Afghanistan War exhibition at the Australian War Memorial opened The new Afghanistan exhibition at the Australian War Memorial is intended to become a place of healing. Veterans from the war will also find it is an emotional experience to visit the exhibition. In the centre of the stage stands a battered storage bin from an army bushmaster vehicle, a stark testimony to the power of the of the roadside bombs used by the Taliban against Australian soldiers. No one was killed in that blast, however another relic on the wall nearby points to a tragedy. It is part of a cowl from a black hawk helicopter in which three Australians were killed. War Memorial director Brendan Nelson said the new exhibition was to honor Australians serving in Afghanistan and to show people the work being done by the Task Force. He said the exhibition was unusual because of its extensive use of multimedia and because it was put together before the war had ended. He said the post-traumatic stress suffered by Vietnam veterans might have been reduced if their service had been honored sooner. "We will not make that mistake again" he said. Colonel Jason Blain, who commanded the mentoring task force, said he would be able to bring his children to the exhibition so they could "see what their dad did over there." He said the exhibition would become a place of healing for soldiers returning from Afghanistan. After the exhibition was launched, the names of Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan were read out during the daily Last Post service. The event was attended by Governor-General Quentin Bryce, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott. During the brief lull in election campaigning, the two political leaders stood with heads bowed for the service. They will deliver speeches at the public launch of the exhibition on Tuesday evening.