Geoff Hazel - Vietnam

Enlistment

When I joined, I mean, it was to Wagga. One of the first things I was asked was, "What Corps do you want?" I said, "Infantry". And the corporal who was a section leader or trainer said, "No. Think of something else. The National servicemen are about to start and they're all going to infantry so we'll need to put things up. And I thought, "Well, no, I want to go to infantry.

So I just did the best I could and towards the end of the course he came and got me and said, "The platoon commander wants to see you". So we're walking over and he said, "Oh, by the way, you've got the best soldiers award for the platoon". And I looked at him and said, "Does that mean I get infantry ?" He said, "That means you get whatever you bloody well want".

So, in actual fact, the bloke came second to me, Greg Mawkes, he also got infantry. So I topped that course and he came second, in the infantry training, he topped the course and I came second. And we both ended up in 3 Battalion.

Training

When we got to 3RAR, and they basically said, "Well, we're putting regulars into support companies". So initially, when I went to signal platoon, and he went to mortar platoon, and then I did two trips back to Ingleburn, to do the training there. And I topped both of them so I actually got promoted to Lance Corporal after 12 months which was almost unheard of in the army in those days.

And then did more courses. We were very rarely in South Australia. We were forever off somewhere. We went to Tasmania for the Hobart fires of 67, flew down there to provide communications because there weren't any communications for the army fire teams that were helping out. Mostly a week, maybe two weeks at the most was at home in the base, and then you're either off on exercise being the enemy.

We had a train trip from Adelaide to Rockhampton, troop train, five days, it took us and we were going up there to be the enemy in the first Barra Winga. And so it was it was good, you were always doing something.

Motivation to fight in Vietnam

At that stage, it was still sort of pro the troops and the war. And there was a genuine belief in the country that if we didn't stop them there, then they keep coming. And also with the other troubles that were happening with Indonesia, with their communist tendencies at the time.

So you thought, right? Yes, it needs to be done. It was one of those things that needs to be done. So yeah, I had no problem that, yes, that's what needs to be done. So I want to be one of the ones that goes and does it.

The advance party

If we go back to the start of the year, in 67, I went and saw my platoon commander, the original signals, regimental signals, officer, and I said, "Can I put in for a particular set of leave dates this year?" He said, "What for?" I said, "Because I want to get married". "Ah, right. Go down and talk with the company clerk, and he will run through the program of where we're going to be."

We looked down, we were aiming for the 12th of December, our intentions were. But on the program on the 12th of December, we're going to be on an exercise somewhere. And there was only one two-week period in that whole year, when we were going to be in Adelaide. So righto, in the middle of that, that's when we'll get married. Put in, got the leave approved.

As it turned out, we were on our what became our last exercise in October in South Australia when listening to the radio one morning they said, "Oh, 3 Battalion is going to Vietnam in December". And even the CEO, because I was his radio operator, he did not know. So he made a few phone calls and then he left and went to Canberra to find out what the hell was going on. And it'd been announced in parliament the night before. So we actually, I went out on the advance party because I was the CO's sig, he was on that party and we flew out on the 10th of December. the boat sailed, the Sydney, sailed on the 11th from Adelaide.

So the advance party we were forewarned, right, "When you get there, you'll have two days inside another units base before we move you out on your own". We landed, we were put into trucks and we're driving through Nui Dat and all of a sudden we're driving through barbed wire and out into the open. Another kilometre and a half down the road we stopped there's these partially constructed huts. And this is your base. "Where's the other unit we're supposed to be sharing with for a while?"

That was it. The hundred of us there, this was going to be the battalion base. And the area we just crossed through later on would become where the armoured corps moved the tanks into. But yeah, so it was an interesting first few days. I mean, we had to put our own patrols out to guard the structures that were there and the engineering equipment that was being left overnight.

And the first night I think we had at least three stand tos. Probably one of them was a genuine probe to see what was there and the other two were shooting at shadows. And I'd say there was about five days, five nights when that happen every night, one or two and most of the time, it was probably shadows and we were jumping because we were inexperienced. I'd say the whole battalion only had to be lucky to have 5% who experienced battle at the time. [How big was the advance party] 100, nearly 10%, a bit over 10% of the battalion.

There was people from every company. So you had people that were responsible to set up their own areas and look after it so that when their troops moved in, the rest of moved in, they could all move in and then you'd have people who knew what was going on, where, why and how.

