Highlands Vietnam veteran Ray McCann on National Servicemen's Day

Guest speaker Ray McCann was an instructor at the School of Military Engineering in the 1960s. He then became a troop commander in Vietnam.

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"Today we honour the memory of the 212 National Servicemen who died on active service," Mr McCann said.

"We remember the 1300 who were wounded; especially those who still suffer today. We remember those who have since died from war-related causes."

The annual service is held in memory of 287,000 young men conscripted in national service schemes in 1951 and 1972.

"These men bolstered Australia's defence capability and reinforced Australia's national identity and resilience," Mr McCann said.

"I joined the Army in 1964 in order to escape my first job as a shire council cadet engineer. I don't recall anyone in the Army recruiting office alerting me to the small print."

According to Mr McCann, Australia has a long tradition of using volunteer forces for overseas war service.

He said the casualty rate during World War I was so high the Government was twice forced to call for conscription via referenda.

"Both were defeated," Mr McCann said.

He said forces could only be used for home defence; despite popular support for various compulsory military training schemes between 1911 and 1960.

"The definition of 'home defence' was broadened during WWII to include the South West Pacific Area," Mr McCann said.

"This led to militia forces being used in Papua and New Guinea."

By the 1950s national service was compulsory.

Mr McCann said 227,000 18-year-olds were called up for six months of full-time training; followed by five years in the reserve forces.

"Historically, the Australian military forces could not be sent overseas to fight," Mr McCann said.

"However, a radical departure took place in 1964 when Prime Minister Menzies introduced legislation which, for the first time, obliged conscripts and regulars to serve overseas."

Mr McCann said the legislation was introduced with "secrecy and haste" the day before the first infantry battalion to serve in Vietnam was announced.

He said national service from 1965 to 1972 was a selective scheme based on a birthday ballot of 20-year-olds.

"Some 64,000 were called up to give two years full-time service; and 18,000 went to Vietnam," Mr McCann said.

He said the end result was 45,000 conscripts who did not go to Vietnam had their lives "upended".

"They became collateral damage of a system that denied them repatriation benefits," Mr McCann said.

This led to the formation of the National Servicemen's Association as an entity separate to the Vietnam Veterans Association.

"It needs to be recognised that military service is inherently dangerous even in peacetime," Mr McCann said.

"Witness 26 Army engineers killed in a grenade accident at Kapooka in 1945; 82 sailors killed in a sea collision off Jervis Bay in 1964; 18 special forces soldiers killed in a blackhawk crash near Townsville in 1996.

"But the biggest killer is suicide with 1600 certified deaths during the period 1997 to 2020 in younger veterans," he said.

Mr McCann served with many "nashos" [national servicemen] from the second-scheme in 1972.

"In my experience, they accepted their lot with good grace and were excellent and loyal soldiers," he said.

"Many were keen to go to Borneo, Malaya and Vietnam and more volunteered than were needed. Conscripts with professional or trade backgrounds brought expertise and skills not readily available in regular military service."

At that time, Mr McCann was a junior officer.

He said fellow officers had survived a "tough and often brutal" training regime at the Officer Cadet Training Unit in Scheyville.

"Wastage rates during training were 50 per cent," he said.

"Many served with distinction in Vietnam as platoon commanders and some went on to achieve high office in their civilian careers including a governor general, politicians, bishops, and businessmen."

In 1972 Prime Minister Gough Whitman put an end to national service.

"And as they say in the classics; the rest is history," Mr McCann said.

National Servicemen's Day is officially held on February 14; the date on which the last national servicemen completed their service obligations.

At this year's commemorative service, Mr McCann warned those gathered of history repeating itself.

"The world is becoming a more dangerous place; evidenced by events in Eastern Europe and the South China Sea," he said.

"How will your 20-year-old son or daughter react if they get an official letter telling them to report to Victoria Barracks in Paddington and to not bring any personal items, just a change of clothes?

"It happened to these men here today. It can happen again," he said.

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