MANY stories have been written over the years since 1914 about the commitment, mateship, heroism and perseverance of the Anzac forces that have become legendary in the annals of Australian history. Stories of individual acts of bravery and battles won, highlight most of the Anzac history, but when one pauses to reflect on the sacrifice of such men and women, perhaps consideration has to be given to those intrepid young service personnel who have given their lives in the service of their country in peacetime. These modern-day Anzacs are the men and women of the army, navy and air force who serve their communities in national disasters such as mercy dashes, bushfires, cyclones and flood relief.

In the Warwick district over the past 62 years, two such incidents of dying in the service of their country come to mind with aircraft crashes undergoing mercy flights to help members of the community. The first of these was perhaps more well known to Warwick residents, with the Lincoln bomber crash that occurred on Mount Superbus in the early hours of the April 9, 1955.

When the call went out to the Royal Australian Air Force Base at Townsville that a baby needed urgent medical attention in Brisbane, the response was immediate from the air force to get the baby, Robyn Huxley, accompanied by nurse Mafalda Gray, to Brisbane as soon as possible. The Commanding Officer of No 10 Squadron, Wing Commander Peter Costello piloted the Lincoln aircraft with a volunteer crew, and took off from Townsville just after midnight on April 9. While approaching Brisbane with heavy rain making flying difficult, the plane was off course due to a compass malfunction, and crashed at the top of Mt Superbus, near Emu Vale, killing all on board. This was a typical example of those of the services killed in the line of duty while responding to the needs of the community in the form of a mercy mission.

Exactly 61 years after the crash, a party of No 10 Squadron members climbed Mt Superbus to lay a wreath to honour their squadron colleagues near the shell of the Lincoln fuselage, which is still there. The squadron members paid their respects to their fallen comrades and the nurse and baby who died with them.

The second incident occurred on January 11, 1974, when a Royal Australian Air Force helicopter from No 9 Squadron based at Amberley, got into difficulties while responding to a call to help in flood relief in New South Wales. The helicopter, a 378-A2 Iroquois piloted by Flight Lieutenant Reg Van Leuven, with crew members Sergeant Peter Vidler, Keith Morgan, Gerry Rich, Earl Murray and Monty Jesinowski took off for Narrabri early that day.

The helicopter experienced a loss of power to the main transmission, and although Flight Lieutenant Van Leuven carried out an emergency auto-rotative descent, the aircraft crashed heavily in the Stanthorpe/ Dalveen area on the lightly timbered Cooinda property of Scott and Margaret Finlay.

The crash resulted in the death of Sergeant Peter Vidler who died on impact, with Flight Lieutenant Van Leuven dying the following day. The other crew members suffered varying injuries, but all survived the crash.

Margaret Finlay and Arthur Martin, along with other members of the Finlay family, were quickly on the scene and gave valuable first aid to the crew, before ambulances and a search and rescue helicopter from No 9 Squadron arrived on the scene.

Over the years, Scott and Margaret Finlay have preserved the tree where the helicopter impacted and have pushed for a memorial plaque to be placed on the site to honour these brave men. Helen Vidler, widow of Peter, was also instrumental in getting the Royal Australian Air Force's approval, with the help of the No 9 Squadron Association, to give recognition to a memorial plaque.

This plaque was achieved last year on February 6 when a 378-A2 memorial ceremony took place on the site of the tragedy and was attended by family members. They were assisted by the RAAF's No 23 Squadron and the Joint Logistics Unit at Amberley. The ceremony included a catafalque party of RAAF cadets and wreath laying by the two widows, Geraldine Lloyd and Helen Vidler. The widows were presented with Royal Australian Air Force ensigns, and a floral presentation. A bouquet of flowers, along with an engraved plaque from No 9 Squadron, was also made to Scott and Margaret Finlay for their kindness and valuable efforts at the crash scene on that fateful day.

It is examples such as this when service personnel die in the service of their country and not on the battlefield, that keeps alive the Anzac spirit, when quick responses from these peacetime Anzacs demonstrate the dedication and perseverance that was shown by their predecessors in the trenches, air, high seas, jungle and desert campaigns over the past 100 years, in the service of their country.