A typical day

The typical day, I mean we even had full stand tos inside Nui Dat initially but that was only for the first couple of days and then it was just the perimeter you used to stand to. But think it was day four after the battalion arrived, we were out on our first battalion sized operation. It was a settling in operation that every battalion did. It was an area where they were known to be few people.

And so we had our first four days, and we were out there and into it and then back and from there there were a lot of company sized operations. Sometimes battalion headquarters went along sometimes it didn't. But basically, very rarely, were we, I think I could count on one hand, the number of times we're in base more than four days in a row. There was once later on in the year we were the only battalion I think that did not get the six, the individuals didn't get the six days rest in country breaks.

You got your R&R. But there was also supposed to be a six-day rest and where you went down to Vung Tau to the rest centre there. We just never got that. Jim Shelton, who was the CEO, brilliant CEO, follow him anyway, at one stage, he told headquarters that he was keeping the battalion in base for eight days. And he would send all of his companies down for two days at a time to Vung Tau and split the support company guys up amongst them they weren't with the companies they were normally working with. So he was excellent but that was the only time the battalion actually took eight days and said, "We're not we're not going out shooting people".

First patrol

At one stage there the companies were out, battalion headquarters were in, and they said, "Oh, well", the new company clerk for A company has just been promoted to Corporal, "We'd like you to take him out on a taop patrol", tactical area of responsibility. We put out about six a night, four to six men, your main job was just observation and report back so that nothing could sneak in. "He wants you to take him out and show him how to run a patrol". Okay, I've never done one. Yep, well, I' been a corporal at that stage, I think for whole of five or six weeks. So I'm just a little bit senior to him.

So I went down. Yep, we can do this, got the place where they wanted us to go, went down, met the patrol, there was him, there was two guys that have been there from the start with us. No, one had come over from one of the other battalions for some reason, I don't know why, I think he'd been in hospital and came to us, one that been from the start, and two that had just arrived, they were going to replace some of the national service intake that was going home.

We went out, got out to a spot where I thought that this would make a nice spot. We got a bit old paddy bund we can get behind for a bit of protection if we need it. Right in a corner, solid stone grave behind us. And so I did the resection and all that, then we moved on five or 600 metres, sat down, cooked our dinner, put up a little hoochie, waved goodbye to the locals as they headed out of the paddy fields and went back to the village. And as soon as it was dark and they were all gone, went straight back to where we were supposed to be.

And at 10 past nine we had roster, somebody was watching all the time. 10 past nine, the bloke from A Company woke me up and he said, "We've got people out there". So we just sat there and then there was definitely sounds right near us. And we could sort of see stuff and, righto, called in elimination from the artillery. And I asked, "Where's it supposed to go off?" He said, "Well, if you're where you say you are it'll be right over the top of your head." And it was. And with that, started the fight.

This is just the six of us and God knows how many of them. we were exchanging stuff, not a lot, because they never tried to attack, just kept our heads down and we made sure they didn't come any closer. And then at one stage and that was going on until, it was after two o'clock. So we were going for at least four or five hours. And one of the elimination, which they kept over us went way off beam and it went out over these paddy fields and I saw a group there of about forty and they're running, they're leaving.

So I started calling the artillery on to, because I'd set up fire plans and all that. And I remember I was just about to call the last round where I reckon they would have been, and a flare went off straight overhead again. And they weren't leaving. They were extras coming in. And I never forget, it was it was "Right 300. Drop 600. Enemy assault line . Five rounds. Fire for effect". And they did. I kept my eyes above the bund just long enough to see the first round right in amongst them and said, "Right 50. Repeat". And they just landed right in amongst them.

Those artillery boys really did. I mean, we would have gone, there was no way we were going to take that 40 with what we had, when they they'd also started shooting from the other side of us. And then after that it went quiet for a long while, they sent out a helicopter which flew around and shot up, all the ground all around us. And next morning, they said "Well, are you coming down?" and I said, "I'm not moving from here until somebody comes out and tells me there's nothing hiding around me".

It was a little bell flew out and he landed. And I though, "Righto, if he landed, it's safe because they would have shot him". We did a sweep, there'd been 19 spots where there was ammunition around us. So we'd had a fair group. I was always wondering why nobody came out to save us. And when I got back I did a debrief and we got a good debrief, it was Major Stewart, an admin company guy and he said, "Well, we had two companies, one by helicopters one by armoured personnel carrier ready to go but we believe you were being used as bait for a trap for a larger ambush. So we were just sitting there waiting. And yeah, … I was the first corporal to command a unit in 3 Battalion…It was just before the Tet Offensive.

