St John of God Richmond Hospital Veterans' Day commemoration
The theme of this year’s annual Veterans’ Day Commemoration Service was Share the Journey and guest speaker, Ben Quilty defined this in his heartfelt talk.
16 Aug 2018
On Thursday 2 August over 250 guests, dignitaries, caregivers and patients gathered to honour current and past serving members of the defence forces.
There was hardly a dry eye in the house as Ben Quilty described when he first met Phil, a Vietnam veteran, at a pub in Hill End.
Ben was commissioned as the official war artist in Afghanistan in 2011.
The pair hit it off and exchanged war stories with Ben relating that within about twenty minutes we were both bawling our eyes out.
Phil encouraged Ben to talk to his uncle who served in Vietnam and had never spoken about his experiences there.
The focus of Ben’s talk was on sharing stories and hearing the stories of our current serving members and veterans.
Ben encouraged the men in the room to create a legacy.
“You older fellas that served, look out for the young men that have served and help them to not feel isolated," Ben said.
"Many veterans returning from Afghanistan feel totally isolated because no-one has heard the stories they have to tell.
“Most of the country needs to hear your stories so that they make more calculated decisions about sending men to war but also sharing those stories is a great way of healing”
A patient art exhibition was on display in Belmont House and Richmond’s busy catering team served over 270 meals for lunch following the service.
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