Geoff Hazel - Baria

Transcript

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.