Bayonet charge

So this is all in the 68. Sixty-seven we were basically waiting for the battalion to arrive and we did that first little battalion sized operation. The Tet Offensive, well, at that stage, well, it was supposed to be a truce for four days. 2 Battalion and 7 Battalion were both somewhere in Bien Hoa. Charlie company 3RAR was the fire support base protection for 2 Battalion. Delta Company was out somewhere in the west of the province by themselves. Bravo, I'm not sure where they were, but they were not in base.

Alpha Company 3RAR was the only infantry company in Nui Dat when the Tet Offensive hit and they were obviously the ready reaction company. The call for that was, the company was to go, well, to Baria to defend the province headquarters, the South Vietnamese province headquarters in Baria, being the capital of the province. There was six APCs, so not enough to take a full company. So we loaded up, and at that stage I was lent to them as an extra radio operator because there was a lot going on and the boss figured he wasn't going anywhere.

He was sitting in a command post with radio operators all around him. Actually, none was an extra because the radio operator that was there was due to go home five days later, he was one of the national servicemen so I was lent to them so that he could come out and not go walking into something when he's only got five days to go. Horrie Howard was company commander and as we're traveling down the highway in these APCs we got about 400 metres from the start of the town and he said, "Stop everybody out of the APCs".

Now, he said that because while we were in the APC, the second lieutenant from the Armoured Corps was in command, the minute we got out of the APCs, Horrie Howard was in command. Turned out to be one of the best moves ever made. We hadn't gone 60 metres and the first three APCs were hit by our RPGs. The town had already been captured by D445 VC Battalion. But probably the advantage we had, because what, there was 60 of us, was that they'd already captured it and were spread out throughout the town.

So we just progressively over the next three and a half days took it back. There was one stage where, and I was still carrying the radio then, an American voice came over and asking If there was anything they could do to help us and, "Who the hell are you?". He said, "Look up". And there were a pair of phantoms sitting up there. "Righto, Yes, I'll ask the boss." They said, "The picture theatre there. There's a bunch of them. We don't know how many, but there's just too many for us".. So they just came in and put a few in. Well, the first one they missed, went straight over the top and landed in what was the laundry where they did all the Task Force greens.

So there were greens everywhere for a while. Then they hit it with rockets. and that just finished it. Peter Fraser from two platoon and there were 18 of us, I was down there with him, we were on the street and all of a sudden there were women and kids being pushed directly towards us with Charlie right behind them. And Peter got known as Goldilocks, he was about six foot four and he had the real blond hair.

He jumped up and it looked like it was straight out of the movies, "Fix bayonets. Follow me". Okay, so everybody just fixed bayonets, all 18 of us and went through. Yeah. They couldn't shoot because what they wanted us to do was shoot the civilians so they got a"

Baria

in Baria there was. I mean, in actual fact, when we went in, when we got into the centre of town on that, when we're trying to retake it, there was a number of them were hanging from lampposts. They had been the ones that have been running shops and working with the Australians. But even later on when, once they were out, that we still had reasonable relationship.

I felt safe walking around Baria, in the normal part of the time. I mean, I was there a second tour with a training team, And yeah, walk around all by myself with just a 45 on the hip and I felt completely safe. [The orphanage was there too?]. Yeah. It was, it was out of town, yeah. Civil affairs were doing the main stuff. … The kids would all be there trying to get cigarettes, lollies, whatever.

And they would help fill the sandbags because in the early days, every time you're in camp, you're out filling sandbags to put in more and more protection around your tents and your bunkers and all that. So you didn't come back and sit down and do nothing. You came back and you worked.

Supermen

When we came back in, because remember there was only six of us. A: I was happy, "Hey, I'm alive" B: "I think I did a damn good job". Then we sat down for breakfast and I couldn't cut the eggs. because my hands were shaking. Then I suppose that and then Baria, not long after that, It turned around and you had this sense of, you just couldn't be touched. You really were going to just stroll through this. We were supermen.

But yeah, the first part, I mean, there was always that thought before you go into the first one, "Will I or will I not?" And I don't think we had any in the battalion that didn't perform. I mean, there was one platoon in Charlie Company who actually in the whole 12 months never fired a shot in anger and never had a shot fired at them, they just happened to be in the wrong places at the wrong, well, as we were saying later, the right place all the time. And it wasn't because they were trying to hide, it was just they weren't there hewn it happened.

