Gift Of Gratitude To Bring The Drama Of Battle To Life

Sydney Morning Herald

Tuesday April 11, 2006

Elicia Murray

TOO young for the Korean War and too old to be conscripted to fight in Vietnam, the businessman Dick Smith says he won the lottery of life.

To recognise the sacrifice made by Australians who served in Vietnam, Mr Smith and his wife, Pip, will today announce a $1 million donation to the Australian War Memorial.

The donation will be used to create a dramatisation of a 1967 Iroquois helicopter mission at the memorial in Canberra, evoking the drama of a "hot insertion", where Australians were dropped into battle in Vietnam.

Mr Smith said he was embarrassed at the length of time it had taken for the public to recognise the contribution of Australians who fought in Vietnam.

"I look at Vietnam veterans in the same way that I look at the Anzacs who landed in Gallipoli. I don't see any difference," he said yesterday.

The entrepreneur likened the situation in Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s to the current conflict in Iraq, saying both government decisions to send troops were motivated by good intentions.

"There's a certain amount of political correctness to think that it was a mistake to be in Vietnam, but I don't agree with that and I don't agree that it's a mistake to be in Iraq. We are trying to do the right thing."

Mr Smith said it was not widely known that his father had failed in an attempt to start a business after suffering a nervous breakdown when he returned from fighting in Bougainville. Likewise, the millionaire philanthropist had friends who were traumatised when they returned home from Vietnam.

"They would never have been able to start a business and they were doing their duty."

Mr Smith is to present a cheque for $1 million at the opening today of the CEW Bean Building, named after the former Herald journalist who was Australia's first official war correspondent.

Welcoming the donation, the president of the ACT Vietnam Veterans Association, Pete Ryan, said: "The memorial has some unique and significant relics currently in storage, including the Iroquois, and many Vietnam veterans are already planning visits to see the display when it opens in late 2007."

© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald

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