THEY’RE brothers by blood, but yesterday Ronald and Brendan McGill took time to mark their special bond as brothers in arms.
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Ronald, 86, is the eldest of seven children, while Brendan is the youngest.
Both served their country in war.
An able seaman in the Royal Australian Navy, Ronald served in the Pacific during World War Two. He enlisted at the tender age of 17.
Two decades later, his youngest brother, then 21, joined the Australian Army. He was a gunner in the Vietnam War.
“I don’t know of many families that have had the eldest brother in the Second World War and the youngest member of the family in Vietnam,” Brendan said.
The brothers were born and bred in Bathurst. Ronald recalled coming home to his baby brother in 1945.
“I nursed him before he went to ‘Nam,” Ronald said. “It was when I was back here on leave.”
Ronald described yesterday’s service at the Bathurst War Memorial Carillon as “gratifying”.
Brendan said the annual occasion was about recognising one of Australia’s most enduring values.
“It’s all about mateship,” he said.
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