I couldn’t have even anticipated how much this day would become engrained in me

Talia's Pa during his service, just out of Long Tan and Nui Dat.

The 2016 Premier's ANZAC Spirit School prize students led up Nui Dat landing area by their guide, Ms Thao.

A journal extract from Premier's ANZAC Spirit School Prize student Talia Goodliffe, whose Grandfather served in Vietnam.

Who could have anticipated that so much comprehension, emotion, experience and passion could have ever come from an essay written by a 10^th grader?

Waking up this morning, I couldn’t have even anticipated how much this day would become engrained in me- how prominent and important of a memory and experience it was going to be. We were headed out for Nui Dat and Long Tan for the day and night. I spent the entire bus journey looking over information and maps that Pa had given me in advance specially for this day; all things including what to look out for, where he was involved in the war, where the fire support base he named “Lynette” after his wife and my Nan was located. I couldn’t help but feel so overwhelmed by the fact that these weren’t just stories anymore. I was seeing everything that he saw, all of these places he talked of were real and I was in the midst of all of it. We approached everything he had pointed out for me; the hills, the jungles, the highway connected to his old base, the artillery base itself. It was so much for me to handle and I couldn’t help but to shed a tear and only wish that he was here with me in Vietnam to teach me what he could, to tell me stories and show me where he walked and survived. All of this made me feel so grateful for him and I’ve never sat and thanked him and told him how much I appreciate him and everything he’s done for not only Australia, but for us. I just wanted to hold him so much today and tell him I understand now and that I’m so sorry that he had to endure what he did. But at the same time, I’m grateful for those hills, and I’m grateful for the jungle. For the heat, the humidity, the death, the heartbreak, the struggle and the endurance because without it all, Pa would never have met Nan. He would never have been the father that he was, and my mum would never have been the daughter and mother that she has been, and I wouldn’t have even been thought of let alone possible.

Writing an essay about an Aussie bloke that you learn so much about and gain a connection and a love for is only the start of what this opportunity gave me. My World War 1 soldier ‘Thomas Charles Richmond Baker’ and my soldier who fought in Vietnam ‘Maxwell Powell Hanley’ have given me so much and I can only hope that I gave them some form of validation or justice for their sacrifice in some small way, because without them, I would never have dreamt of comprehending my own family history as much as I do now. They were brave, selfless men that I would have loved to have had the privilege to know- and because of the ANZAC Spirit prize, I now feel like I do know them. They have become a sacred and special part of me that will never leave. They are the ones I think of every minute of silence, amongst the fallen ones who fought by their side, and I am devoted to their memory.