Aussie's last war missing back
HANOI - VETERANS and relatives of Australia's last two servicemen listed as missing in action in the Vietnam War gathered Sunday to send their remains home, 39 years after their plane crashed in remote jungle.
'This ceremony marks the end of an era,' Mike Kelly, Australia's minister for defence support, said to about 100 guests gathered on the tarmac of Hanoi's Noi Bai airport for the emotional ceremony.
Flying Officer Michael Herbert and Pilot Officer Robert Carver, both 24, were the last Australian troops to be accounted for after being reported as missing in action during the war.
An Australian search team found Herbert's and Carver's remains in a jungle area of central Vietnam's Quang Nam province in July, after earlier locating wreckage of the plane.
Mr Herbert's younger brother Shane, and Mr Carver's sister-in-law Susanna Carver travelled from Australia for the ceremony where they sat before two shiny wooden coffins, each draped in an Australian flag with an airman's cap resting on top.
On a table nearby stood two black and white portraits of the men: Mr Herbert, in his flying suit, and the moustachioed Mr Carver with his helmet tucked under one arm.
Medals rested on a black pillow next to each photo.
Australian ambassador Allaster Cox said he was 'particularly pleased' that Vietnamese officials were also at the ceremony which he said 'will further advance the process of reconciliation.' Mr Kelly thanked Vietnam for its 'generosity and assistance' offered to the searchers.
Mr Herbert, the pilot, and Carver, his navigator, had completed a night mission on November 3, 1970 and were heading home when their aircraft, known as Magpie Nine One, inexplicably vanished, Kelly said. 'The mission was expected to be uneventful,' he said.
Veteran John Bird, 61, told AFP that he was supposed to fly on the same Canberra bomber as Mr Herbert and Mr Carver but at the last minute was told he was not needed. 'I said, 'I'll see you in the morning.' Of course, they never came back.'
Another veteran, Alan Curr, 60, told AFP that comrades of the missing pair never thought the airplane would be found. 'So to know that we are now taking Herbie and Bob back to Australia, it's very moving for us and I think it probably does provide a bit of closure", said Mr Curr, who described Mr Herbert as a 'great mate'. -- AFP
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