Description
Author’s Note
The Australian Army first became involved in the Vietnam War in 1962. New Zealand’s Army became involved in 1963. In 1968 it was decided that the infantry forces of both countries should combine to form ANZAC units, as had happened during the First World War and for a brief period in the Second World War.
Australia and New Zealand withdrew their last combat personnel from Vietnam in 1962. At the height of the war the size of the Australian Army’s infantry regiment had grown to nine battalions of about 800 men each. All nine battalions served in Vietnam on a rotational basis. Only three of the battalions became ANZAC units. The records show that the men of 2RAR/NZ, 4RAR/NZ and 6RAR/NZ upheld the proud fighting tradition established by the original Anzacs at Gallipoli in 1915.
I served as a Company Medic with 6RAR/NZ (ANZAC) Battalion in South Vietnam from 1969-70. During that year I took many photographs with a miniature camera. The little camera did not stand up well to the conditions in the field and produced poor quality photographs. They were so disappointing that I stored them away with some other war memorabilia in a box that was rarely opened over the next forty years.
It was only recently, when I was searching for pictures of military vehicles, that I dug the Vietnam photos out of the box. While going through them I realised that they showed glimpses of the infantry soldier’s life that are not seen by civilians, and maybe others should have the opportunity to see them. So was born the idea for this book.
In order to verify if my memories of events from so long ago were accurate I contacted former members of my unit, who I had last seen in 1970. I learnt that other 6RAR/NZ soldiers had also carried cameras in Vietnam. Because their photos showed things I’d missed I asked if I could include some of theirs in the book. They all agreed without any hesitation, asking nothing in return. Like me, they felt that the public needed to know our story. I received similar open-handed cooperation from the New Zealanders who answered my call for assistance. I ended up with so many good photos that few of mine were used.
Here, then, is the result: an album of photographs taken long ago in a faraway land by a group of impressionable young men with small cameras, during a war that they will never forget.
Rob Laurent
NOTE: Included in the cover of each book is a DVD video and the song “The Green Soldier.” By Dave Newland and Oz Coulthard.
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