‘We don’t want another war’: Vietnam veteran’s wish on Anzac Day
A Vietnam veteran attending Dawn Service with his grandsons said he would hate to see Australia at war again, as the nation paused to remember the horrors of conflict this Anzac Day.
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An 82-year-old Vietnam veteran attending Dawn Service with his grandsons said he would hate to see Australia at war again, as the nation paused to remember the horrors of conflict this Anzac Day.
Neil Devene served in the boiler room of the combat ship HMAS Perth during the Vietnam War, and also served on HMAS Quickmatch and Vampire.
“I was a marine engineer, I looked after the boiler of the ship, and I did that for 10 years,” Mr Devene said.
“This Anzac Day is the same as all the ones before it, the feelings never fade.”
Despite hundreds of people turning out for the Riverway Dawn Service, Mr Devene said 2025 marks the first year where he didn’t recognised any of the other veterans around him.
“Last year I saw two people I recognised, this year there was no one,” he said.
“The Vietnam War was terrible. We were never acknowledged when we came back, and that’s the part that hurt the most.”
Mr Devene said he’d hate to see Australia at war again.
“We don’t want another war, I’d hate to go through another one,” he said.
“After the navy I did three years in the army reserves and 14 years with the No. 28 Squadron in Townsville with the RAAF, and it was because of friendships I did that.”
Mr Devene’s wife, Rhonda, also served the Australian military effort during the Vietnam War, making the move from Ingham to Melbourne to work as a clerk at the central army records office.
The couple met and married in Melbourne, and Mrs Devene gave up her job for the marriage.
“In those days, if a woman got married you had to get out (of the workforce),” she said.
A few metres away from the Devene family was another navy officer – Vivane Messa, 25 years old and actively serving.
Mr Messa grew up in Kirwan and left home at 18 to join the defence force, where he currently serves as a maritime logistics supply chain officer with the 1JMU NQ.
“This is my first time being posted back to Townsville after seven years,” Mr Messa said.
“I’ve just returned from seven-months deployment in Egypt. It was awesome, but a lot of ups and downs.”
Mr Messa attended the Dawn Service with his family – the first time they’d all been together for the sober sunrise ceremony.
Mr Messa’s mother, Eleanor Messa, said it was both a blessing to have her son back, but also very hard to attend the emotional Dawn Service with him.
“He was born at Kirwan Hospital, I had him just over there in 2000 and now he’s back home,” Mrs Messa said.
“I thought I would come and appreciate my son … this is actually the first Dawn Service I have ever been to.”
The Riverway Dawn Service was held at the Thuringowa Cenotaph and was well-attended by families who walked through the dark to observe the ceremony.
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Originally published as ‘We don’t want another war’: Vietnam veteran’s wish on Anzac Day
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