“Australia, they fought alongside us in wars including losing over 500 brave Australians in the Vietnam War, which some of us remember.” US Republican Senator John McCain, 2 February 2017.

I appreciate that Senator McCain spoke out on behalf of Australia. Some of us might not have known that little fact he delivered in his statement. I was a teenager growing up in rural America during the Vietnam War and remember seeing nightly newscasts of American soldiers dying in Vietnam. I went through the first years of my life always mindful of the 58,000 soldiers who died in America’s war against Vietnam.

I immigrated to Australia in 1995 and was fortunate to land a job a few months after arrival. When someone would have a birthday, we would gather for a celebration and drinks. I remember my boss taking a drink of sparkling Shiraz and then telling how he was a tall and lanky lad from a small town on the River Murray and went off to fight with the Yanks in Vietnam. My jaw dropped. What are you talking about, I thought. Australians didn’t fight in the Vietnam War, only Americans did. How little I knew. I apologise to my Aussie friends for my ignorance.

Thank you, Senator McCain, for reminding your newly elected President of who America’s allies have been. But don’t fret too much, Senator McCain, we know the majority of American people still love their Aussie mates.