Raymond Deed joined the Australian Army and was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR).
Raymond served 292 days in Korea from 28 September 1950, when the Australians arrived at Pusan, through to 16 July 1951. He attained the rank of sergeant and retained vivid memories of his war service.
At Kapyong, Raymond recalled many of the Chinese prisoners captured in Korea acted as if they were 'happy to be taken'. One prisoner showed him a photograph of his family, which got Raymond to thinking that the enemy were no different to himself.
He also remembered the tragic and heartbreaking sight of refugees, loaded up with all their meagre possessions and heading south away from the fighting.
The memory that haunted him most, though, was of watching a boy of about 10 walking down a road to cross a bridge that was about to be destroyed by United States (US) Army engineers. Raymond was in a concealed position and could only watch on in horror, counting the boy's steps as the seconds wound down. The bridge exploded as the boy began to cross. He was blown up and into the river below, where he was apparently rescued alive by the US troops.
Raymond would later serve in Vietnam, where he was Mentioned in Despatches.
