Going Back Read online

56 Ibid

  57 Ibid

  58 Ibid

  59 Interview with Roger and Tina Wainwright, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  60 Ibid

  61 Letter, Tony White, 9 September 2005

  62 Ibid

  63 Ibid

  64 Interview with Tony, Doffy and Rupert White, Ho Chi Minh City, SRV, 9 October 2005

  65 Letter, Tony White

  66 Ibid

  67 Interview with the White family, 9 October 2005

  68 Ibid

  69 Ibid

  70 Ibid

  71 Ibid

  Chapter 3 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and surrounds

  1 Gary McKay, Australia’s Battlefields in Viet Nam, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2004; this book is a tool for those who wish to visit the battlefields where the 1st Australian Task Force units fought during the war. For a more comprehensive guide to the country, the culture and travel-oriented matters, readers should refer to travel guides such as Lonely Planet.

  2 Letter, Peter Isaacs, 18 November 2005

  3 Interview with Peter Rogers, Yaroomba, Qld, 12 December 2005

  4 Letter, Derrill De Heer, 17 May 2006

  5 Interview with Ron Shambrook, Brisbane, Qld, 14 July 2005

  6 Interview with Peter Rogers, 12 December 2005

  7 Gary McKay, Bullets, Beans & Bandages: Australians at War in Viet Nam, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1999, p. 74

  8 Gary McKay, Bullets, Beans & Bandages, p. 61

  9 Gary McKay, Bullets, Beans & Bandages, p. 73. Wallaby Airlines was the nickname given to the RAAF 35 Squadron and the Caribou short take-off and landing aircraft, owing to the squadron insignia on the tailplane.

  10 For a full account of the battles, see The Battle of Coral: Fire Support Bases Coral and Balmoral May 1968 by Lex McAulay, Hutchinson, Melbourne, 1988.

  11 Interview with Peter Rogers, 12 December 2005

  Chapter 4 Inside the wire: Nui Dat

  1 Interview with Bill Kromwyk, Mt Gravatt, Qld, 27 February 2006

  2 Letter, Derrill De Heer, 17 May 2006. (On 23 November 1969 and just prior to 9 RAR’s departure from South Viet Nam, a disgruntled soldier placed an M26 HE grenade into a tent that housed Lieutenant Convery and his platoon sergeant. Convery was killed in the subsequent explosion.)

  3 Letter, Bob Hann, 25 July 2006

  4 Letter, Ian Ryan, 2 May 2006

  5 Interview with Roger Wainwright, Canberra, ACT, 15 February 2005

  6 Interview with Ron Shambrook, Brisbane, Qld, 14 July 2005

  7 Ibid

  8 Letter, Peter Isaacs, 18 November 2005

  9 Interview with Paul Greenhalgh, Canberra, ACT, 20 February 2005

  10 Interview with Ben Morris, Hoi An, SRV, 12 October 2005

  11 Interview with Fred Pfitzner, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  12 Interview with Peter Rogers, Yaroomba, Qld, 12 December 2005

  13 The Australian Veterans Vietnam Reconstruction Group also supports an orphanage in Ba Ria (Phuoc Le) township and has been doing so for many years. For more information on their activities see their website at http://avvrg.au104.org/.

  14 Interview with John Taske, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  15 Interview with Tony, Doffy and Rupert White, Ho Chi Minh City, SRV, 9 October 2005

  16 Interview with Rupert White, Vung Tau, SRV, 8 October 2005

  17 Interview with Roger and Tina Wainwright, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  18 Ibid

  Chapter 5 Outside the wire: Phuoc Tuy

  1 Interview with Bill Kromwyk, Mt Gravatt, Qld, 27 February 2006

  2 The Regional Forces (formerly the Civil Guard) and the Popular Forces (formerly the Self Defence Corps) were South Vietnamese militia. The Popular Forces were trained and equipped to a lesser level than the Regional Forces.

  3 Letter, Garry Heskett, 19 June 2006

  4 Interview with Bill Kromwyk, 27 February 2006

  5 Operation Hardihood was conducted from 24 May to 12 June 1966, and involved units from the American 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) based at Bien Hoa, 5 RAR and elements of the future Australian Task Force.

