Well known Narrabri man, the late George Sanderson, was a major contributor to the local community on many levels, including the Junior League and Rural Fire Service.
Mr Sanderson, 78, died on Tuesday, November 7.
Mr Sanderson will be remembered with great affection and respect by many in our community.
He was a quietly spoken achiever who never sought accolades, but worked to make a difference to his district.
Mr Sanderson was a veteran of the Vietnam War and a special tribute to his memory was made at Saturday’s Remembrance Day ceremony in Narrabri.
Vietnam War veterans laid wreaths at the war memorial in his honour.
The late Mr Sanderson recalled to The Courier several years ago his experiences in the Vietnam War.
“The personal cost to those who served is immeasurable” he said.
He was a member of Charlie Company 3rd Royal Australian Regiment, an infantry Lance Corporal and a section commander, ironically, he added, in charge of a section of Regular Army soldiers even though he was a National Serviceman.
He was involved in action many times during his tenure in Vietnam, December 20, 1967 to June 5, 1968, and served during the ‘Tet’ offensive when the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong troops launched a major offensive across South Vietnam.
“I was 19 when I was called up in the second National Service intake but ended up in the fifth – I got my call up notice the day I got married,” he recalled to The Courier.
“Instead of a honeymoon I went to the recruiting office in Sydney and arrived in Vietnam after having Christmas on the troopship, the RAN aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney in 1967.”
The late George Sanderson – a 2022
