October RSL Monthly Newsletter

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Angeles City Sub Branch Philippines www.rslangelescity.com ‘Lest We Forget’ President Vice Presidents Secretary Treasurer

James Curtis-Smith Rob Cairns Bob Barnes Dallas Drake Vivian Hart

Editor

Larry Smith

Email address’:

Clubhouse: Ponderosa Hotel president@rslangelescity.com

secretary@rslangelescity.com treasurer@rslangelescity.com

editor@rslangelescity.com

NEWSLETTER # 55 ** OCTOBER 2011 PRESIDENT’S REPORT October 2011 First an update on the increase of capitation fees from our Sub Branch to ACT Branch.

Two of our members attended the National Congress of the RSL a few weeks ago and made representations informally to the National President and Secretary and the ACT Branch President and received a favourable response to make submissions to postpone the fees grab until the implications of the Branch Executive decision can be fully explored. A letter was immediately forwarded but at the time of this report no response has been received. I will keep members advised.

The Children’s Medical Mission at Sta. Lucia Re-Settlement Area on the 1st October went extremely well and 1240 children were examined, prescribed and received free medicines from the Sub Branch. A wheelchair was donated to a young girl of 14 years of age permanently incapacitated with cerebral palsy, and nebulizers were donated to the two Barangays involved with the mission. Again thanks to all involved.

2 Our next mission is on November 5 at Marisol Subdivision and we again look forward to response of members (and the wives and girl-friends – the WAGS) to assist. Meet at 7.15am at Ponderosa or follow the map directions to appear on our website in the next few days. The mission runs from 8am to 12 noon.

This wheelchair makes life for this girl and her family so much better and brighter.

Jim presents one of the nebulizers donated on the medical mission day.

A highlight of the month was the visit by our WAGS to Showtime at ABS-CBN Channel 2. Your President was the only male and tour leader of a bus load of WAGS (40 of the lovely ladies) and a good time was had by all. The girls looked great all decked out in their RSL shirts and great exposure of the Sub Branch on national television.

Pres Jim and some of our WAG’s at Showtime in Manila

Host of Showtime, President Jim’s daughter Anne Curtis

3 A short report for the month, but a month as always filled with activity. Our Social Tuesdays are always well attended and are great networking for us expats who look, for example, for advice and reference to competent repair plumbers, electricians and the like. Great mateship and I encourage all to attend.

JAMES E. CURTIS-SMITH President

ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS As we always do, we welcome the following new members: Robert Jones (VIC) * Ben Morgan (QLD) * Life Subscribers * Graham Ross * Ken Duncan * James Curtis-Smith and Paul Baker.

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HERE IS AN UPDATED LIST OF OUR SUB BRANCH SUPPORTERS RSL SUPPORTING ESTABLISHMENTS (in no specific order) Alaska, Smile Make Over (dental), Southern Cross Shuttle, Bunny Burger ,Thai Baht, Emotions, Touch of Class, Eruptions, Stampede, Cherry’s, Dr.Holms, Brass Knob, Coyote Ugly, Bare Assets, Sunshine, Paradise Bar, Golden Garter, Honky Tonk, The International Sports & Gaming Bar, Lollipop, Kokomo Group, Honey Ko’s*, Garfields, King’s Head, Sit Back & Relax, Eager Beavers, Stargate, Roadies*, Shooters, Body Shop, Silly Hat, Cold Drop, Foxys ,Happy Rock , Treasure Island, Matrix Braun, Wobbly Boot*, Strawberry Fields, Miss Magic, Kasmir Indian Restaurant, Rhapsody, LaBamba, Phillies, Just My Luck, T & A Bar, Drill Shack, Perimeter Sports Bar, Blind Beggar, Pinocchios, 1 Stop MRW Tavern.

Ponderosa Hotel, Swagman Narra Hotel, Fiesta Gardens, Wild Orchid Angeles, Wild Orchid Subic, Orchid Inn, Anchorage Inn, Niggi Niggi 2 (Boracay), House of Rose (Palawan), Campbells Resort (Puerto Galera), Blue Rock (Baloy), Arizona Resort (Barrio Barreto ), Dreamland Resort Hotel (Subic), Sheavan’s Resort (Baloy), Bali Hai Resort (La Union),Rama Resort (Zambales), Coconut Grove Beach Resort (La Union), Southern Cross Hotel Manila.

