War veterans pay tribute

Residents across Rockingham and Kwinana will stop and pay tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, with November 11 Remembrance Day commemorations set to take place across the community.

A number of events are set to take place in Rockingham and Kwinana, with Remembrance Day services being held at the Rockingham Cenotaph at Flinders Memorial Park, Veterans Memorial Park in Port Kennedy and the City of Kwinana War Memorial on Pace Road in Medina.

In the lead-up to Remembrance Day, 95-year-old World War II air force veterans Ted and Phyl Properjohn told the Telegraph just how significant the day was to them.

“It makes you think of all the lads that were there with you,” Mr Properjohn said.

“In my particular instance there were 114 of us who joined up on the same day and now there are only three of us left.

“Nearly all of them were from WA — we lost one a few weeks ago and he was nearly 98.”

For Mrs Properjohn, the fact youngsters such as Comet Bay College’s Shannan Marshall and Tyron Powles were continuing the tradition of remembering those who came before them was fantastic.

“I think it’s wonderful that the schools are getting involved now,” Mrs Properjohn said.

“People from our RSL go over to schools to talk to the kids. When we were kids we didn’t know anything about it.

“The boys came from back from WWII and they didn’t want to talk about it but now it’s all coming out, so it’s good.” Australian Army Major Lyndon Jackson, who will be the master of ceremonies at the service in Rockingham, said it was vital that the youth of today continued to carry the torch. “We’ve lost quite a few people in my 31-year career in the military — through accidents and peacekeeping roles,” he said.

“It forces us to stop for a minute and close our eyes and think about those people and the good jobs they were doing.

“Not only that, but we tie it back to where we came from 100 years ago and remember those people who gave their lives for everything.”

The service in Rockingham will start at 10.30am while the one at Veterans Memorial Park will start at 10.45am.

Those attending the service in Port Kennedy are also invited to a barbecue lunch at the Totally and Partially Disabled Veterans Association of WA in Baldivis on Old Mandurah Road following the service..

In Kwinana, commemorations will begin at 10.40am with Kwinana MLA Roger Cook set to officially open the RSL’s redeveloped sub-branch afterwards.