Australian Defence Medal : Chaplain J E Grannall, Royal Australian Air Force

Australian Defence Medal. Engraved edge with recipient's details.

John Edward Grannall was born on 30 August 1931 in Canowindra, NSW. He joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1965 on a full time basis, and in 1969 was posted with No. 1 Operational Support Unit as a chaplain of the Catholic Church in South Vietnam. During this time he distinguished himself with his strong commitment to both the serving members of the RAAF deployed at Vung Tau and towards the local South Vietnamese population, in particular the orphans for whom he spent considerable time supporting and in building a new orphanage. Chaplains often headed the civil aid teams attached to the RAAF air units in Vietnam, adopting small to large scale projects in benefit of the local communities directly affected by the war.

In Vung Tau the establishment of the An Phong Vietnamese children's orphanage was taken up by Chaplain Grannall as a civil aid project, supported by Australian and American force volunteers. The temporary orphanage was erected as a response to the growing numbers of Vietnamese children displaced from increased Viet Cong activity in the Mekong Delta region. Near 200 children were accommodated on the site of a disused school in Vung Tau named 'An Phong' meaning 'winds of peace'.

In early 1970 Chaplain Grannall made arrangements for the relocation and permanent construction of an orphanage outside of Vung Tau in the hillside, near the settlement of Bai Dau. This construction program became the RAAF's major civic project in the area. The completion of the orphanage was overseen by Chaplain Rodger Boerth, and following the initially slow start, the orphanage was officially handed over to local Father Nguyen Van Qui on 27 November 1971.

For his work with the South Vietnamese orphans Grannall was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire for "concern for the welfare of others... earned him the trust and respect of all who came into contact with him". Chaplain Grannall was discharged in 1976 after 11 years of full time service with the RAAF, but continued to serve his community through the work of the Catholic Church until his retirement.