Vietnam War Museum

In January we made a day trip to Philip Island and visited the Vietnam War Museum (and The Penguin Parade of course). The museum was an amazing tribute to the war that Australia never should have been involved in. The thing that touched me the most was what I call The Wall of Faces. A photo of every one of the 200 Australian's who gave the greatest sacrifice. Out of respect and also because of the way I was brought up I felt that the Wall (along with the MIA bracelets, all of which are finally closed meaning that they have ALL been found and brought home) was something that didn't need to be photographed. I did however take heaps of photos of the rest of the items within the museum. These are my three favourite photos from the 100's I took at the Museum.

This first photo is one of those pure luck photos. Because of the barriers in place I couldn't get physically close enough to get the shot I wanted so I basically stuck my camera out down the side of a helicopter and pressed the trigger. The wonders of auto mode on DSLR's :) I don't know why I love this photo but I'm just drawn to to for some reason.

This is a close up of tracks of a tank called The Widowmaker. The thing I love about this photo is that you can still see some dirt and debris along with some rust within the treads. For me it just hits home that this tank actually "saw" war and action. Its' not like some war museums that have a replica tank that has never "seen" action or even been outside.

This photo is by far my favourite photo of the day. For me it is very symbolic without having to look deeper within the photo. It is the uniform and service medals of a Vietnam Veteran. Its as basic as that and yet the story it tells is so much more that anyone can imagine.

I have an overwhelming respect for anyone who has served or is currently serving our country. Weather it be someone who fought in a war zone or someone who assisted in the clean up after some of our horrific natural disasters. They have had to deal with things that no person should ever have to even think about but they do it without a second thought and they serve our country with pride because they want to. There are members of my family who where in WWII and many other conflicts and it is something that I am extremely proud of. I live the life I have today because of their actions and it is something that I will never be able to thank them enough for. 

-XOXOXOX-

Jessica Cook