Victory in the Pacific Day
Top - Catafalque party
Left - Norm Lang, RSL Pipes and Drums
Right - President of the Townsville RSL, Bill Whitburn
Far right - Bugler SGT Ben Fixter 1RAR Band
A
SMALL, respectful crowd turned out
to witness the annual ceremony to mark the end
of WWII - Victory in the Pacific day.
President of the Townsville RSL Bill Whitburn, delivering
the address at the short ceremony, said victory in the Pacific
marked the end of the biggest ever threat to Australia.
He said the bombing of Darwin and the Sydney submarine
attack together with the fall of Singapore - previously
regarded as an impregnable fortress - made people
feel directly threatened by an external aggressor.
He said the war in the Pacific led to a decisive shift in
foreign relations towards a firm alliance with the USA.
He said although Australia was a small nation, it
played a significant role in the conflict.
Nearly 1,000,000 people - one-seventh of
Australia’s 1945 population - helped in the war
effort, with about 500,000 serving overseas.
There were 40,000 Australians killed, and
thousands more wounded and injured.
26 | SEPTEMBER 2016