Recreation

The engineers built wooden buildings. There was one in the mess hall and the bar in each company area. The rest was 16 by 16 tents that we erected ourselves and then you built sandbag walls around them, timber floors. The roads weren't too bad. Obviously they weren't sealed but the engineers kept them graded and that, I mean the engineers in the setup did a lot of work with their equipment, digging the holes for the bunkers and helping put up all the barbed wire around the whole place.

They did a hell of a lot of the work. But basically each company had two buildings and 16 by 16 tents to live in. There was a rule then from the brigade commander or the Task Force Commander, two cans per man per day only while you were in base. In A Company the company Sergeant Major had a pit dug out the back of the bar so that we could throw empties in there because the Brigadier was known to turn up and have the garbage bins at the base emptied and the number of cans counted.

That one particular brigadier, when he left there wasn't a problem … We had our movie screen, outdoor movie theatre, you brought your own chair, your own raincoat, your own six pack, and rifle and ammunition when you went to the movies. I mean, one of the early ones we saw was To Sir With Love and in that there was not one of those soldiers, obviously we'd been in combat by then, a few who left until that screen went blank. For some reason it just resonated with everybody.

So they were on every night and I got to see one show. That was one of the USO type shows came in. That was down near the Luscombe field, which was in the main task force area, they never came out, actually, to the battalion areas. They had a stage in the amphitheatre type thing set up there. But yeah, only once when I was in was there a show on. I think they probably came in about once every month but very rarely were we in base to do it.

Coral Balmoral

I was pulled out of the operation before the one that became Coral Balmoral because A company was staying in base as the defensive unit which happened quite often, they rotated through. And the sig from B Company was actually going on R&R. So I went in and joined B Company, as their sig with, Bert Irwin was the major. We've done about 12 days, I think, in another area, and then we were picked up by helicopters. And we were being flown to be the first company on the ground at Coral, to set the security so everybody else could fly in.

Flying around, we were flying around for an extra hour and a half and we watched a battle on the ground between an American armoured unit and obviously, the VC of some sort. And we ended up landing, being told to land about 1500 metres away from where the original site was supposed to be. So we did, but then the helicopters were almost out of fuel. They had to go back so everything was delayed on that day. And that's why Coral on that first night was definitely not ready to be attacked. And we stayed there, the rest of 3 Battalion flew in and moved out. A staff of 1 Battalion flew in and moved out.

The first lot of guns were moved in. And then finally the final company of 1 Battalion moved in. And it would have been about 5.30 in the afternoon. And they were to take over from us as defence and we were to move out, we only got 700 metres before we had to set up. And we watched the attack that night on Coral because, and there was damn, nothing we could do. They attacked from one side where no infantry company was still not far away. We didn't, I mean, because we were on a different radio frequency. We didn't know everything that was going on but we just knew it was one hell of a fight.

And the next morning, we were told to move and move fast. And we were in a land cleared area as they called it, they'd been through with the dozers and the chains between them and all the trees were just lying on the ground and it was stinking hot and you're climbing over these trees. We're moving far faster than I think we should have. We had a firefight probably 10, 10 30 spotted a group that was obviously not us and then we kept moving. By the end of the day, towards the end of the day, I think I was the last one to go, he'd lost 11 people with heat exhaustion because you're just pushing in that particular environment way too hard.

And it was always one of the machine gunners or one of the radio operators because they were carrying extra equipment. They had extra weight to the what the normal soldier has. So yeah, there were 10 gone and then they were waiting for a helicopter to take one out and all of a sudden I didn't know where I was. And when I woke up, I was in an American hospital and I woke up and some bloke was saying "Scalpel". And I said, "I'm awake". He said "It's all right. We've put in local anaesthetic".

I had two drips in the arm just with heatstroke. So that was three days in there, I was the only Australian that got there, there was 25th Evac, the others have been picked up by the RAAF and were taken to Vung Tau. So I ended up in the officers' ward being very well looked after, thank you very much and I almost had my purple heart. Somebody was coming in pinning them on. And just before he got to meet the CEO turned up, just to check to see how I was, "What are you doing? No, Australians don't get those things".