The Gani Hotel, Walk-About Hotel. * No Discount to members, however they are SUPPORTERS of RSL Functions.

NB many places in Barrio Barretto not listed. ***** ***** ***** RSL EVENTS SCHEDULE FOR NOVEMBER 2011 Weekly Raffle NOW EVERY Wednesday at Emotions Nite Club at 6.00 PM. Phillies Sports & Grill Raffle every Saturday at 6.00 PM. Tuesday 1st November 12.30 pm Ponderosa Hotel * Australia Day Fiesta Meeting followed by Monthly Committee meeting Social Tuesday 4.00PM * TOUCH OF CLASS & EMOTIONS MEDICAL MISSION SATURDAY 5TH NOVEMBER (see web site for details or meet 07.15am Ponderosa) Tuesday 8TH November Social Tuesday 2.00PM Ponderosa * 3.00 ERUPTION & Dr. HOLMS

Friday 11th November 11.00am Armistice/Remembrance Day* HELLSHIP MEMORIAL SUBIC Tuesday 15th November

4 Monthly General Meeting 2.00pm Ponderosa Social Tuesday Ponderosa * 4.00pm STAMPEDE & CHERRY'S Tuesday 22nd November 2.00pm PONDEROSA 3.00pm ALASKA & COYOTE UGLY Saturday 26th November Chili Cook Off

Bauang La Union

Tuesday 29th November Social Tuesday Ponderosa 2.00 PM 3.00 PARADISE *****

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WE HOPE that you did put this in your dairy as last chance to get on board the Corregidor trip is at the monthly meeting on 18th October. Here is a reminder…………

Visit to Corrigidor Island Thursday 20th October departing Ponderosa 0730 hrs. Cost depends upon numbers as Bus and Bunker Sizes need to be considered. Budget Max P2,000/head. If numbers are 10 + the cost could be as low as ₱1,500 per head. Limited to 17 members.

LIFE SUBSCRIPTIONS We have had another six members decide this month that Life Subscriptions (LS) is the way to go with their RSL membership. We have given many advices and shown that LS makes a lot of sense. Give it due consideration. Dallas can give you a ‘quote’ on cost.

ANOTHER RSL WHEELCHAIR DONATION

12 year old Mary Ann Bersabe and her mother Tita accept Mary-Ann’s wheelchair from Lindsay Drury and W.A.G. Jane Gebiertas, on 23 Sep 2011 at their home in Sapalibutad, Angeles City.

Mary Ann suffers from polio and the wheelchair will make a big difference to her and her family’s life. It will hopefully give her some degree of independence.

The pic is the best I can provide (Ed)

5 FACEBOOK COVERAGE OF OUR LAST MEDICAL MISSION I suggest readers have a look at a good pictorial coverage of our last Medical Mission conducted at Sta Lucia, go to: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.291364210890619.89739.160844757275 899&type=3&l=321b32cff2#!/media/set/?set=a.291364210890619.89739.160844757 275899&type=3&l=321b32cff2 (gee I’m glad I didn’t have to type all that out) Ed. Just hold Ctrl and click on  Visit face-book To get to our face-book normally, go to:

www.facebook.com/rslacity

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HERE IS A GOOD MEDICAL EXPLANATIONS SITE For those members on the internet, pull up this site which gives good medical explanations to everyday medical problems. However do not use the site to selfdiagnose, leave that up to medical professionals.

Go to: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorial.html Click there.

Visit website ******

Minister for Veterans' Affairs Subscription List Tuesday 20 September 2011

VA078

INCREASE TO VETERAN PENSION RATES ON 20 SEPTEMBER Some 320,000 veterans, partners and war widows and widowers will now receive increased pensions and income support payments from 20 September 2011, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Warren Snowdon announced today.  Mr Snowdon said the increase was part of the bi-annual pension indexation process and will help to support veterans and provide extra assistance to those who need it most. ―The indexation reforms introduced by this Government have delivered a fairer pension system for our veteran community and will help them to meet the increasing costs of living,‖ he said.

This increase will affect all DVA pensions, including the Service Pension, War Widow Pension and Disability Pension.

6 The first full payments under the new rates will take place on 6 October 2011.

The table below highlights the changes to some of the key rates per fortnight.

