The bodies of 33 Australian soldiers who were killed in the Vietnam War and buried in Malaysia and Singapore will finally be returned to Australia on Thursday.

It comes half a century after their death and is one of the largest single repatriations in the nation’s history.

The returning Australians, 21 Vietnam veterans, three servicemen and eight dependents, had been interred at Terendak Military Cemetery in Malaysia, with one single serviceman interred in the Kranji Military Cemetery in Singapore.

A guard of honour and a flag ceremony was held today at an airbase in Malaysia.

The coffins, each draped with an Australian flag, were loaded onto a military plane by Malaysian officers at Subang Air Base.

On Thursday, a military repatriation ceremony and private memorial service will be held at RAAF Richmond in Sydney, after two Royal Australian Air Force Aircraft C-17 Globemaster aircraft bearing the Australians land at about 10.30am.

Representatives of the Vietnam Veteran community will attend the ceremony, some who had served alongside the returning servicemen.

More than 60,000 Australian troops served in the Vietnam War between 1962 and 1975. Over 520 Australians were killed.

– TiVi Tuan-san