  6 Interview with Peter Isaacs, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  7 Ibid

  8 Interview with Paul Greenhalgh, Canberra, ACT, 20 February 2005

  9 Interview with Bill Kromwyk, 27 February 2006

  10 Interview with Ben Morris, Hoi An, SRV, 12 October 2005

  11 Ibid

  12 Interview with Fred Pfitzner, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  13 Interview with Peter Rogers, Yaroomba, Qld, 12 December 2005

  14 Interview with Ron Shambrook, Hoi An, SRV, 12 October 2005

  15 Interview with John Taske, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  16 Interview with Roger Wainwright, Canberra, ACT, 15 February 2005

  17 Ibid

  18 Ibid

  19 Interview with Ron Shambrook, 12 October 2005

  20 Interview with Paul Greenhalgh, 20 February 2005

  21 Interview with Paul and Wendy Greenhalgh, Hoi An, SRV, 12 October 2005

  22 Interview with Fred Pfitzner, Royalla, NSW, 2 September 2005

  23 Interview with Roger and Tina Wainwright, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  24 Interview with John Taske, 11 October 2005

  25 Interview with Paul Greenhalgh, 20 February 2005

  26 Letter, Derrill De Heer, 17 May 2006

  27 Interview with Peter Isaacs, 11 October 2005

  28 Interview with Bill Kromwyk, 27 February 2006

  29 Interview with Fred Pfitzner, 11 October 2005

  30 Ibid

  31 Interview with Roger and Tina Wainwright, 11 October 2005

  32 Interview with Tony, Doffy and Rupert White, Ho Chi Minh City, SRV, 9 October 2005

  33 Robert O’Neill, Vietnam Task: The 5th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, 1966–67, Cassell Australia, Melbourne, 1968, pp. 221–6, 228

  34 Interview with the White family, 9 October 2005

  35 Interview with Roger Wainwright, 15 February 2005

  36 Letter, Peter Isaacs, 18 November 2005

  37 Interview with Roger Wainwright, 15 February 2005

  38 Interview with Peter Rogers, 12 December 2005. For a full account of the battle at Binh Ba, see Gary McKay and Graeme Nicholas, Jungle Tracks—Australian Armour in Viet Nam, Allen &Unwin, Sydney, 2001.

  39 The aviators were Captain Barry Donald and Second Lieutenant Alan Jellie, flying a Pilatus Porter at night and shot down on 3 December 1969.

  40 Interview with Fred Pfitzner, Vung Tau, SRV, 8 October 2005

  41 A military demarcation line on the 17th Parallel split Viet Nam as a result of the Geneva Accords, which came into effect at midnight on 22 July 1954.

  42 Interview with Fred Pfitzner, 11 October 2005

  43 Interview with Wendy Greenhalgh, Vung Tau, SRV, 8 October 2005

  Chapter 6 Long Tan: The Cross

  1 Elizabeth Stewart, ‘Return to Vietnam’, Paper, University of Newcastle, 2005

  2 Interview with Steve Campling, Ho Chi Minh City, SRV, 12 August 2002

  3 Interview with Bob Hansford, Ho Chi Minh City, SRV, 12 August 2002

  4 Interview with Gail Campling, Ho Chi Minh City, SRV, 12 August 2002

  5 Letter, Gail Campling, 24 December 2005

  6 Interview with Paul Greenhalgh, Canberra, ACT, 20 February 2005

  7 For Buick’s account of the battle, see Bob Buick and Gary McKay, All Guts and No Glory—The Story of a Long Tan Warrior, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2000.

  8 Interview with Paul Greenhalgh, 20 February 2005

  9 Interview with Ron Shambrook, Brisbane, Qld, 14 July 2005

  10 Interview with Ted and Joy Heffernan, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  11 Interview with John Taske, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  12 Ibid

  13 Ibid

  14 Interview with Ben Morris, Hoi An, SRV, 12 October 2005

  15 Interview with Fred Pfitzner, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  16 Ibid

>   17 Interview with Ron Shambrook, 14 July 2005

  18 Ibid

  19 Interview with Peter Rogers, Yaroomba, Qld, 12 December 2005

  20 Interview with Ron Shambrook, Hoi An, SRV, 12 October 2005

  21 Interview with Roger and Tina Wainwright, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  22 Interview with Tony, Doffy and Rupert White, Ho Chi Minh City, SRV, 9 October 2005

  23 Interview with Peter Isaacs, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  24 Ba Ria–Vung Tau Guidebook, 2005, and letter from Garry Adams, 23 November 2006

  25 Interview with Bill Kromwyk, Mt Gravatt, Qld, 27 February 2006

  26 Excerpt from Wartime, Issue 35, July 2006, p. 16

  Chapter 7 The gamut of emotions

  1 Interview with Garry Adams, Hoi An, SRV, 12 October 2005

  2 Interview with Ron Shambrook, Hoi An, SRV, 12 October 2005

  3 Interview with Garry Adams, 12 October 2005

  4 Ibid

  5 Letter, Steve Campling, 24 December 2005

  6 Interview with Ted and Joy Heffernan, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  7 Ibid

  8 Interview with Ron Shambrook, 12 October 2005

  9 Interview with Ben Morris, Hoi An, SRV, 12 October 2005

  10 Ibid

  11 Interview with Peter Isaacs, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  12 Interview with John Taske, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  13 Interview with Tony, Doffy and Rupert White, Ho Chi Minh City, SRV, 9 October 2005

  14 Interview with Paul and Wendy Greenhalgh, Hoi An, SRV, 12 October 2005

  15 There are 24 Viet Nam servicemen buried in the Australian section of the War Cemetery at Terendak in Western Malaysia, and one (Warrant Officer Class 2 Conway) interred at Kranji Military Cemetery in Singapore.