Pension

Old Rate

New Rate 20 September

Increase

Service Pension—single

$729.30

$748.80

$19.50

Service Pension—couples

$1,099.40 couple $549.70 each

$1,129.00 couple $564.50 each

$29.60 $14.80

War Widow Pension

$738.70

$758.70

$20.00

Income Support Supplement

$220.80

$226.80

$6.00

Special Rate (TPI) Pension

$1,113.70

$1,143.80

$30.10

Intermediate Rate Disability Pension

$755.80

$776.30

$20.50

Extreme Disablement Adjustment

$614.80

$631.50

$16.70

100 per cent General Rate of Disability

$395.70

$406.40

$10.70

A full list is available on the factsheets section of the DVA website at www.dva.gov.au or by calling 133 254 (metro) and 1800 555 254 (regional).

Pensions are indexed twice a year in March and September to the highest of three measures: the Consumer Price Index (CPI), Male Total Average Weekly Earnings (MTAWE) and the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI).

ANOTHER MINISTER MEDIA RELEASE Minister for Veterans' Affairs mailing list Thursday, 6 October 2011 VA084 VETERANS RETURN TO KOREAN BATTLEFIELDS FOR 60TH ANNIVERSARY Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Warren Snowdon today announced he would lead a commemorative mission to Korea in late October to mark the 60th anniversary of Australia’s most significant engagements in the Korean War. “To ensure we honour those who served in the battles of Kapyong and Maryang San, and other important engagements of the Korean War, I have selected eight representatives from the veteran community to accompany me in travelling back to the soil on which they served 60 years ago,” he said.

Mission representatives comprise seven Korean veterans, including one nurse, and one relative of an Australian serviceman listed as missing in action.

Representatives cover each service arm, key activities of the Korean War and are from NSW, Queensland, Victoria and the ACT.

7 The mission party will visit key battle sites to pay tribute to fallen mates and participate in several commemorative activities including the Republic of Korea’s United Nations Day Ceremony with other Commonwealth nations.

They will also visit the demilitarized zone – separating North Korea from the South.

Making his announcement at the Australian War Memorial’s International Conference on the Korean War, Mr Snowdon said 2011 marks the 60th anniversary of some of the most crucial and fiercely-fought battles of the entire campaign– this week being 60 years since the Battle of Maryang San. The Korean War began on 25 June 1950 when North Korean Forces invaded South Korea.

More than 17,000 Australian Navy, Army and Air Force personnel fought as part of the United Nations Force, defending South Korea from a communist North Korean invasion.

The War ended with the signing of an armistice on 27 July 1953, but Australia maintained a presence in Korea until 1957.

Overall 340 Australians were killed, more than 1200 injured, 30 were taken prisoner and 43 were listed as mission in action.

Sadly almost four million Koreans were killed, making it one of the bloodiest wars in which Australia was involved.

Mr Snowdon said Korea was a significant event in Australia’s military history – marking the first collective United Nations action and reinforcing Australia’s position as a valuable ally.

“Australian soldiers, sailors, airmen and nurses won international respect for their courage, endurance and combat skills during the Korean War. We will continue to recognise their service and sacrifice and ensure the next generation learns about their experiences,” he said.

The mission party will depart for Korea on 22 October following an official farewell in Sydney on Friday evening, 21 October 2011.

Secret toll of the war JOSEPH CATANZARO, The West Australian July 16, 2011

The full toll inflicted on Australian soldiers by a decade of war in Afghanistan has been exposed by new figures which reveal 3400 compensation claims have been lodged by wounded and injured Diggers.

Obtained exclusively by The Weekend West, the unprecedented insight comes after a former soldier from the Special Air Service Regiment broke the elite force's code of silence to speak out on behalf of the growing number of broken and battered troops.

While the Department of Defence has publicly admitted more than 180 soldiers have been wounded in the war, figures obtained from the Department of Veterans' Affairs show 920 wounded and injured soldiers have received compensation.

8 Former SAS Sgt David Cirulis said the unseen and un-discussed reality of many of those wounds was horrific. They included amputated limbs, severe burns, bullets still lodged in flesh and major depression. The figures show that more than 1100 wounded and injured Afghanistan veterans have made 3400 compensation claims in the last decade. Of these, 2200 claims from 920 soldiers had been accepted by the department.

The most commonly accepted conditions since the introduction of the Military, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act in 2004 include gunshot and stab wounds, lacerations and bone fractures caused by explosions, post-traumatic stress disorder and hearing loss. Other injures accepted under two older Acts include spinal and joint damage.

