Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War ended 50 years ago.
This Anzac Day, many of the region’s veterans will pause to remember those they fought alongside in that war.
News journalists Monique Preston, Jay Bryce and Djembe Archibald spoke to 12 of the region’s Vietnam veterans in the lead-up to Anzac Day to find out about their experiences in the Australian Defence Force and what Anzac Day means to them.
Graeme Bayley
76 years old
Shepparton
Army
4th Battalion
Graeme Bayley was a conscript and was sent to the Vietnam War as a reinforcement, serving for five months; however, he served in the defence force for a total of two years.
While in Vietnam, Mr Bayley was a forward scout in the infantry section, leading up to nine men.
“We would patrol in groups of eight or nine, 100 yards apart,” he said.
“We’d search for signs of the enemy.”
He describes his experience as fortunate, having connected with fellow soldiers during his time.
“I was lucky,” he said.
“I enjoyed my time and made a lot of friends. Lifelong friends.
“But I wouldn’t want to go back.”
To Mr Bayley, Anzac Day represents his family’s connection to service.
“It means a lot. My grandad fought in World War I, my dad in World War II, so I feel as if I’m carrying on a tradition,” he said.
Ron Mason
77 years old
Marionvale
Army
131 Divisional Locating Battery
Ron Mason was originally from Melbourne and was called up for national service.
He served in Vietnam from 1966 to 1967.
“I was in the 131 Divisional Locating Battery, part of the artillery,” Mr Mason said.
“During that time I operated the ANKPQ M1 mortar radar, so I was a radar operator — we could detect incoming ordinates.
“We also did some patrolling near the base.”
Mr Mason said although the war was difficult, he counted himself as one of the lucky ones.
“It’s definitely something I could’ve done without; there were good times and bad, I certainly didn’t have the nasty experiences the infantry guys did,” he said.
“Anzac Day means remembering lost friends, and I’m getting more of them every day, and lost relations, I had quite a few uncles and family that didn’t come back.”
Bob Wilkie
72 years old
Shepparton
Army
4th Battalion
Bob Wilkie, originally from Kyabram, served in the Royal Australian Regiment.
“I was called up for national service and commenced training in June 1970. In April 1971, I was deployed in Vietnam for a 12-month tour,” Mr Wilkie said.
Not even halfway through his tour the Australian Government announced it was planning to send the troops home by Christmas.
“Our battalion was the last battalion to leave the Australian task force at Nui Dat, where we deployed to Vung Tau in November, and I was home by Christmas of 1971 and out of the Army by January 1972, so six months off my sentence,” he said.
“I was a rifleman in the infantry battalion. We had some really bad times but we also had some good times; it’s something that’s on your mind basically all the time.
“We lost quite a few blokes over there; it’s (Anzac Day) a day of reflection for those guys and other Australians who made the ultimate sacrifice.”
Brian McInneny
77 years old
Shepparton
Army
1st Battalion
Brian McInneny served in Vietnam for six months, brought in as a conscript.
In total, he served in the defence force for two years as part of the Army.
Mr McInneny spent his time with the Australian Defence Force under the Royal Australian Regiment.
While in Vietnam, Mr McInneny was a mortarman with support company. A mortarman’s responsibility is to operate a mortar, which is a muzzle-loading artillery weapon.
“We would discourage the enemy from where our riflemen were,” he said.
Mr McInneny recalls his time in Vietnam in a frightening light.
“It was life-threatening and very scary,” he said.
Anzac Day is a time of reflection for Mr McInneny.
“On Anzac Day I think of the five fellas I lost in action,” he said.
“They were attacked by the enemy.
“It’s also about remembering all of those who lost their lives.”
Ron Thorp
78 years old
Bendigo
Army
4th Field Regiment
Ron Thorp was in the Army from 1962 until 1968, serving for a total of six years.
He served in the 4th regiment as a part of the Royal Australian Artillery.
Mr Thorp was in Vietnam for his last year of service as a signaller and a gunner, returning home in April of 1968.
In his role, he would connect radios and telephone lines to those in the field.
Mr Thorpe looks back on his time in Vietnam with a positive outlook.
“I volunteered to go,” he said.
“I was actively involved around Christmas and went home in April.
“My general experience was fairly positive.”
To Mr Thorp, Anzac Day is about tradition and familial relationships.
“Anzac Day holds a family significance for me,” he said.
“My uncle was on the Kokoda Trail and another uncle was in World War II.
“It feels like a family tradition.”
Bill Lee
74 years old
Kyabram
Army
12th Field Regiment
Bill Lee served in the Australian Defence Force for 12 months before being sent to Vietnam as a conscript.
He spent 10 months serving in Vietnam, as part of 22 months of service altogether.
His main roles were air warning, signalling and gunfire.
It is a signaller’s role to inform wartime commanders where their troops are, what they are doing, and whether they have sufficient supplies.
Mr Lee recalls his time in Vietnam as positively as he can, under the circumstances.
“It was good,” he said.
“I mean, we had to make the most of it.”
Each year, Mr Lee uses Anzac Day as a time to reflect and remember, not only on his time overseas but also the men he fought alongside who never made it home.
“Anzac Day is about reflection and remembrance,” he said.
“We only lost five men when I was there, so I think about them.”
Robin Fairchild
77 years old
Tatura
Army
5 company, RAASK
Robin Fairchild was called up for national service in 1966 and served in Vietnam for 12 months as a cook with 5 Company, RAASK.
“It was pretty hard going at times, but I still cook, so the Army gave me a trade and I'm very thankful for that,” he said.
Mr Fairchild was also assigned to man a shotgun on a truck, standing up through a turret with a rifle at the ready to protect the convoy.
Towards the end of his service, Mr Fairchild became sick with dermatitis and was told by a doctor that he would be medevacked.
