A time of remembrance

THE JOHNSTON family have served and serve our country still, three sons following in father Michael’s footsteps, and ahead of Anzac Day, Mr Johnston is reminding Australians April 25 is about commemoration – not celebration.
“You don’t celebrate Anzac Day, you commemorate it. It’s not a celebration and that’s a mistake people make. It’s a time to remember, during dawn service I think about what people have done,” he said.
“It’s about remembrance, to remember what’s happened in the past.”
Mr Johnston joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1971 as an air electronics officer, where he stayed until 1995.
“A lot of that was flying up in Townsville in Neptunes and in Adelaide in P-3 Orions. I reached the rank of squadron leader and changed from air electronics officer to navigator. In 1995 I got out and had nothing to do with the Air Force for eight years until I went back in the Reserve, where I was an active Reservist for 14 years until 2017.”

In that time Mr Johnston deployed to the Middle East seven times, leaving wife Kerry to run the home and their three boys, who’ve followed Michael into the military.
“My eldest son is 35 and now in the Middle East, he and youngest son Lucas, 29, followed me into the Air Force, and my middle son Christian, 33, is a major in the Royal Australian Infantry. His wife Lauren is a RAAF logistics officer.
“Christian has been deployed to Afghanistan twice, in 2010 he was on patrol out in the field and was there for nine months; he was going to be the main speaker this year for Torquay’s Anzac Day service. Lucas has also done two tours.”

Mateship, teamwork and camaraderie are what Mr Johnston has taken from a career in the Air Force but said there’s been many sacrifices along the way.
“When my eldest son started Year Seven, it was his seventh school in seven years. That’s what triggered me to get out the first time. The boys are resilient and adapted but I missed out on a lot of things growing up.”
At the beginning of the year he said all three sons were in the Middle East, when US President Donald Trump organised the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
“Kerry and I were very concerned Trump was saying some really ridiculous things and I would cringe. We were really worried, Kerry has always been very strong, but that was a really worrying time for us.
“I’m in the RSL and a lot of the guys are Vietnam vets or the odd World War II veteran. A lot of them have PSTD, they’re still struggling. They didn’t have the support of Australians coming back but I think we’re a lot better recognising their service now.”