Story 100 - Battle remembered
with National Memorial
by Denis Hare OAM BEM
Introduction
Gundagai long known as the place
where the bronze statue of the ‘Dog on the
Tuckerbox’ is located, made famous by the bush poem
‘Nine Miles from Gundagai’ and the 1930s song ‘Where
the Dog Sits on the Tuckerbox’ now has a Vietnam war
military national memorial.
Private Richard Leslie Norden, born in
Gundagai, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia,
the nation's highest military honour, on Remembrance Day 2024,
recognising his extraordinary bravery during the Vietnam war.
On 14th May 1968, during the
Battle of Coral Balmoral, the then-19-year-old Norden’s 1RAR platoon
was ambushed and heavily outnumbered by enemy forces. Over the
course of the engagement, Norden exhibited exceptional gallantry by
braving intense enemy fire three separate times:
-
Rescuing his Commander: He rushed forward to rescue his wounded section commander L/Cpl Joe Kelly and drag him back to safety, suffering a grenade injury in the process.
-
Recovering the Scout: After treating his commander, he returned to the line of fire to recover a fallen scout Pte Chris Nisbet.
-
Securing the Area: He secured a bag of hand grenades, advanced alone, and fought off the enemy to ensure his fellow soldiers could safely retrieve the scout's body.
Tragically, after returning home to
Australia and joining the Australia Federal Police, Richard was
killed in a motorcycle crash while on duty in 1972.
On the 14th May 2026
Gundagai unveiled a magnificent memorial honouring Richard Norden VC
and those that fought in the Battle of Coral Balmoral, creating a
lasting place of commemoration for both the decorated soldier and
one of the Vietnam war’s most significant battles. The
Battle of Coral Balmoral (May–June 1968) was the costliest, largest
and longest battle fought by Australian forces during the Vietnam
War. 26 Australians were KIA and 106 WIA.
Members of the Royal Australia Corps of
Signals from 104 Sig Sqn, 110 Sig Sqn and 547 Sig Tp were involved,
supporting the 1st Australian Task Force (Forward) with
Signalman Alexander Young KIA and three other members of 104 Sig Sqn
WIA.
Commemoration Service
The new memorial was unveiled by the
Governor-General, Her Excellency the Honourable Sam Mostyn AC with
two former ex-Military Governors-General, acting Chief of the Army,
and many more Australian dignitaries in attendance. In
total, more than 1500 people attended including members of Richard’s
family, Vietnam War Victoria Cross recipient Keth Payne VC AM and
many veterans from the battle.
The commemoration included a number of
speeches including the local federal member Michael McCormack MP and
his speech was brilliant. Interesting no labour politicians
attended!
Governor-General,
Her Excellency the Honourable Sam Mostyn AC and
Michael McCormack MP in the crowd at the memorial.
A Huey helicopter did a flypast to the
joy of the battle veterans present. The Bell UH-1H
(A2-703) also a Vietnam veteran from the
Historic Aircraft Restoration Society's
(HARS) Aviation Museum, back in the air
after restoration by volunteers at QinetiQ Air Affairs at HMAS
Albatross, Nowra, NSW.
Also, one of the local publicans, Owen
Blundell brilliantly wrote and sang a tribute to Richard Norden VC.
The Memorial
The memorial is situated within Carberry
Park near the town centre, across the main street (Sheridan St) from
the Gundagai Services Club. The site features a stunning,
life-sized bronze sculpture created by artist Liam Hardy. It depicts
19-year-old Richard Norden bravely rescuing his wounded section
commander, L/Cpl Joe Kelly, under heavy enemy fire. A feature
of the sculpture shows Richard carrying the enemy AK-47 he used
after his own weapon ran out of ammunition.
The
Battle of Coral Balmoral and Richard Norden VC National Memorial.
In addition to honouring Richard
Norden's Victoria Cross actions, the site serves as the nation's
primary monument dedicated to all Australian soldiers who fought in
the battle. Visitors can view informative plaques and scan QR codes
linked to a website detailing the context of the battle.
See
the Gundagai Coral-Balmoral & Richard Norden VC Memorial website
https://www.gundagaimemorial.org/
Conclusion
Many battle veterans attended including
myself and Mal Fergusson from 104 Sig Sqn. Sadly, we were to
be joined by Phil Clohesy but he didn’t make it because of a
hospital trip. Very pleasing we were also joined by 104 Sig
Sqn Afghanistan veteran, Mark McGavin.
The Government-General’s father was a
Vietnam Veteran Signals officer who serviced with HQ, Australian
Force Vietnam in Saigon and she was delighted to learn of Signals
involvement in the battle.
Photo 1 (Left): Denis Hare, our Army Brat Government-General Sam
Mostyn and Mal Fergusson.
Photo 2 (Right): Mal Fergusson,
Mark McGavin and Denis Hare with the memorial stunning, life-sized
bronze sculpture created by artist Liam Hardy.
The memorial is magnificent and well
done to all that made it possible. Gundagai you did us proud.
See
the Royal Australian Corps of Signals Battle of Coral Balmoral
website
https://coral-balmoral.au104.org/