, Bien Hoa in Vietnam.

He was buried at the Terendak Military Cemetery in Malaysia, alongside 20 other Vietnam veterans who were repatriated to Australia yesterday.

For Cpl Smith’s family, the return of his body to Ouyen next Thursday, where it will be laid to finally rest, will come with mixed feelings.

Swan Hill and District Vietnam Veterans Association president Harold Heslop will travel with other members of the veterans sub branch to support the family and attend the graveside ceremony in Ouyen. 

“It’s really important to our sub-branch, it means our mate is coming home, he’s not in a foreign country anymore,” Mr Heslop said.

Mr Heslop spent 12 months in Vietnam as part of the 6th Battalion and was deployed between 1966-67.

He said there were 100 Vietnam veterans in the region. There are also two currently serving members in Afghanistan.

For the 33 Australians who died and were not repatriated, their return means a lot to their mates who did make it home.

“We have some members who were friends with Frank,” Mr Heslop said.

“We were lucky, we came home.

“This bloke made the ultimate sacrifice and deserves all the respect we can give him.”

For more on this story pick up a copy of Friday’s Guardian (June 3, 2016).