Vietnam pilots to be laid to rest
The bodies of the last two Australian servicemen missing in action from the Vietnam war will finally return home 39 years later and be laid to rest with honour and dignity, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says.
Mr Rudd said Flying Officer Michael Herbert, 24, from Glenelg, South Australia, and navigator Pilot Officer Robert Carver, 24, from Toowoomba, Queensland, lost their lives when their Canberra bomber crashed in Vietnam on November 3, 1970.
He said the discovery of the wreckage and the recovery of their remains last month would end a long period of uncertainty for their family friends and loved ones.
"Thanks to the dedicated and selfless work of many Australians, their remains have now been recovered. Finally they will be coming home and laid to rest with honour and dignity," Mr Rudd said.
"Their sacrifice will not be forgotten."
No dates have yet been set for their return from Hanoi although it's expected to be around the end of the month.
Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull said the term "missing in action" never captured the decades of distress and agony of the families of those lost in war.
He said Sydney Carver had his son Robert's name placed on the Toowoomba war memorial, hoping that one day he would know his son's fate.
Joan Herbert, the mother of Michael Herbert, continued to dream that her son had survived, writing more than 600 letters to Vietnamese and other political leaders seeking to determine his fate.
"They could not rest until the truth was known. And finally the mystery and the torment is over," Mr Rudd said.
© AAP
© The Daily, Australia