Memorial unveiled to western Queensland soldier killed in Afghanistan

The imposing rusted steel memorial was unveiled on Saturday afternoon in a service that brought together many of the soldier's military mates from around Australia to stand in tribute alongside the Quilpie community.

Monday will mark the 10^th anniversary of Rick's death, when he was gunned down alongside Sapper James Martin and Private Robert Poate by a rogue Afghan soldier guard at their army base in Afghanistan's Baluchi Valley.

It brought a foreign war crashing into the lives of many in Quilpie, who had grown up with the man his partner Kelly Walton describes as the typical Queensland country larrikin.

"Rick was a big personality, he knew a lot of people," she said. "He lived a civilian life, he lived an army life, so I'm not surprised at the support today, it's great."

As well as the 250 people on site at the location with sweeping views to the Channel Country, 76 people online viewed the dedication service conducted by Australia's Chief of Joint Operations, Lieutenant General Greg Bilton AO, and members of the 2^nd/14^th Light Horse Regiment (Queensland Mounted Infantry).

The three-star general told the crowd that while the Australian War Memorial's roll of honour contains more than 101,000 names of people who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for the country, their names are all etched on memorials in communities around the country.

"I find this special," he said. "This is actually personal, and it really illustrates the connection between the community where Rick grew up and lived before he joined his army family."

As well as former soldiers that served in the 2^nd/14^th Light Horse regiment alongside Rick, people from different branches of the army that worked together in Afghanistan, from as far south as Puckapunyal in Victoria and as far north as Darwin, were in attendance.

They included members of the Martin and Poate families, who had travelled from Canberra and Western Australia for the occasion.

"I humbly thank Quilpie for doing this," Lt Gen Bilton said.

"The support of the community is not something we take lightly.

"I thank you so much for remembering."

He was very complimentary of the location, saying a lot of thought had gone into it, being a place that Rick and his friends would hang out at on weekends.

One of Rick's closest friends, Troy Minnett was the instigator of the memorial and he told the audience that it was in a unique location that would offer viewers a chance for peace and reflection.

Quilpie Shire Council Mayor Stuart Mackenzie said it was where all the sporting teams would pull up coming home from Charleville.

"It has real significance to us," he said. "You know you'll get home once you get to the Jump Up."

Cr Mackenzie said Rick's family and friends had been behind the memorial from the start.

"It's been 10 years," he said.

"The idea was put to council way back then, just after Rickie died and it's taken a while but it sort of fitted in with the 10-year anniversary.

"It's a tribute to the family and the friends that put that much thought and effort into this and getting the funding for it.

"They didn't want to see his memory fade away.

"It was their way of saying, we need to see him live on in the community, and to do something like this is basically doing that."

Funding for the memorial came from a $77,573 grant administered to the Quilpie Shire Council under the Saluting Their Service commemorations program.

Kelly Walton recalls saying to Troy when he approached her about putting up a memorial, that she didn't "want just a rock on the side of a road, and a plaque that no-one's going to stop and look at".

"This was the concept that was born, and we had a fantastic graphic designer," she said. "We met with her and talked about what we were wanting and she conceptualised it and got it, perfectly."

She paid tribute to the council for getting behind the idea, saying it had gone above and beyond expectations.

Rick was the son of a Yugoslavian opal miner who moved his young family to Quilpie from Penrith when Rick was just one year old, drawn by the region's rich opal mining prospects.

Settling into the small outback community, the Milosevic family was well-known and much-loved.

Rick made the decision to join the army at 36 after completing a plumbing apprenticeship and working in transport logistics, receiving many awards during his four-year career in the armed forces, including being recognised as the most outstanding recruit at Kapooka.

Kelly said he found his true vocation there.

"He excelled in his army career and was very happy. We were very proud of him, and he was fulfilled serving his country," she said. "I think he would be very happy that we're remembering him in such a special spot."

The official opening of the memorial was delayed several times because of COVID, but Kelly said the time was right this weekend on the 10-year anniversary of Rick's death.

The 2^nd/14^th Light Horse regiment, part of an Australian Army unit that's Australia's oldest, has a rich history in Queensland, with many young men from the Quilpie region fighting as part of mounted infantry units in foreign wars a century ago, and Troy Minnett said there were plans to honour their wider contribution at the memorial.

"While we love what has been created to date, we intend to continue building on the memorial and are already looking at stage two, as soon as we can secure the funding needed to move ahead," he said.

"The Quilpie region played home to some of Australia's original Light Horsemen, and we hope to also honour the men and women of Quilpie who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

"From little thing, big things grow."

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