  16 Interview with Ben Morris, 12 October 2005

  17 Ibid

  18 Interview with Roger and Tina Wainwright, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  19 Ibid

  20 Ibid

  21 Interview with the White family, 9 October 2005

  22 Letter, Bob Hann, 25 July 2006

  23 Ibid

  24 Letter, Garry Heskett, 19 June 2006

  25 Interview with Peter Isaacs, 11 October 2005

  26 Ibid

  27 Ibid

  28 Ibid

  29 Letter, Peter Isaacs, 18 November 2005

  30 Interview with Bill Kromwyk, Mt Gravatt, Qld, 27 February 2006

  31 Ibid

  32 Interview with John Taske, 11 October 2005

  33 Ibid

  34 Interview with Ron Shambrook, 12 October 2005

  35 Letter, Ian Ryan, 2 May 2006

  36 Ibid

  37 Interview with Garry Adams, 12 October 2005

  38 Ibid

  39 Letter, Gail Campling, 24 December 2005

  40 Interview with Paul and Wendy Greenhalgh, 12 October 2005

  41 Interview with Garry Adams, 12 October 2005

  42 Letter, Derrill De Heer, 17 May 2006

  43 Ibid

  44 Interview with Robyn Nolan, Coolum Beach, Qld, 3 May 2006

  45 Ibid

  46 Ibid

  47 Ibid

  48 Ibid

  49 Ibid

  50 Ibid

  51 Ibid

  52 Ibid

  53 The War Atrocities Museum, as it was called when the report was written, is now known as the War Remnants Museum. It is located in the former US Ambassador’s residence in Ho Chi Minh City and contains graphic displays showing images after the My Lai massacre, summary executions and many dead Vietnamese, as well as glass jars containing grotesque, seriously malformed unborn foetuses, claiming Agent Orange to be the cause. Regardless, there are no reports or images of Viet Cong or NVA atrocities, such as the massacre in Hué during the 1968 Tet Offensive.

  54 Interview with Robyn Nolan, 3 May 2006

  55 Ibid

  56 Ibid

  57 Ibid

  58 Ibid

  59 Ibid

  60 The VVCS is now known as the Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service and caters for all veterans of all conflicts.

  61 Interview with Robyn Nolan, 3 May 2006

  Chapter 8 Reflections

  1 Interview with Paul and Wendy Greenhalgh, Hoi An, SRV, 12 October 2005

  2 Ibid

  3 Interview with Ted and Joy Heffernan, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  4 Ibid

  5 Ibid

  6 The Hippocratic Oath traditionally taken by physicians pertains to the ethical practice of medicine. It is widely believed that the oath was written by Hippocrates, the father of medicine, in the 4th century B.C.E., or by one of his students.

  7 Interview with Ted and Joy Heffernan, 11 October 2005

  8 Ibid

  9 Interview with Peter Isaacs, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  10 Ibid

  11 Interview with Ben Morris, Hoi An, SRV, 12 October 2005

  12 Ibid

  13 Interview with Fred Pfitzner, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  14 Ibid

  15 Interview with Ron Shambrook, Hoi An, SRV, 12 October 2005

  16 Interview with John Taske, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  17 Ibid

  18 Interview with Roger and Tina Wainwright, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  19 Ibid

  20 Interview with Tony, Doffy and Rupert White, Ho Chi Minh City, SRV, 9 October 2005

  21 Ibid

  22 Ibid

  23 Interview with Ted and Joy Heffernan, 11 October 2005

  24 Ibid

  25 Interview with Roger and Tina Wainwright, 11 October 2005

  26 Ibid

  27 Interview with Tina Taske, Ho Chi Minh City, SRV, 9 October 2005

  28 Ibid

  29 Ibid

  30 Ibid

  31 Interview with Paul and Wendy Greenhalgh, 12 October 2005

  32 Ibid

  33 Interview with the White family, 9 October 2005

  34 Interview with Doffy White, Vung Tau, SRV, 8 October 2005

  35 Interview with the White family, 9 October 2005

  36 Ibid

  37 Ibid

  38 Ibid

  39 Ibid

  40 Ibid

  41 Letter, Kelly McKay, 7 December 2006

  Epilogue

  1 Interview with Garry Adams, Hoi An, SRV, 12 October 2005

  2 Elizabeth Stewart, ‘Return to Vietnam’, Paper, University of Newcastle, 2005

  3 I was present on this visit to Nui Dat on 17 August 1996.

  4 I introduced Jim Richmond to Mr Sinh, a Long Tan veteran, on 17 August 1996.

  5 Elizabeth Stewart, ‘Return to Vietnam’

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  Books

  American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edn, American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC, 2000

