TAIT Puiatti-Treeve might only be eight but his dream to march alongside his pa on Anzac Day has been fulfilled.
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Yesterday he set off with a group of Vietnam veterans, including grandfather Gary Treeve, along Wodonga’s Havelock Street to the applause of thousands of onlookers.
For Mr Treeve, 67, in his 13th year of marching in Wodonga and Albury as president of the Murray Border Vietnam Veterans, Tait’s involvement made the day even more special.
“I was with 102 Field Workshops in Vung Tau in Vietnam and spent some time with the 3rd Cavalry Armoured Regiment,” Mr Treeve said.
“We were actually the last troops out of Vietnam ... on the HMAS Sydney — the last trip she did.”
Many of Australians who served in Vietnam returned to a hostile reaction with little or no acclamation for their service.
“I only hope we’ve learnt from our mistakes so we don’t do the same to our Afghanistan and Iraq veterans,” Mr Treeve said.
Trinity Anglican College Wodonga’s Isabelle Delcour, 11, year 6, wanted to pay tribute to the soldiers who had given their lives.
“I think it’s really imp-ortant to represent our college and to remember the brave soldiers who fought for us,” she said.
Avenel’s Lily Skinner, 7, marched with her dad Dale and her Vietnam veteran grandfather Allan, both from Wodonga.