Lost Vietnam Veteran Rests In Family's Heart

Newcastle Herald

Friday August 18, 2006

By BROOKE NEWSTEAD

SOMEWHERE in the jungles of southern Vietnam is the unmarked grave of Fiona Pike's father, John Gillespie.

Its whereabouts has been a mystery since the helicopter that he had been flying in was shot down by Vietcong above the Phuoc Tuy Province on April 17, 1971.

Mrs Pike, of Bolwarra Heights, has had no clue as to her father's final resting place, but yesterday she said she no longer needed to find it.

She and her mother Carmel, of Queensland, instead cling to the photographs and memories they have of the man who forms part of one of Australia's most enduring Vietnam War mysteries.

"I was 21/2 when he died but I've got lots of photos and I've met with a lot of the guys that dad was actually over there with," Mrs Pike said.

"It's hard but we just take every day as it comes and cherish the memories we have."

The crash site where Mrs Pike's father died was visited by the Australian Government 22 years ago, but the search party abandoned its search because of fears of landmines and bandits in the jungle.

Media reports this week have suggested journalists may be close to finding the wreckage, but Mrs Pike said she had already experienced closure and had moved forward.

Moving forward did not mean that her father was forgotten, Mrs Pike said.

She has travelled to Western Australia this week to mark today's national Vietnam Veteran's Day.

Mr Gillespie and five other Australian soldiers still listed as missing will be honoured when their names are unveiled on the street signs of a new housing estate in Western Australia.

The Western Australia Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia has battled for two years to get the names included in The Chase development at Baldivis, south-east of Rockingham.

WA Vietnam Veterans Association president Peter Ramsay said the ceremony would be as close as many of the six families would get to a funeral for their loved one.

"At the end of the day, this project will give the families some kind of closure," he said.

© 2006 Newcastle Herald

Back to News Index | Back to Home