ID :
174887
Tue, 04/12/2011 - 13:46
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/174887
The shortlink copeid
Injured veterans to march on Anzac Day
SYDNEY (AAP) - 14.04.2011 - Veterans injured when a vintage truck hit them in last year's Anzac Day parade in Melbourne will march again, but trucks will be banned from the event.
The World War II truck lurched forward into eight veterans from the Ceylon Ex-Servicemen's Association, injuring two critically.
All the veterans survived but some are still recovering from the effects of their injuries, which ranged from broken bones to internal injuries.
Reg Oorloof, 72, suffered five broken ribs and required a skin graft for a wound on his thigh but he said he felt obliged to march again.
"We have to go on with this, we don't give up easily," Mr Oorloof said on Tuesday.
"We need to continue the tradition."
After the crash, 80-year-old Maurice Gibson spent a month in hospital with stomach, back and foot injuries.
Mr Gibson says marching in the parade will help him move on from the trauma of last year's accident.
"We shouldn't dwell on the past, we need to move forward," he said.
"I'm also marching for my uncle who was killed in the First World War, so it's important that I'm there. I'd like to show the Anzac spirit."
Troops from Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) fought in both WWI and WWII and were stationed alongside Australians at Anzac Cove in 1915.
Ceylon Ex-Servicemen's Association vice-president Arden Perkins said the 250 troops in WWI suffered a horrific 80 per cent casualty rate.
Mr Perkins said the surviving veterans felt obliged to honour that sacrifice.
"Ceylon was under British rule at that stage and a lot of people gave their lives," he said.
"We will do whatever we can to support Anzac Day. All of those who can march will march.
"We have no reservations - the accident was just one of those unfortunate things."
Police expect to conclude their investigation into the collision within the next week.
A photo which shows the driver taking photos through the windscreen of the truck, which was travelling at walking pace behind the group along St Kilda Road, forms part of that investigation.
Police say the driver, Russell Hughes, 64, had driven the truck in 11 Anzac Day parades and was deeply traumatised by the accident.
The RSL has banned trucks similar to the one which hit the veterans from this year's parade.
But the RSL's Victorian president David McLachlan said the parade would still feature a few historical military cars.
"There will be none of the high military vehicles - for example, the blitz wagons and the big trucks that they used last year," Mr McLachlan said.
"The police have also made a comment that there's got to be a distance between the vehicles and the people. They can't come right up to the marching people as they did before."
The World War II truck lurched forward into eight veterans from the Ceylon Ex-Servicemen's Association, injuring two critically.
All the veterans survived but some are still recovering from the effects of their injuries, which ranged from broken bones to internal injuries.
Reg Oorloof, 72, suffered five broken ribs and required a skin graft for a wound on his thigh but he said he felt obliged to march again.
"We have to go on with this, we don't give up easily," Mr Oorloof said on Tuesday.
"We need to continue the tradition."
After the crash, 80-year-old Maurice Gibson spent a month in hospital with stomach, back and foot injuries.
Mr Gibson says marching in the parade will help him move on from the trauma of last year's accident.
"We shouldn't dwell on the past, we need to move forward," he said.
"I'm also marching for my uncle who was killed in the First World War, so it's important that I'm there. I'd like to show the Anzac spirit."
Troops from Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) fought in both WWI and WWII and were stationed alongside Australians at Anzac Cove in 1915.
Ceylon Ex-Servicemen's Association vice-president Arden Perkins said the 250 troops in WWI suffered a horrific 80 per cent casualty rate.
Mr Perkins said the surviving veterans felt obliged to honour that sacrifice.
"Ceylon was under British rule at that stage and a lot of people gave their lives," he said.
"We will do whatever we can to support Anzac Day. All of those who can march will march.
"We have no reservations - the accident was just one of those unfortunate things."
Police expect to conclude their investigation into the collision within the next week.
A photo which shows the driver taking photos through the windscreen of the truck, which was travelling at walking pace behind the group along St Kilda Road, forms part of that investigation.
Police say the driver, Russell Hughes, 64, had driven the truck in 11 Anzac Day parades and was deeply traumatised by the accident.
The RSL has banned trucks similar to the one which hit the veterans from this year's parade.
But the RSL's Victorian president David McLachlan said the parade would still feature a few historical military cars.
"There will be none of the high military vehicles - for example, the blitz wagons and the big trucks that they used last year," Mr McLachlan said.
"The police have also made a comment that there's got to be a distance between the vehicles and the people. They can't come right up to the marching people as they did before."
