Presented to Waverley R. S. L. sub branch by South African Military Veterans Organisation of Australia http://www.samvoa.org/abouthistory.htmlhttp://www.samvoa.org/abouthistory.html The founder of SAMVOA, Veteran Tony Macquet MMM, documents the early history of the organisation: Two statements characterise the formation of the South African Military Veterans Organisation of Australasia that has taken on the acronym SAMVOA: SAMVOA was long in the making, yet I am reminded of what Garth Pienaar once said, "If you had not started it, I would have". And no doubt he or someone else would have because it needed "starting" and it just did not seem right that almost every other nation was represented on ANZAC Day and there were no South Africans marching, particularly when South Africans fought alongside Australians in two World Wars and in Korea. It is important to note that SAMVOA has had predecessors who were South Africans who had marched in Melbourne and probably elsewhere prior to 1996, but they were an older group of WW1 and WW2 veterans who by 1996 were too old to even travel by vehicle and they had fallen away. Around 1998, I contacted and spoke to their leader Major (retd.) Norval who confirmed that their group had become too old to march and he was delighted that a younger group was interested, although at that stage it was only me. http://www.samvoa.org/membership.html SAMVOA Membership This Veteran Organisation dedicates itself, in grateful recognition and memory of our countrymen, the Immortal Dead of South Africa, who, at the call of Duty, made the great Sacrifice on the battlefields of Africa, Asia and Europe and on the Sea. Their ideal is our legacy, Their sacrifice our inspiration. Metal Plaque mounted on wooden shield shaped backing plateSouth African Military Veterans Organisation of Australia Pro Patriasamvoa, south africa, military veterans organization australia, pro patria,

Framed photo collage of Australian involvement in Vietnam.In the centre of the collage there is a bronze plaque wich reads: VIETNAM The Vietnam War was a military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975. The was was fought between the communist North vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the united States and other member nations of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) The United States entered the war to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam as part of their wider strategy of containment. Military advisors arrived beginning n 1950. U.S. involvemeny escalated in the early 1960s and combat units were deployed beginning in 1965. Invollvement peaked in 1968 at the time of the Tet Offensive. Despite a peace treaty signed by all parties in january 1973, fighting continued. In response to the anti-war movement, the U.S. Congress passed the Case-Church Amendment in June 1973 prohibiting furtherdirect U.S. military intervention without Congressional authorization yet the U.S.was still heavily invested in the war until 1975, when North Vietnam captured Saigon. North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year. The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of facilities, including 3 to 4 million Vietnamese from both sides, 1.5 to 2 million Laotians and Cambodians, and 58,159 U.S. soldiers. AUSTRALIAN INVOLVEMENT: For a decade from 1962 to 1972, Australian forces were actively involved in the bitter war that tore Vietnam apart. they served with distinction, and in battles such as the decisive Battle of Long Tan they proved that they were more than a match for the Viet Cong.photo collage, australian involvement, southeast asia treaty organization (seato), tet offensive, u.s. congress, battle of long tan, saigon