MAJOR DEDICATED WAR MEMORIAL 1.    This is a major dedicated War Memorial, set aside from all secular purposes.       Therefore it should not be desecrated or treated lightly by anyone.  It is not only one of the two major memorials in Australia, it is a memorial of international status and esteem and features prominently on the internet. 2.    From the very beginning it was designed as a fully approved and endorsed total concept. The Cherry Trees being an integral and inseparable part of the whole was supported and financed by all three tiers of government, including local government and public donations. 3.    The development and finalisation of the project was supported by an enormous volunteer effort, especially from local, and distant, Vietnam Veterans who have been trodden on by Australian society since their return from Vietnam.

FLOWERING MEMORIAL TO VIETNAM VETERANS There are TWO major Vietnam War Memorials in Australia. The National Memorial on ANZAC Parade, in Canberra and the Cherry Tree Walk. The tree selected was the beautiful great white cherry Prunus "Tai Haku". It is a vigorous, healthy specimen with large white blossoms in spring and brilliantly coloured leaves in autumn. Bowral's Cherry Tree Walk in New South Wales, which winds for 5km along the banks of the Mittagong rivulet, has been a seven-year labour of love for the Cherry Tree Walk Committee. The project is only half complete, with 200 donated trees planted either side of a path at 7m intervals, "like soldiers on parade", one for each Australian soldier killed. The Committee chose Cherry Trees because they are beautiful, grow well in the climate and represent a link with their native Asia that is central to the memorial's theme of reconciliation. The Walk will also be a tribute to all those who served their country in Vietnam by a simple phrase on the monument, "They Served Their Country With Honour". Our USA Mates are not forgotten, as a Tree will be planted in Honour of all those who served and those who died in Vietnam. A pergola has been planted with a specially grown rose called the "4th of July" again in Honour of our USA Brothers in Arms.

WHY THE CHERRY TREE WAS SELECTED Bowral's Cherry Tree Walk, which winds for 5km along the banks of the Mittagong rivulet, has been a seven-year labour of love for the Cherry Tree Walk Committee. The project is only half complete, with 200 donated trees planted either side of a path at 7m intervals, "like soldiers on parade", one for each Australian soldier killed. Committee chose Cherry Trees because they are beautiful, grow well in the climate and represent a link with their native Asia that is central to the memorial's theme of reconciliation.