Young Diggers, the peak body representing the new generation of returned soldiers, said the general public and service personnel had been kept in the dark about the nature and number of wounds and injuries being suffered.

were the hidden cost of the decade-long war.

John Jarrett, the body's national president, said the figures were just the tip of the iceberg.

They did not include all the wounded and injured soldiers still serving in the Defence system or claims for assistance made through Centrelink. Sgt Cirulis, who served with the SAS for 14 years before leaving the military in 2004 with multiple injuries and posttraumatic stress disorder, said the mounting casualties

"I've had mates that have lost their legs and have been horribly burned," the 41-year-old Afghanistan veteran said. "AK-47 rounds are devastating."I've got a mate who was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade blast. Step on a landmine and you get bone fractures up in your body and into the pelvis. "A lot of the shrapnel is fragments of your own bones."

He said soldiers with severe mental trauma often fell through the cracks because they lacked the ability to negotiate the "bureaucratic nightmare" that was the Veterans' Affairs compensation system. "They treat you as if you are trying to rip the system off and get something for nothing" he said.

"They treat you as a second-class citizen." Mr Jarrett said Young Diggers had begun bailing Afghanistan veterans with mental trauma out of jail. "They are getting into trouble because they're sick," he said. "Magistrates are saying 'Put them inside, they are trained killers' but these blokes need help."

The figures show about 30 veterans received a totally and permanently incapacitated pension and that more than 80 had received a Gold Card, which are issued in extreme cases. They entitle the holder to unlimited medical care.

Both men said Defence needed to improve programs for the psychological care of serving personnel.

And Veterans' Affairs needed to streamline the process of applying for compensation.

9 A spokeswoman for Veterans' Affairs said Defence aimed to handle all claims made by injured personnel in a compassionate and responsive way. She said the department was always open to feedback, and was continuously trying to improve its systems and procedures to ensure it better met the needs of individuals.

Twenty-eight Australian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since the campaign began in 2001.

Vietnam vets: Staying alive a shared battle BY GRANT REYNOLDS

28 Sep, 2011 01:00 AM

MANY of its members fought side by side in the jungles of Vietnam. Now Australian and Vietnamese veterans are standing shoulder to shoulder to keep the Footscray RSL open.  'Join us': John Arnold and Footscray RSL subbranch president Viet Long Nguyen are determined to keep the club open.

Picture: Marco De Luca

The Footscray RSL sub-branch was slated for closure in August due to dwindling membership numbers.

“We’re kicking on,” vice-President John Arnold said.

“We’ve got a new lease of life and the executive committee is doing all we can to keep going. We’re not going to give up without a fight.”

The Footscray sub-branch started after World War I and by the early 1920s had about 1400 members. It merged with the Vietnamese Veterans Association of Victoria in 2008 and now its 130 members are former servicemen and women from both nations.

Secretary Joan Uhr-Henry, who has been with the sub-branch for more than 30 years after her late husband Fred joined, said it would have been a sad day for all veterans if it had had to close its doors.

It was one of the biggest sub-branches in the west, Mrs Uhr-Henry said, but in recent years, service emblems had been appearing more frequently in newspaper death notices.

“Everyone would be very sad, especially the older ones,” she said. “Most of them are in their 90s and in nursing homes and we’ve had a lot of deaths this year; three in eight days.”

Mr Arnold said sub-branch members eschewed the modern trappings of gaming machines and gambling in favour of a quieter, more traditional approach, despite the increased income gaming could bring.

He said the club was trying to encourage veterans of deployments in East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan to join.

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“We can’t offer the glamour of other branches, but we can offer traditional services and a place for a quiet chat and a beer.

“We also encourage female veterans - and there’s quite a few of them now - to join.”

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Looking into our past

Vladimir Mikhaylovich Petrov (diplomat) Vladimir Mikhaylovich Petrov 15 February 1907 – 14 June 1991) was a member of the Soviet Union's clandestine services who became famous in 1954 for his defection to Australia.

He was born Afanasy Mikhaylovich Shorokhov, into a peasant family in the village of Larikha, in central Siberia.

He joined the Komsomol in 1923, using his Communist Party affiliation to gain an education, which would greatly benefit him. Through this education he was able to do well enough on his naval recruiting tests to become specially selected for the cipher-work training course. After the two-year technical course which qualified him as a cipher specialist, he was posted to a ship in the Baltic Sea to encrypt and decrypt the secret signals.

