Douglas Salveron: Remembrance Day 2024

Douglas Javing Salveron was born on 17 February 1945 in Brisbane. His father, Francisco Salveron, had joined the US Army and was on board transport ship USS Don Isidro when it was sunk by Japanese aircraft in February 1942. Rescued by the HMAS Warrnambool, Francisco travelled to an army hospital in Brisbane to recover, and it was in Brisbane that he had two fated meetings. One was with General Douglas MacArthur. Francisco proceeded to work as MacArthur’s aide de camp for 3 years, even being at MacArthur’s side when he uttered the immortal words, 'I have returned' upon landing at Leyte Gulf. While in Brisbane he also met Australian Clarissa Gray. The two started a relationship and had 2 children, a daughter Frankie, and son Douglas, named after General MacArthur.

Douglas was conscripted into the army at the age of 21, joining the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment on 8 June 1966. He and Diane Dickson were in a relationship at the time, and when Anzac Square Memorial Galleries interviewed Diane, she was generous in sharing her memories of Doug, including their first meeting, which she says was love at first sight.

‘I certainly believe in it. I don't think it happens a lot, but it can happen … I told my mother a lie and said I was staying at a girlfriend's place one night, but we actually went to the boathouse. And she was going with this guy, Andy … Anyway, Andy and Doug walked in, and I just spotted Doug, and that was it. Gone!’ 

A great jive dancer and a very neat dresser, which earned him the moniker of ‘Mr Smooth’, Doug soon made a big impression on Diane’s family. She recalls:

'We were going together, and he came to our home. Of course, they fell in love with him. My twin brother wanted to wear his hair like him. He said, “Can you show me how to dance like Doug?” My 3 brothers and my sister and my parents … they loved him. I actually haven't met anyone that didn't like him. We never used to fight. I wasn't going to fight with him. I didn't want to lose him.'

When Doug was called up to serve in Vietnam, Diane says there was never any question of his not going. ‘His pride wouldn't let him do that, no way. He was in the very first call up … He never said, “I don't know”, nothing. No, just straight to it.' 

One story that his fellow soldiers still remember is how Doug’s immaculate dress sense once landed him in hot water.

'I took his greens in for him, because he was very small. Apparently he asked his mother and his mother said no, so he asked me and I didn't know any different. So I took them in for him. And he got into trouble! But … he didn't want to have baggy pants!'

Somehow, Diane always thought that Doug would come home. ‘When they had platoon parties … before they all went away, and I had said to myself, "Oh I hope you come home" and not once! Not once! Did I think he wouldn't. I don't know why, but I just didn't think it was going to happen to him. I thought he would come home. So it certainly knocked me for a six when it happened.’ 

Sadly, Doug was killed on 18 August 1966 at the Battle of Long Tan, which saw Australian soldiers fighting in the Long Tan rubber plantation and outnumbered at least 10 to 1. Diane reflects on the day she received the bad news.

‘Most days they delivered mail on a Saturday. Anyway, once they’d been out to inform us what had happened … I was standing next to my father at the front door. But I must have just turned off, because the next thing Dad just looked at me and said, “Doug's gone” … I often think, I wonder what it was like in the First World War when there was so many killed. The amount of wives, mothers, girlfriends. And to read, in one street there'd be 3 telegrams on the one day, and the next day there'd be more in the following street. It just went on and on … Could you imagine?’ 

The loss of Doug had a lasting impact on both Diane and her family.

'I just never got over it. It took me years. It took me a long, long time to be able to even look at a photo, or talk about him without, you know, being upset. My whole family loved him. Even the day of his funeral, my dad came up to me and put his arms around me and said “I feel like I've lost one of you".'

Doug’s sister Frankie remained friends with Diane over the years, and in 2013, Diane decided to make a plaque for Vietnam Veterans’ Day. With the original Long Tan Cross memorial laid at the site of the battle by 6RAR in 1969 as inspiration, Diane used leftover pieces of glass that she had been using for craft to create the cross. The plaque is inscribed with the names of Australian soldiers killed in the battle, including Private Salveron, as well as the words, ‘Remembering all veterans and those who still suffer’. Diane explains:

‘I just wanted to do something because I've never forgotten him … I did it for the boys. Because there's a lot of them that still suffer, that's for sure … If any of them saw it, they’d know that they weren't dismissed, they were still considered.’ 

