Personal items tell the story of war AUSTRALIAN War Memorial director Brendan Nelson is asking defence personnel to donate objects they used in service to help others understand day-to-day life on modern battlegrounds. Uniforms, GPS units and pocketknives are all valuable artefacts when telling the story of defence men and women at war, and Mr Nelson wants more personnel to follow the example of Victoria Cross winners Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith and Corporal Daniel Keighran. "Our history is in the process of being made in Afghanistan as we approach the drawdown," he said in Canberra on Tuesday. Once they've finished with them, the everyday things that they use, the emails that they write ... the diaries that they keep may not at the time seem all that significant beyond their own personal lives and experiences but they are extremely important to our nation. The memorial is now displaying the uniform Corporal Roberts-Smith wore in Afghanistan on June 2010, when his actions earned him a Victoria Cross. Corporal Roberts-Smith's special operations task group came under enemy fire during a mission in Kandahar Province. He exposed his own position to draw fire away from the rest of the patrol, then stormed the enemy position to kill two machine gunners. His uniform dresses a mannequin the same height as the two metre-tall soldier, and is accompanied by his helmet, ear muffs, watch protector and other personal items. "It's intimidating enough looking at it, without him being in it," Dr Nelson said. Oddly - for something worn during a dusty, bloody engagement - the uniform is spotless. But that's the way it was delivered to the memorial. Also missing are the sneakers Corporal Roberts-Smith wore on that day. He gave the memorial a pair of his uniform boots instead. "Ben's wife and mates would know it's hard to get anything off him but we're very pleased that we were able to get this uniform," Dr Nelson said. Also included the Hall of Valour display are Corporal Keighran's seal pup utility knife and personal GPS and a new video portrait of fellow VC winner Corporal Mark Donaldson.