Having graduated from cipher clerk to full-fledged agent, Petrov was sent to Australia by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) in 1951. His job there was to recruit spies and to keep watch on Soviet citizens, making sure that none of the Soviets abroad defected. Ironically, it was in Australia where the fateful events would occur, which led to his own defection from the USSR. Vladimir Petrov applied for political asylum in 1954, on the grounds that he could provide information regarding a Soviet spy ring operating out of the Soviet Embassy in Australia.

Petrov states in his memoirs (ghost written by Michael Thwaites) that his reasoning for defecting lay not in an imminent fear of being executed, but in his disillusionment with the Soviet system and his own experiences and knowledge of the terror and human suffering inflicted on the Soviet people by their government. He was there to witness the destruction of the Siberian village in which he was born, caused by forced collectivization and the famine which resulted. He remembered the blacksmith who taught him of the virtues of Communism and who also got him started in his education. This blacksmith was labeled a kulak and

11 forcibly deported with his entire family, probably to die. Petrov learned the true excesses behind the Great Purges while decrypting signals which set quotas for the murder of citizens.

What Happened to the Petrovs?

Vladimir Petrov’s life after defection was not the utopia he had imagined. For many years he lived in fear of assassination, haunted by what he knew of the death of Leon Trotsky at the hands of a Soviet assassination squad.

Petrov rarely left the safe house, except to go hunting or fishing – his favourite pastimes. His beloved dog Jack was eventually returned to him but had to be given away again after it bit Evdokia.

Petrov became an Australian citizen in 1956. His and Evdokia's names were changed to Sven and Maria Anna Allyson. They lived a quiet suburban life in Melbourne. He died in 1991, and she died in 2002.

The whereabouts of the Petrovs were still the subject of a D-Notice in 1982.

VC CORNER William Ellis Newton VC 250748 Flight Lieutenant William Ellis NEWTON No. 22 Squadron, R.A.A.F 16 March, 1943, on Salamaua Isthmus, New Guinea Flight Lieutenant Newton served in New Guinea from May 1942 to March 1943 and completed 52 operational sorties. When leading an attack on 16 March, 1943 his Boston aircraft was hit repeatedly and although it was crippled he managed to return the aircraft to base and make a successful landing. He returned next day to the same location. His aircraft was again hit and it burst into flames.

"Flight Lieutenant Newton maintained control and calmly turned his aircraft away and flew along the shore. He saw it as his duty to keep the aircraft in the air and to take his crew as far away as possible from the enemy's positions. With great skill he brought his blazing aircraft down on the water." Two members of the crew extricated themselves and were seen swimming to shore. One of them was Flight Lieutenant Newton. He was captured and later executed on 29 March, 1943, at Salamaua, New Guinea. "Without regard to his own safety, he had done all that man could do to prevent his crew falling into enemy hands. Flight Lieutenant Newton's many examples of conspicuous bravery have rarely been equalled and will serve as a shining inspiration to all who follow him."

[London Gazette: 19 October, 1943]

William Ellis NEWTON was born at St. Kilda, Victoria on 8th June, 1919. His body was recovered when Salamaua was recaptured by Australian troops and he was buried in the Lae War Cemetery, New Guinea.

12 MOST Australian members would know that there are two songs about the Pub with no Beer, but there are actually three, The Pub with no Beer, The Reason for the Pub with no Beer, and, the Sequel to the Pub with no Beer.

I intend to bring all three songs lyrics and the tunes into this and the next two newsletters to apprise all members, local and foreign of our best known country and western song, sang by our iconic, the late Slim Dusty. The ‘original’ and the ‘reason’ will be linked to a ‘youtube’ video presentation. I hope all get some enjoyment out of all three. Ed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxpxU6H2WYA&feature=related

youtube presentation

To listen to the song while you read the lyrics, push the ctrl button and click on the link

Oh it's-a lonesome away from your kindred and all By the campfire at night we'll hear the wild dingoes call But there's-a nothing so lonesome, morbid or drear Than to stand in the bar of a pub with no beer Now the publican's anxious for the quota to come And there's a far away look on the face of the bum The maid's gone all cranky and the cook's acting queer Oh what a terrible place is a pub with no beer Then the stockman rides up with his dry dusty throat He breasts up to the bar and pulls a wad from his coat But the smile on his face quickly turns to a sneer As the barman says sadly the pub's got no beer Then the swaggie comes in, smothered in dust and flies He throws down his roll and rubs the sweat from his eyes But when he is told, he says ―what's this I hear‖ ―I've trudged fifty flamin' miles to a pub with no beer‖.

