Awardee reflection - Liam Young

The Premier’s ANZAC Spirit School Prize is something that I did not expect to ever experience in my life. The fact that shedding light on a South Australian soldier through writing an essay about them could lead to me spending two weeks in Vietnam still blows my mind. I have been trying to find the right words to describe my time in Vietnam, but the simplicity of it is that there are not enough words to truly encapsulate my experience. The people I met, the relationships I formed, the experiences I had and the memories I created during the two weeks in Vietnam are ones that I will hold dear to me forever. Whilst it is impossible to put it into words that does the trip the justice it deserves, I hope this reflection can offer a glimpse into the life-changing time I had in Vietnam.

The first and most confronting thing I noticed when I landed in Vietnam was the chaos. There is a constant wave of people, motorbikes, cars, and other vehicles surging around every corner of Ho Chi Minh City, yet somehow, no one seems to be injured – although crossing the road is not for the faint hearted. After a while, you get used to the chaos, yet the peace offered to us from Vung Tau was a blissful break from busyness of Ho Chi Minh.

Despite the overwhelming abundance of them, the Vietnamese are some of the nicest people you will meet. Everywhere we went, we were treated with the utmost respect and courtesy with all those who we interacted with, and it is my hope that they felt we reflected these values back to them. Our tour guide, Martin, was the complete embodiment of the Vietnamese people. He demonstrated extreme pride for his country and seemed to have an endless amount of knowledge which he was always willing to share with us. Whenever we had a question, he was always able to answer it. Whenever we had a problem, he always found a way to solve it, such as taking us to get money from ATMs, telling us what was in the food we were eating, or going to get us medicine when we were feeling under the weather. Martin was one of the nicest people I have ever met, and I feel so lucky to have gotten to share a couple of weeks of my life with such a special person.

Another special person who shared the trip with us was Dennis. The two services he held, one at Long Tan and the other on ANZAC Day in Ha Long Bay, were touching moments filled with emotion and remembrance. The insights that Dennis offered, not only during these services but throughout our trip, allowed me to better appreciate and connect with our ANZACs, as well as to gain a stronger understanding of the Vietnam War as a whole. The wisdom and stories that Dennis had to share were incredibly interesting, and I could honestly listen to him for hours on end.

One of the key things that stuck with me throughout the tour was the significance of it regarding the Anzacs. Throughout my life I’ve absorbed an abundance of information regarding the ANZACs, as well as other soldiers, through school, books, movies, and a variety of other forms of media. All of this was completely put aside, incomparable to what I was able to experience during my time in Vietnam. Being able to follow the footsteps of our ANZACs and actually standing in the very same spot which they would have been at various times during the war was an unreal experience; one which I am sure will stick with me for the rest of my life.

A significant theme of our trip was of course the ANZAC spirit. I felt our group displayed this throughout the trip, constantly exemplifying qualities of mateship and resilience. Whether it was having a laugh with your mates, to checking up on one another when we were struggling, or even persisting with the food when feeling ill, every member of our group embodied the ANZAC spirit in some way.

Another prevalent theme explored throughout our two weeks was gratitude. Whilst we had undoubtedly been grateful for the entirety of the trip, this theme was first highlighted by Adam during the early days of the trip while in Ho Chi Minh. From visiting the orphanage and memorial sites for soldiers, to walking the streets and seeing how the people of Vietnam lived, it was a truly eye-opening experience and made me feel unbelievably privileged for the life I was able to live.

Thank you to all the adults and the students who made this trip what it was, my experience would not have been the same without you. I am so grateful for the connections I was able to make with all of you. This was a once in a lifetime experience, and one that I will be thankful of for my entire life.