Well, but then, once I got over that, that was when Coral was, sorry, Balmoral was being set up and A Company, the whole battalion, I think that was the only time in Balmoral where we had close to the full Battalion on the ground. Every other time you always had people you had to leave people back for base security, you people on leave, usually a platoon out or an operation was somewhere between 19 and 21 not 34. So your companies were only about 60 people. For Balmoral they had just about everybody out there that could. Anybody that was fit and healthy was out there. So I was out of hospital and was out there with A Company.

Balmoral

The task force had 25 killed overall. Most of them were from the artillery on 1 Battalion in the initial attack. The actual main attack on Balmoral, all we had were wounds. I mean, our bunkers were brilliant. I mean, the engineers, American engineers come in and helped build them. The defensive position was really well done, although the one thing we all feared was that they would come through the jungle.

And on three sides, you had jungle right up to the wire. On the fourth side It was an open field. They came across the open field, shoulder to shoulder in waves. Just turn around and said, "Righto". The movie Gallipoli. I've been there, except I was sitting where the Turks were. And they just kept coming?

Enemy bunker systems

The last major operation we had, which was once again a two part one, we'd been out doing a 12 day, that was two weeks and we'd moved from there to the new one which was right up in the northwest of the actual province in the May Tao mountains. We were there more for reconnaissance, which was what the battalions were used for a lot. In that 12-month period, the Americans would send an Australian battalion in to find, they know there's somebody there, you go and find them and once we found them, the main part of them, they we will back out and they would send in a brigade or whatever.

But once again we were there to find something. They knew something was there but didn't know where or what. And we've done a bit, we actually come across, well, going down one, found a slit trench, just big enough for two men no more, no overhead cover nothing there, nothing on 100 metres either side. So, righto, we kept going and all of a sudden we had bunkers on either side of us. Right, that stopped the company, and we were actually walking down between a row of bunkers that were 1500 metres long and it was 300 metres across the end.

We got a fight because there were some of them in the centre, a base protection type group, which didn't take much. I mean, they weren't enough to withstand an Australian company. But that was a huge complex and it hadn't been long before when it was occupied. So righto, we kept going and then we stopped. We set up a base and sent out a patrol, 2 Platoon again, went out to ambush a track junction. Set it up. Somebody came wandering down and they sprung the ambush and all of a sudden all hell broke loose.

That junction was right on the edge of another big base. Horrie Howard sent another platoon down on either end, so we had the whole company in line and fortunately the helicopters were in and out giving us cover enough to withdraw. And it was obviously, as we found out later, it was 275 Regiment, which had been the one that had been messed up, like a mess in Long Tan and it was now fully reformed and getting ready to go back into battle. We had to, there was no way we had the numbers and they just couldn't get extras in so we just had to back off. We'd just been resupplied with our food so that was just stuck in the pit. Grenades with the pin pulled out hidden in it. We went to D company, then the next day we went out, were lifted out.

AATTV ambush

Early 1970, called down to the adjutant's office and she said, "Oh, I've got something. Here's your promotion to Sergeant". I thought, "Well, they did come true". And she said, "But before you do it,. there's a request that you go to the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam, as a corporal". And I just signed it. There was no way you weren't going to take that job. They were already renowned throughout the army. Why they picked [me] Well, apparently, because it was training. I mean, they looked at, you needed to have good combat experience and you needed training.

And so there I was off and did the training courses and all that sort of stuff and next thing, you know, we flew into Saigon and shipped off to do the three-week American course, which really was almost a waste of time because all they were doing was repeating stuff. I know we spent one day towards the end, just down from the training base there was a helicopter company base and we got to know them and got on with them and the bar was open 24 hours a day.

A couple of classes, there were nine of us and for most of the classes we were split into two groups. They only thought that we had two people from Australia in each class because we used to take it in turns of being there and not being there and we were sitting there at the bar this day and they said ,"Oh look, are you guys doing anything tomorrow?" and said, "We're part of a big insertion into Cambodia. Do you want to come along and fly as door gunners?" Try and stop us. So we were there early next morning.

First thing when we got allocated, the first thing we did was clean our guns because the Americans aren't all that good at that maintenance. And we did three flights into Cambodia went to hot hell's edge every time. And then we came back and the next day I got, well, the senior instructor finally found somebody who found me and called me down. He said, "I can't find your senior officers. I want to talk to all your people" because none of us had turned up. So, came in and sat down. He was not a very happy man.