  Buick, Bob and McKay, Gary, All Guts & No Glory—The Story of a Long Tan Warrior, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2000

  Davies, Bruce and McKay, Gary, The Men Who Persevered—The AATTV: The Most Decorated Australian Unit in the Viet Nam War, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2005

  Horner, David, Duty First, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1990

  Karnow, Stanley, Vietnam—A History, The First Complete Account of Vietnam at War, Century Publishing, London, 1983

  Mason, Florence and Storey, Robert, Lonely Planet Vietnam, From Ho Chi Minh to the Honda Dream, Lonely Planet Publications, Melbourne, 1991

  McAulay, Lex, The Battle of Coral, Fire Support Bases Coral and Balmoral May 1968, Hutchinson, Melbourne, 1988

  McKay, Gary, Australia’s Battlefields in Viet Nam, A Traveller’s Guide, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2004

  ——Bullets, Beans and Bandages: Australians at War in Viet Nam, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1999

  ——Delta Four—Australian Riflemen in Vietnam, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1996

  ——In Good Company, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1987

  McKay, Gary and Nicholas, Graeme, Jungle Tracks—Austr
alian Armour in Viet Nam, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2001

  McNeill, Ian, The Team: Australian Army Advisers in Vietnam 1962–1972, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1984

  Nolan, Keith William, Battle For Hue, Tet 1968, Presidio Press, California, 1983

  O’Neill, Robert, Vietnam Task: The 5th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, 1966–67, Cassell Australia, Melbourne, 1968

  Prisor, Robert, The End of The Line: The Siege at Khe Sanh, W.W. Norton, New York, 1982

  Yanagihara, Wendy and Ray, Nick, Vietnam, Lonely Planet, Melbourne, 2005

  Papers

  Stewart, Elizabeth, ‘Return to Vietnam’, a paper presented at the University of Newcastle conference ‘The Vietnam War, Thirty Years On: Memories, Legacies, and Echoes’, Newcastle, April 2005

  Interviews

  Adams, Garry, Hoi An, SRV, 12 October 2005

  Campling, Gail and Steve, Ho Chi Minh City, SRV, 12 August 2002

  Greenhalgh, Paul, Canberra, ACT, 20 February 2005

  Greenhalgh, Paul and Wendy, Hoi An, SRV, 12 October 2005

  Greenhalgh, Wendy, Vung Tau, SRV, 8 October 2005

  Hansford, Bob, Ho Chi Minh City, SRV, 12 August 2002

  Heffernan, Ted and Joy, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  Heskett, Garry, Bringelly, NSW, 15 May 1993

  Isaacs, Peter, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  Kromwyk, Bill, Mt Gravatt, Qld, 27 February 2006

  Morris, Ben, Hoi An, SRV, 12 October 2005

  Morris, Ben, Yaroomba, Qld, 8 March 2005

  Nolan, Robyn, Coolum Beach, Qld, 3 May 2006

  Pfitzner, Fred, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  Pfitzner, Fred, Royalla, NSW, 2 September 2005

  Pfitzner, Fred, Vung Tau, SRV, 8 October 2005

  Rogers, Peter, Yaroomba, Qld, 23 May 2001 and 12 December 2005

  Shambrook, Ron, Brisbane, Qld, 14 July 2005

  Shambrook, Ron, Hoi An, SRV, 12 October 2005

  Taske, John, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  Taske, Tina, Ho Chi Minh City, SRV, 9 October 2005

  Wainwright, Roger, Canberra, ACT, 15 February 2005

  Wainwright, Roger and Tina, Hoi An, SRV, 11 October 2005

  White, Doffy, Vung Tau, SRV, 8 October 2005

  White, Rupert, Vung Tau, SRV, 8 October 2005

  White, Tony, Doffy and Rupert, Ho Chi Minh City, SRV, 9 October 2005

  Letters

  Adams, Garry, 23 November 2006

  Campling, Gail, 24 December 2005

  Campling, Steve, 24 December 2005

  De Heer, Derrill, 17 May 2006

  Hann, Bob, 25 July 2006

  Heffernan, Ted, 18 September 2005

  Heskett, Garry, 19 June 2006

  Heskett, Suzanne, 16 June 2006