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Now there's a dog on the v'randa, for his master he waits But the boss is inside, drinking wine with his mates He hurries for cover and he cringes in fear It's no place for a dog 'round, a pub with no beer And old Billy the blacksmith, the first time in his life Why he's gone home cold sober to his darling wife He walks in the kitchen, she says you're early Bill dear But then he breaks down and tells her, the pub's got no beer Oh it's hard to believe that there's customers still But the money's still tinkling in the old ancient till The wine buffs are happy and I know they're sincere When they say they don't care if the pub's got no beer So it's-a lonesome away from your kindred and all By the campfire at night we'll hear the wild dingoes call But there's-a nothing so lonesome, morbid or drear Than to stand in the bar, of that pub with no beer

13 The MoU referred to below is causing much consternation with Vietnam Veterans across Australia.

This is an open letter from the Australian Vietnamese Veterans community.

Sydney, 5th October, 2011 Re : The MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MoU) of The Returned and Services League of Australia

To : -

The Executive Committees of the ARVN Veterans Association, states & territories in Australia; The Federal Executive Committees of all Arms & branches of the ARVN Veterans Assn in Australia; All members of the ARVN Veterans Association in Australia & worldwide.

Last August, Rear Admiral Ken DOOLAN AO. RAN. (Retired), the National President of the Returned & Services League of Australia has introduced a MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING under the drafted status, which indicates to set up a formal relation for the long term “interests” between the veterans of the Communist Vietnam (the NVA & Viet Cong) and the Returned & Services League of Australia.

The Veterans Federation of the Republic of Vietnam in Australia appraised that : 1. The National RSL has yet consulted to her state-wide sub-branches and the Australian Vietnam Veterans as well as the Veterans Federation of the Republic of Vietnam in Australia; 2. The National RSL has ignored the human rights abused situation in Vietnam, under the ruling of a mono-political Communist regime, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV). For instance, the Human Rights Watch with office based in New York, USA in his 129-page-file, released on the 7th of September, 2011 that the current Communist regime has used 123 Forced Labour Centres that established since/after April, 1975 with their origin “re-education camps” to force and abuse the hard labouring inhumanely towards the detainees based on the widespread and systematic nature (http://www.smh.com.au/world/vietnamese-rehab-centres-abuse-detainees-20110906-1jvrr.html); 3. Furthermore, the SRV continues to arrest and imprison dissidents who struggle non-violently and peacefully about Democracy and Human Right Abuse in Vietnam and/or demonstrate the patriotism against foreign invasion. (http://au.search.yahoo.com/search?p=Vietnamese+dissidents).

For those reasons, the Veterans Federation of the Republic of Vietnam in Australia declared that : 4. We should, together with the state-wide RSL sub-branches, clarify in details clearly and properly this said “ Memorandum of Understanding”; 5. We should co-operate with the local Vietnamese Community in Australia (VCA) to express our stance in the Consulting Meeting of the RSL, to be held on the 22nd of October, 2011 in Canberra and if any similar one organized in Australia; 6. The Delegation of the Veterans Federation of the Republic of Vietnam and the Vietnamese Community in Australia will attend the meeting, that will be taken place at the RSL National Headquarters in Canberra - 81 Constitution Avenue, Campbell, ACT 2612. We should all present in Canberra to support our delegates in this matter.

Best regards to all.

The Federal Executive Committee (for) (Signed & sealed) Duc-Hoa MAI Federal President

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With the recent government decision to allow Australian female soldiers into combat roles, there are some quite smart comments and cartoons doing the rounds, such as in: Women in Combat --"The West Australian" - Wed 28th Sep 2011 

DISCLAIMER The Angeles City Sub-Branch of the R&SLA, the Committee and the Editor take no responsibilities for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies contained in this newsletter. Nor do they accept any liability for loss or damage suffered directly or indirectly for use of information contained in this newsletter. Nor do they warrant that articles or opinions published in this newsletter are necessarily the opinions held by the Sub-branch, the Committee or the Editor

“The price of liberty is eternal vigilance”

Lest we forget