But yeah. And we were in Phuoc Tuoy province with the Matt team, mobile army training team. Our first job, the one I was on, Matt 11, our first job was, it started as soon we got there, was a little village just on route 52, between Saigon and, it was just outside of Baria and it was to train the PSDF, Popular Self-Defence Force, kids, males under 16, or were over 45, they had World War Two weapons and they were to patrol. We run the pool and the end of the two-week program, theoretically you take them out on a night ambush. And this is little lot told us, "Look if we go just a little bit further up the road here.

Every night Charlie goes across, comes from the sea and goes up into the mountains". "Yeah, righto". . Okay, we got to do it, we'll do it. So we went up, walked past, went straight up the road, I hated that but anyhow, we went straight up the road, turned around, and came back. And we're starting to set up the ambush, I had the M 60 and I trained three of the locals who had the ammunition belts all over them and just after I got in position before everybody else was, all of a sudden, I got a group of about seven walking across, coming up the other side of the road, walking straight at us. Well, there was nothing to do but start shooting.

And the Warrant Officer thought that I was shooting at shadows until the group behind who were doing rear protection started shooting as well at a group back there. And we'd actually split a party that were going from the from the water through into the mountains. So these guys have told us the truth. Charlie crossed there most nights.

So the other funny thing was then they talked to a local popular force platoon and they started putting shit on him because, "Hey, we had a go at Charlie, why haven't you?" So that they came to us and said, "We know where the base is at the bottom of the mountains where they take this stuff". And we looked at it and ‘Oh, that's in Australian Task Force area." So we went up and told them, "We don't go in that area, because we don't go any closer than 500 metres to the border in case we run into South Vietnamese troops and we're shooting them instead" We said, "Right, well can we take our people in and fix it up?" "Yeah, we'll make sure nobody's anywhere near you."

Went back and the platoon was very happy when we went in and took out their little, it wasn't very well manned but it was a base. And then that got the local RF company, Regional Force Company saying, "Well, hang on" and really made it good and actually, the interesting thing about that company, the company number was 445. Same as D455 from way before except it didn't have the D on it. And we just, you just worked with them. And they were they were good company.

They were actually good units and pretty well. We were based then in the company that would provide security for the RF rifle range that was on the side of the mountains and that was right beside Baria. But every night we were at least once out engaged with people that were trying to sneak in and out of Baria. And then from there, we lost Blackhurst in the Long Hais, and I got moved from there down to work with Matt 3, which was working with 302 RF battalion. And we had responsibility then for the Long Hais. And then we moved to the Horseshoe. We still had the Horseshoe and Dat Do and the whole area.

Hospitalised with malaria

I was sitting in one of the bunkers on the perimeter defence during the day, which was always manned in Nui Dat and all of a sudden, I said, "Whoa", whoever came in to relieve me, called up, they got the medics in and tested me and I had malaria. I believe there was a big scream because there was nearly 200 of the battalion came down with malaria from that particular thing.

And they were screaming that we weren't taking our proper pills and all that. But then 1 Battalion went in there to try and follow up and they got 150 cases of malaria. And the malaria that was there was just completely immune to what we were taking. So I was in the American Hospital in Vung, Tau for six days but they said, "Right, you're cured but hang on a little bit". "Yeah, righto" and I'm thinking "There's only 3 days until the boat sails.

If I stay here longer, I don't have to get on the boat." And the day before the boat was due to sail, a doctor came in and said, "Right, you're discharged. Out you go." And no sooner had he left and the RAAF doctor came in and said, "Who's here from 3 Battalion?" And there were three of us. He said, "Right, you're all on the plane in two days' time". "Thank you".

Loss of a platoon

Your team was usually somewhere between four and six and then you, the team would break up, like when we're with the battalion there were seven of us that you would go with, there would only be one or two go with a company. Now there was one time before that when I was with 445 when I went out with one of the PSDF platoons, it was just me and the platoon.

That one, somebody opened up at us and we had a little bit of a, but the platoon disappeared and I had to use, every time you went out you had spots prearranged for a helicopter pick up if there was a problem. And I just had to call it in and fortunately, they actually came in with a couple of gunships as well that kept anything away from me and picked me up and we never saw one member of that platoon again, they just disappeared.

A sense of trepidation

I was in contact two days out of every three on the first tour. And the second tour would be about the same. Yeah. Yeah, some are small some, I mean, there was nothing came the size of the way of Balmoral. But yeah, they were there. I mean, you're in contact. Pretty well. Yeah. You went Bush. And there was something, I read it recently where World War Two the average infantry soldier spent 40 days in a combat area each year.

