By RUSSELL BENNETT
FOR 40 years, Peter Maloney felt he couldn’t go near an RSL.
The Vietnam veteran figured they didn’t want him, so he didn’t want them.
But a kind of cathartic experience three years ago changed his whole outlook.
Now Mr Maloney is the Emerald RSL president and he’s taking the hills club through one of the most exciting chapters in its history.
“Three years ago I watched a march in Emerald,” he said.
“I saw the kids marching and I thought to myself ‘the last 40 years has been about me and not wanting to (get involved)’.
“I thought I should change my attitude and think about my father, who was in World War II. I should think about my kids and grandkids.”
So this Anzac Day, for the first time in Mr Maloney’s life, his six grandchildren will proudly walk beside him as he leads the march down Emerald’s main street.
“I’ll be proud as punch because they’re asking questions,” he said.
In Mr Maloney’s eyes, that inquisitive nature is crucial in keeping the Anzac story alive in today’s younger generation.
“We’ve got an involvement with Emerald Secondary College,” Mr Maloney said.
“Kids aren’t stupid – they know there’s a history there and they want to find out as much as they can about it.”
Mr Maloney said the importance for them to get involved was the same as it was for him when he came back to the fold after 40 years – “showing respect for our forefathers”.
Mr Maloney said RSLs as a whole had bridged the “culture gap” which once prevented some returned servicemen and women from joining up.
“In the past I didn’t like them and there were two reasons,” he said.
“A – They were a men’s club.
“B – They were stuck in the past and didn’t embrace the general population – they were too exclusive.”
But the Emerald RSL is now breaking down barriers.
“There’s a bunch of guys who have joined here just because they’re mates of mine,” Mr Maloney said.
“They haven’t been in any wars but they all bring their own personal history into the club and that’s what we’re trying to embrace.”
When Mr Maloney took over the Emerald RSL presidency just eight months ago, the club had 70 members. Now it has about 120 and he is targeting 200.
With the recent announcement of more than $50,000 headed to the club for renovations of its facilities, and (preliminary) plans for a revamped avenue of honour in the town in time for the Anzac centenary in 2015, that target seems well within reach.
As for his own experiences with war – Mr Maloney was conscripted to fight in Vietnam.
It took an enormous toll on him, both professionally and personally, but he said: “This isn’t about me. It’s about Anzac Day – a time for the population of Australia to reflect and remember the people who went before them.
“It’s so important to remember the diggers from the first and second world wars, particularly.
“They went through unimaginable hardship and if it hadn’t been for what those people did, we may not be here at all.”
Mr Maloney said Anzac Day was also a reminder of the futility of war
“History has a knack of repeating itself if we don’t learn from past experiences,” he said.
“That is the hard part.
“Learning (about) what happened is not to glorify war, it is to try and minimise repetition of the folly of political leaders of the time.
“We give thanks to those who gave their lives in the belief they were fighting for our country and their families.”
The Emerald RSL will hold a dawn service from 5.45am this Thursday.
There will also be a march from the town centre next to the Commonwealth Bank at 10.30am, which will finish back at the clubrooms for a service at 11am.
