Awardee reflection - Ashley Edwards

I never imagined that showing an interest in family history could turn into me being able to take an unforgettable trip and making lifelong friendships. I am so very grateful for the opportunity that was given to me. Words cannot describe the emotions thoughts and memories that come flooding back to me at the mention of Vietnam.

The tour has increased my gratefulness immensely. Seeing the people being grateful despite having very little has made me realise how blessed I am to live in Australia with loving family, good housing, safety, good public facilities, clean streets and clean water, to name a few. I have grown in my appreciation of not only those who fought in Vietnam, but those who fought for our country’s freedom in the other world wars. My freedom today in 2025 is largely due to their sacrifice and words cannot express how grateful I am for this fact. The tour not only allowed me to grow in my understanding of what our Anzacs went through, but to actually see and feel the environment in which they fought. You can’t really get that from reading a book or watching a movie about the Vietnam War. I felt very humbled to be given the opportunity to experience these places firsthand because even though I come from a small town in country South Australia, I was able to be a part of something that people in country areas don’t usually get to be a part of. I felt like I was a type of ambassador for students from country schools, and I hope that other students from my school will realize that living in rural and remote areas doesn’t limit our potential to achieve great and rewarding things.

I learnt a lot about our Anzacs in Vietnam. Firstly, they made a huge sacrifice by going to Vietnam to fight because the war wasn’t Australia’s war, it was a civil war between North and South Vietnam. The defeat of communism in the Asian region was important to America and Australia, but ultimately it wasn’t our fight. Secondly, I learnt that the battle at Long Tan was an extremely gruelling battle for the Australians, who were largely unsupported and very outnumbered by their enemy. They showed immense courage in the face of danger and the iconic attribute of the Anzac determination shone through prominently in this battle. Thirdly, I learnt a lot about other Anzacs who fought over there through our group reading out the Anzac they researched. The stories of these Anzacs came alive for me because we were literally seeing the places where they fought, the ground they stood on and we walked where they walked in their tour of duty.     

The Vietnamese people were very kind, friendly and hospitable. They seemed to be very grateful for all that they had and generally appeared to be happy despite their living conditions (especially in country towns which had poor housing.)  They also seemed to take very good care of each other which we saw particularly at the orphanage. The traffic was crazy, and the city areas were extremely busy with markets, motorbikes, people and sellers constantly vying for tourists’ attention in attempts to sell their products. On the whole, the people seemed to be more caring and not snobbish like we can be in Australia.   

My perspective has changed considerably from the start to the end of the tour in that I had a bit of an understanding of the Vietnam War before the trip but now I feel I have a much deeper understanding of the war and the country it was fought in. I learnt a lot about the many facets of war, especially the resources, planning, strategies and troop numbers required to be able to fight a ferocious enemy. The weather, living conditions and terrain the Australian troops had to live and fight in astounded me. I had no comprehension of how hard it would have been to live and fight in those conditions, before I went. My admiration for the Anzacs has grown immeasurably because I have now seen and touched some of the places they fought in, and this will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Our group displayed the Anzac Spirit in a number of ways, especially when we went into the Cu Chi Tunnels. Some people were quite scared in the tunnels but with encouragement, comradeship and kindness we helped each other to overcome the fear and make it through to the end of the tunnel. We also worked together to navigate our way through the tunnels, and this team work I believe, is very representative of the Anzac Spirit. When we were sick, we also displayed the Anzac Spirit by encouraging each other, seeing to each other’s needs, and generally trying to boost the morale of the group to “soldier on” despite the difficulties.

Coming home I watched the movie Danger Close which is about the Battle at Long Tan. This was very confronting. At the end of the film they showed the memorial for the soldiers at Long Tan. The cross reminded me of the service that Dennis conducted for us. The emotions came rolling back as I sat in the lounge room and my mind was miles away, back at Long Tan where we walked among the rubber trees. It made me realise that even though I am home, the impact from this trip will forever be with me.