“I went back to tell the staff sergeant that I was to go home, he said no, you’re already booked on a flight and you wait for that,” Mr Fairchild said.
“I had a pretty hard torrid time for six weeks, so I came home a bit of a mess. It affected me, really bad.”
Anzac Day is personal for Mr Fairchild, as he shared quarters with a man who was killed in Vietnam at the Battle of Coral.
“That affects me a lot, so that’s why I go to Anzac Day,” he said.
“It’s about remembering your fallen comrades.”
Keith Moodie
74 years old
Perth
Army
1st Armoured Regiment
Keith Moodie served as a tank gunner and operator for 12 months in Vietnam.
He had two close calls with mines, and lost friends during his time there.
“The only two armoured corps guys killed were friends of mine, one of them from my tent,” he said.
To Mr Moodie, Anzac Day is about honouring the sacrifices made for freedom.
“War costs, freedom costs,” he said.
“We lose people in war, it kills and maims and injures people, but the main thing is we’ve got the freedom we have in this country through the people that have laid their lives down for us.
“Australians tend to take things for granted, and Anzac Day is where we get back to the grass roots and be proud of what we fought for.
“It’s not celebrating war, it’s remembering people that have served and sacrificed their lives and what they’ve done for the country.”
Stan Whitford
77 years old
Shepparton
Army
7 Royal Australian Regiment
Shepparton’s Stan Whitford spent a little over 11 months serving in the Army in Vietnam, only leaving after he was wounded.
He was part of the 7 Royal Australian Regiment, serving from April 1968 to March 1969 in Vietnam, and for two years in the Army altogether after he was conscripted.
In the final month of what was to be his stint in Vietnam, he received shrapnel wounds to his jaw, leg, chest and body, and spent five weeks in hospital.
While he was in Vietnam, Mr Whitford was a section commander, with eight or nine men under his command, and was based mainly around Nui Dat.
His role mainly involved patrols through jungles and villages, looking for the Viet Cong and any caches of weapons they may have hidden.
He remembers having “quite a few contacts” with the enemy, and described his time in Vietnam as “pretty nerve-racking”.
However, he still treasures the camaraderie he had with his fellow soldiers, and still keeps in touch with many of them.
For Mr Whitford, Anzac Day is a time to remember all those who have fought for Australia.
“My grandfather was in World War I, and my father was in World War II,” he said.
“It means a great deal to remember those two, as well as the guys we lost in Vietnam.”
Peter Dealy
75 years old
Numurkah
Army
131 Divisional Locating Battery
Peter Dealy spent three years in the Australian Army, including 12 months in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969.
He started in the artillery section, operating 40mm anti-aircraft Bofors — a type of ack-ack gun.
For much of his time in Vietnam he was stationed at a listening post at Nui Dat.
His role involved working with others on different listening posts to get the bearings of where any action was occurring or weapons sites.
This would help the Army narrow down the co-ordinates of where to aim their weapons.
Mr Dealy had been in the Army before the war, and actually transferred out of his unit into one that was going to war in Vietnam.
“I was a regular soldier who had been trained for warfare,” he said.
“When the chance came, you had to test yourself.”
The decision to transfer to a unit that was going to Vietnam was one he said he had never regretted.
He still pays tribute to all those he fought alongside and is a Goulburn Valley Vietnam Veterans Association past president, and the current secretary.
“The mateship was tremendous,” he said.
On Anzac Day, it is those he served with that he remembers, as well as other service men and women who went before him and since then.
“It is remembrance of mates and the sacrifices made in the past,” he said.
Darryl ‘Tank’ Macarty
75 years old
Shepparton
Australian Air Force
9 Squadron Helicopters
Darryl ‘Tank’ Macarty spent 20 years in the Australian Defence Force, joining at the age of 17 and leaving when he was 37.
He served with 9 Squadron Helicopters in Vietnam for 12 months in 1969 and 1970, based mainly at Vung Tau.
In Vietnam, Mr Macarty started as an airfield defence guard guarding the bases, before later becoming a gunner on helicopters, racking up more than 500 hours in the air.
During his role he was involved in a few “deep contacts” with the enemy.
“The worst thing you could do is ask ‘did you kill anyone?’, but who knows,” he said.
As well as spending a year serving in Vietnam, Mr Macarty — who was in the Royal Australian Air Force — also spent more than three years based in Thailand during the Vietnam War, supporting the Americans who were running bombing missions from there.
On Anzac Day this year Mr Macarty will be catching up with old mates at a reunion of Royal Australian Air Force squadrons in Townsville in Queensland.
To him, Anzac Day is a day of remembrance — to remember those who died in the Vietnam War and other wars.
“You remember the fallen who didn’t come home from any war and sacrifices that happened to them,” he said.
Robert Mathieson
73 years old
Tatura
Army
Australian Infantry Reinforcement Unit
Robert Mathieson volunteered for national service as soon as he reached the minimum age to do so — at 19 and a half years old.
He spent two years in the Army, including 12 months and one day serving in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970.
A member of the Australian Infantry Reinforcement Unit, his role as a rifleman in Vietnam saw him mainly patrolling.
He also spent time as protection for medical teams in villages who had gone to help the South Vietnamese people with both medical and dental needs.
Based at Nui Dat, Mr Mathieson said Vietnam was a “culture shock” to him.
“I was very naive. I was a young bloke,” he said.
“I got a bit of a shock that the value of human life was worth about a bar of soap.”
Mr Mathieson said he was thankful for his Army training, “which put him in good stead”.
Anzac Day reminds Mr Mathieson how grateful he is to be an Australian.
“I’m so grateful for the service men and women before me and the current ones,” he said.
“Anzac Day is the coming together of the nation. It’s so important.
“It’s like a big community on the day.”