After the service at Anzac Square, Diane simply placed the plaque against the Vietnam Memorial statue. It’s unclear what happened to the plaque next, but it can be assumed that it was admired and therefore stored away in the Galleries.

Diane visited the Galleries on Vietnam Veterans’ Day 2023 and shared Doug’s story with Anzac Square staff, thereby also resolving a longstanding mystery about the plaque’s origins. Diane was surprised and pleased to see the plaque on display, and when told of the attention it receives in the Galleries for its beautifully intricate design, she responded, ‘Makes me happy. It really does. And I'm glad I took the time to make it.’ Diane also realised that her parents, and especially her father, would be proud, ‘because he loved Doug, he loved him like a son … I'm happy it's there. I hope it stays there. And gets looked after when I’m gone.’ 

Vietnam Veterans’ Day still has special significance for Diane, a day that she always sets aside, no matter what. ‘It's the day I have to remember him, honour him, and the others. It means a lot. There’s a day that I can commemorate him. Think of him. That's my day for remembering Doug … He's deep inside me now. It'll never go.’

She describes the experience of attending services as an emotional but ultimately rewarding one.

‘We were standing out the front [of the church] and of course one of them [the Long Tan veterans] comes up and he says, “Oh Doug really loved you”. I said, “Please don't be bringing that up. I've got eye makeup on!” But it was nice to know that at least he’d spoke about me and told the boys what he felt about me.’ 

Today, the Long Tan Cross plaque is on permanent display in the Post World War II Memorial and Exhibition Gallery at Anzac Square Memorial Galleries. Considering both its design and the captivating history, which has now been told, the Long Tan Cross plaque is a beautiful and unique memorial that serves as a lasting and loving tribute to those who served, those who were lost, and all the family, friends, and loved ones left behind. 

Douglas Javing Salveron is buried at Mount Gravatt Cemetery and Crematorium alongside Warren Mitchell and Kenneth Gant, who also perished in the Battle of Long Tan. A plaque on his grave reads, 'Greater love hath no man than this. That he lay down his life for his friends.' 

Douglas Salveron’s personal story is part of our Remembrance Day 2024 campaign. Each year, on 11 November, Australians observe one minute's silence at 11am in memory of those who have died or suffered in all wars and armed conflicts. We encourage you to think about who you'll stop to remember and discover ways to commemorate Remembrance Day at Anzac Square & Memorial Galleries.

Further reading and references 

• Department of Veterans' Affairs, 2020, ‘Battle of Long Tan’, viewed 11 October 2023, https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/vietnam-war-1962-1975/events/combat/battle-long-tan. 
• Department of Veterans' Affairs, 2023, 'SALVERON, Douglas Javing', viewed 11 October 2023, https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/veteran?id=1277339&c=VIETNAM#R.   
• Ekins, A, 2022, 'Unique memorial - the Long Tan cross', Australian War Memorial, viewed 11 October 2023, https://www.awm.gov.au/wartime/55/long-tan-cross. 
• Ekins, A, 2023, 'A very close thing indeed', Australian War Memorial, viewed 11 October 2023, https://www.awm.gov.au/wartime/55/long-tan.  
• Emerick, M, 2016, 'Long Tan 50th: Soldier's sister remembers his death and legacy', The Catholic Leader, viewed 11 October 2023, https://catholicleader.com.au/news/australia/long-tan-50th-soldiers-sister-remembers-his-death-and-legacy/.
• Find a Grave, 2009, 'Private Douglas Javing Salveron', viewed 11 October 2023, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/37409236/douglas-javing-salveron.  
• New York Times News Service, 1998, 'MacArthur Aide in WWII', Chicago Tribune, 3 September, viewed 11 October 2023, https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1998-09-03-9809030274-story.html.