The legacy of service
CONSCRIPTED to the Vietnam War in 1969, Peter Trease’s national service was not a choice, but a calling from his country.
A machine gunner, Mr Trease was sent to train with 2RAR.
And while his service was not of his choosing, he formed relationships to last a lifetime and discovered a new place to call home in his retirement.
“I’m from Gippsland and I walked into Lavarack and there was a bloke in the next bed, out of the 3 or 4000 people, and it turned out we played footy against each other down in Victoria,” he said.
“He said, let’s go to Magnetic Island and find my Uncle Victor, who left Latrobe Valley Power company 20 years ago and went to Magnetic and never, ever came back again.
“Even though we were national service we were still the Australian Army, half our platoon was full-time Diggers along with us, and the leaders didn’t know who was nasho and who wasn’t.”
He said what many people don’t realise is that conscripted national servicemen carried out the same duties as ADF personnel.
Now semi-retired, Magnetic Island is home for Mr Trease where he continues to serve not only his community, but Vietnam’s.
He continues to make regular trips to Vietnam to deliver “kilos and kilos” of knitted scarfs, beanies and clothes to the “beautiful ladies”.
A Legacy volunteer, Mr Trease first got involved with looking after the Legacy units at Arcadia Bay that were visited by Legacy ladies from all over the country.
And while his efforts continue to shine, it’s a team effort, just as it was when serving in the army.
“Many island friends helped with those units, a mate used to do the gardening and lawns and most time wouldn’t put in a bill, it wasn’t just me,” he said.
“Another friend used to pick up some of the widows and help get them back to the ferry to catch the plane home.
“A lot of them have really become friends more so than just looking after a Legacy lady.”
Northern Queensland Legacy will hold its annual Legacy fundraising breakfast, ‘Leadership and Culture, Celebrating the Spirit of Service’ with keynote speaker Katarina Carroll APM. Tickets for the 23 April event available through townsvilletickets.com.au.