50th anniversary of the end of National Service
On 5 December we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the last National Service scheme in Australia. The then newly elected Australian Government formally disbanded the scheme on 5 December 1972.
More than 220,000 Australian men were called up to serve in the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army, and the Royal Australian Air Force from 1951 until the scheme was finished in 1959. A second scheme commenced in 1965, with more than 63,000 men, selected via a birthday ballot, called up for service in the Army.
Of the 63,000 men who served in the second scheme, more than 15,300 served in the Vietnam War and at least 100 served in Borneo. More than 200 national servicemen lost their lives while serving overseas.
A national commemorative service honouring all of Australia’s national servicemen took place at the National Servicemen’s Memorial Australian War Memorial in September 2022, with many Nashos and their families attending.