Reggie will march again

By Lia Bichel
AN EX-SERVICEMAN rammed by a World War II truck during Melbourne’s Anzac Day parade said he had “no hard feelings” towards the Nar Nar Goon driver.
Endeavour Hills resident Reggie Oorloff, who is secretary of the Ceylon Ex-Servicemen’s Association Australia Branch, said he had forgiven 68-year-old war truck enthusiast Russell Hughes for the horrific incident which occurred outside the Victorian Arts Centre.
Mr Hughes, 64, is an affiliate member of the Nar Nar Goon RSL and a member of the Victorian Military Corps.
He said he was at a loss to what caused the accident.
Pictures emerged a few weeks after the incident, revealing Mr Hughes with a camera in his hands while in the driver’s seat of the truck.
“He has been through enough bloody trauma and hell,” Mr Oorloff said.
“He came to the hospital to visit after it happened. There are no hard feelings. We are only human, and subject to human error or distraction. Forgiveness is a blessing from God and I wish the driver all the very best.”
Mr Oorloff, 71, was knocked unconscious, suffered five cracked ribs and a large flesh wound on his right thigh when he was struck.
“I don’t remember much. I was unconscious, and woke up for a few seconds when I was put in the ambulance, but then I blacked out again,” he said.
“My wife Hilary was there and she was devastated.”
Mr Oorloff, who was a leading stoker mechanic and diver in the Royal Ceylon Navy from 1957 to 1969, was taken to The Alfred hospital where he stayed for a week.
He is now resting at home, where a nurse checks on him daily and he has physiotherapy.
Mr Oorloff said he spent a lot of time in bed but hobbled from place to place on his crutches.
“Until the wound on my leg recovers and the flesh has regrown, I can’t walk without my crutches,” he said.
“These are the most major injuries I have ever had in my life.”
Mr Oorloff said he was determined to overcome his injuries and march in the Anzac Day parade next year.
He said he believed the other ex-veterans who suffered injuries would be marching alongside him.
“The ex-Ceylon Servicemen’s Association has been marching since 1983,” he said.
“We are determined. We want the tradition to continue.’