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Eric Archinal was born at Miles in Queensland on 23 September 1948. That date was one of the balloted dates for National Service and Eric was called to service our nation. Eric enlisted on 8 July 1969. After recruitment training at 3 Training Battalion, Singleton he was posted to 8 Medium Regiment, Holsworthy for Artillery Corps training. On 4 December 1969 he was posted to 1 Field Regiment and on 11 March 1970 he deployed to Vietnam for a year of operational service as a Gunner. Eric returned to Australia on 11 March 1971, where he was posted to 1 Field Regiment until discharged on 7 July 1971.
With his National Service complete, he returned to civilian life where he worked in a wide range of jobs before finally settling on a 30 year career at Queensland Railway. There his job was ensuring safety of the tracks for travel. At retirement from the railway, he was in the role of Foreman Supervisor.
Eric and his wife Robyn moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2003 for their retirement years. |
Eric was a proud member of the RSL for 26 years, including many as a member of the Mudjimba RSL Sub-branch, where he served on the Committee and was a regular at Friday afternoon drinks. He was also a member of the Sunshine Coast Sub-branch of the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia and a member of 4th Field Regiment (SVN) Association.
Following a long battle with ill health, Eric passed away at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital on 25 January 2022. He loved his family and doted on his grandchildren. He will be sadly missed by his wife Robyn, daughter Kylie, sons Damien and Brendan and grandchildren Zac, Bailey, Toby, Chloe and Jessica.
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