The average infantry soldier in Vietnam spent 40 days not in a bush danger situation each year. But yeah, you got used to it. I know that the first tour towards the end just before we hit that, there was one spot we only had about two weeks to go. And I'm walking along and for the first time it hit me. "You can get killed here." Up until then. I had no understanding that possibly I could go. But it was "You could get killed here". And talking to others later, it hit everybody about the same time.

Bitterness towards the RSL and media

When I came home the first time, there was only one good Vietnamese and that was the one I had in my sights. Now going back there and living with them working with them and to getting to know them. Yeah, we should have been. They needed that extra support because you can't defend a whole country when somebody can pick off wherever they want to hit. So yeah, I got to know them. and I still see some of them here every now and then. You did not feel good that we were being pulled out not having finished the job.

Probably the worst was, I mean, I had an absolute hatred of Australian media because they played it the wrong way. I mean, the Tet Offensive was a magnificent victory on our part. Probably if you want to compare it to something in World War Two, it's the Battle of the Bulge where a surprise attack has an initial benefit and then it was an absolute defeat. The Tet offensive was exactly the same, but in the media back home all it was portrayed as was a victory for the VC.

Well, no, they didn't win, they got pushed out of everywhere they took and they lost 1000s in that offensive, and in fact, the VC after that virtually ceased to exist. From there on, we were fighting North Vietnamese Regulars, who were very well-trained soldiers, very well trained. Yeah. So yeah, it didn't help the tour and to add a little bit, when I was in Wagga between the tours on Anzac Day, we marched as a unit, the veterans marched in uniform in the Anzac Day Parade in Wagga and then were refused entry into the RSL.

Did not go down very well at all. So, yeah, we were bitter that we weren't recognized, we were never defeated. And yet, they told us we lost the war. Well, sorry, no, we didn't lose the war. You lost the war back here in the Politics and the media.

Working with the Vietnamese

On the second tour, because you went out with Vietnamese companies on operations, now, their ration system was pretty poor. I mean, when they went out all they had was their rice, you got meat when somebody went and shot a deer or something. So you found that a good company, the hunter went out just before dawn and got the deer. And then once you got it you packed up, moved, and then you did your cooking and had breakfast and then you moved on.

A bad company used to go out on dusk, get the deer and then you'd be sitting there where he's been shooting, thinking, "Oh, you've just told everybody, right, here we are". So really the companies were much dependent on the company commanders, you're good company commander, you had a good company. I mean, 445, they were brilliant. Company commander was absolutely spot on.

I was with another one for a brief period of time. And basically there was only a third of the company there any period of time the rest were back on their farms. They used to come in on Pay Day, get paid and give half the money to the company commander and then they go back to the farms. So yeah, there was, you had a lot of issues. But the majority of the people were good, I mean we got to know them, you got to live with them.

And once they got to know you, that was a big thing. You had to get to know them. It was no good standing off and saying, "You've got to do this". That didn't work, I mean as a corporal you're trying to tell a major how to run his company or that. There are ways to do it.

American training

We had a reputation that just was almost unbeatable and by the same token, when their troops went out the bush, I mean, I would never ever go bush their way. But that's the way they were trained, they went out there in their larger groups making noise waiting to be attacked and then they would mass it and really win it whereas I would much rather do it our way, sneak around do the initial attacking and if you needed more call it in but they have their way of dealing and having, on their training course, you go into a lesson on an M 60, there are two M 60s in the classroom with an assistant instructor at each, there's an instructor out the front and he dictates and the rest sit there and watch.

You do not actually touch the gun. And the funny thing was on that particular lesson, we got there early, because it was our turn to do that lesson and the others were away and we stripped it. And I do mean we stripped this gun down to its bare parts and the instructor came in. “Ohhh….” w So we had a small bet for a certain amount of beer, that we could get it back together again and it was back together again because we knew what we're doing, we'd done it so many times.

And yeah, but he was absolutely amazed that just people who weren't specialist gunners could just strip one of these things completely down and then put it back together again in nothing flat. So, yeah, they would have class of 40 people sitting in there with two weapons, which are handled by assistant instructors, not by the students, and apparently normally back in America, quite often it's a full company sitting there watching what's going on. Different methods, a larger scale, so you've got to sort of fit to the scale.