Sat, 15 Aug 2020 - 09:44
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75th Anniversary of VP Day

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Today Australia marks the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific Day (VP Day). Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of millions of ordinary Australians, we defeated aggressor nations and peace was restored.

I was honoured to meet one such Australian yesterday – my constituent and WW2 veteran Joan McLean. In 1942, at the age of 18, Joan enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force as an Aircraftwoman. In her time serving, Joan worked with the then top-secret ‘Type X’ cyphering machine, decoding secret messages to support the war-effort.

Joan served until the end of WW2, and was subsequently awarded with the with the War Medal 1939-45, the Australian Service Medal 1939-45 and the General Service Badge.

I presented Joan with the Commemorative Medallion and Certificate of Commemoration. Thank you to Joan and all of Australia’s veterans, past and present, for your contribution to our great nation. The wonderful nation we live in today has been built with your service and sacrifice.

You can watch a video of Joan and myself here.