Hi Kaitlyn I'm the old man in the video.Even older now.This was made about 10 years ago.The men at the end are real vets but the rest of us are actors.Thanks for putting it up
One of the most powerful performances I have ever seen mate. A brilliant, heart rending clip that is so good at delivering a message. Thank you for making the imagery for the song so powerful.
Mate, I am a vet (not Vietnam) and this video clip is great. Thank you for portraying the 'situation' so well. I saw Redgum play this live in 1986 and it was amazing.
This song gets me every time. In 1969 I was 15 and can still recall clearly when the headmaster pulled me out of class. My mother, who had been working in the tuck shop, was there also. It was June, one month before man landed on the moon and only 2 months before my brothers tour of duty in Vietnam was finished. He was one of the 523 who didn't come back. It wasn't a mine. It was a RPG fired at night into their ambush site which got him and wounded his mate. The parallels between the lyrics and what happened are close enough to resonate. I still very much miss him. He was 21 at the time. I am now 69 but still think of him as my big brother.
I was 6 year old in 1969 but still remember some of the horrific footage. In 1972 my eldest brother became eligible for the conscription draw. He got lucky and avoided that
I am also Australian. I remember when the man landed.on the moon. Vietnam and the draft was a real thing.. I was in Noosa pub when the Labor government got in and stop the draft. The pub when wild, dancing on the tables
The last guys were the survivors of the battle of Long Tan, the most important battle for Aussies in the war. It was such an heroic operation that the North Vietnamese army tried to avoid the diggers at all cost after that. Even General Westmoreland, the US Commander in Chief said it was the most impressive operation of the war. Lest we Forget!
Trigger Warning: Hi Kaitlyn, I am an Australian War Veteran. I have PTSD from my war service. I am often surprised at how the same incident can have a different impact on people. Many of my peer group were not impacted and don't have PTSD, but many do have PTSD. Much of the problem is that Hollywood has glorified war portraying it as almost 'sexy'. The visuals of Hollywood movies in no way reflect the reality of what physical or mental damage war can do to a person. I am lucky because of the small squad (4 people) I patrolled in the 'red' zone regularly, two have taken their own lives since coming back, although I regularly argue they are the lucky ones. Your story of your friends is no surprise to me. If I was my wife, I would have divorced myself long ago, but she didn't (we have been married as long as you have been alive). She has been subject to my night terrors and the 'physicality' associated with some of them as you identified. I now have an Assistance Dog (the US calls them Service Dog) and one of his tasks is to wake me from night terrors by lying on me and nuzzling my neck. He then stays providing Deep Pressure Therapy until I calm down. I joined the Army when I was age 18, two months after I left school. I am much older now, with adult children, and when I look at 18-year-old kids I realise how young that is and how naive they are with the concept of the reality of war.
Thanks for your service bloke. I was never one of those who blamed those who went over there. My brother wrote to me of his time in Vietnam. You guys were asked for so much and got so very little in return.
well put mate. i have PTSD too. if it wasn't for the support network i'd have checked out years ago. i have lost a few mates too who lost their battle with the black dog. i just ride my Harley till the voices quiet.
@@stewdude1857 sorry, only just checked my notifications. I can't ride anymore because I have physically broken myself a bit too much. I never actually got the Harley but the Honda CMX did the job. Sorry about your mates and glad you have a strong support network.
My dad is 98 this month (June 2024). I played this song for my dad in 2010. He is an American WWII vet. He was silent, both during the song and afterward. He had tears in his eyes and thanked me for it. He never spoke another word about it since.
My mother was a nurse during the Blitz in London in WW2. She was also a midwife and was called on to go out during raids to deliver babies. Her hospital handled the casualties from the raids and the airmen from nearby airfields when the bombers came back. My wife is also a nurse who has worked a large percentage of her time in emergency and currently in Intensive Care. I understand, from a layman's view, what it means to be a nurse under stressful conditions. I thank all the nurses for their service in Vietnam, all wars, and those who work in hospitals and care facilities to this day. There's a great documentary about Australian Nurses in Vietnam. It's called Vietnam Nurses and you can find a reference to it on IMDB.
@@trig1900 Your wife and your mum are legends. I have been in hospital a few times and I always am polite as possible to the nurses as I know their job is tough and they cop a lot of grief. I try to make their visit to me easy.
i would say that ptsd can definitely affect non soldiers. i grew up in a fire station watching dad cut people out of car wrecks. he handled it very well but i saw it shake some people up. after i tried to revive my dead mum i was told i had ptsd because i was having nightly nightmares. i felt like a pathetic fraud, but i had to do something after i starting swinging punches in my sleep and finding out id hit my beautiful misses in my sleep. i felt like a real arsehole
I was approaching the age to be in the lottery for conscription when the war ended, I remember the way the veterans were treated when they came home. Blood thrown at them heckled not accepted by the RSL . I was ashamed to be an Aussie at that time seeing how these guys were treated. The physical and mental wounds for these vets was awful then and even now . There was and never will be closure for these wonderful men who gave their all for Australia .😢😢😢😢
Thankfully over the last 20 years there has been a turn around for Vietnam Vets. My brother and his best mate made it home. Frank was a chopper pilot and my brother was on the ground but his lungs are damaged to 25% of capacity due too agent orange. He's been stuck on oxygen for about 10 years and has too take bottles with him if he goes out. I was too young and dad pushed me to join up when I could. Did Afghanistan a thankfully when I went to Iraq it was after Desert Storm.
I was a child during the Vietnam war. My dad was too old to be drafted. In the U.S. I did not even know the war didn't officially end until 1975. The war was not talked about in high school. I learned about the Vietnam War through documentaries and an excellent tv series, "China Beach". I felt so bad for the way the soldiers were treated when they came home. My dad had a good friend that went to Vietnam. He was the only survivor from his battalion during an attack. My dad would sit and listen to him talk. I think my dad realized how lucky he was. You sometimes forget to realize that other countries were in Vietnam and the soldiers were going through what any Vietnam War veteran went through.
My friends who served in Vietnam said that the thing that really hurt them was the way the RSL treated them: "Oh, you weren't in a REAL war!" (They also said that to the Korean War vets, BTW.) This song changed all that. John Schumann is right. Once we Aussies "get it", we REALLY "get it."
Most Aussies I imagine know this song. MY brothers father in law was in Vietnam and it took it's toll on him. After his wife passed away he went downhill from there and tried to commit suicide once before he went into the bush with pills and alcohol and passed away. I hope he is at peace now but it was very hard for him and many other members, of not just the military but also emergency services such as police, fire brigade and ambulance who come across trauma and seeing bodies they couldn't save. It takes it toll on not just them but their families as well.
Kudos to U for understanding the post war reality of combat. I was in the US Army, 199th Light Infantry Brigade and was posted to the First. Australian Task Force (1 ATF) at Nui-Dat (mentioned in the song) in 1968 We supported the 1st BN RAR (Royal Australian Regiment) and the 104th Signal BN. What's portrayed in the video is probably the battle of Long Tan (about 3-4 miles from Nui-Dat) fought in 1966. 108 very young (19) inexperienced Aussies and New Zealanders held of a combined force of approximately 2500 VC and NVA soldiers in the rain and mud for nearly 3.5 hours. They fought with honor,l strength and courage. There's a movie about the battle called "Danger Close" Having lived amongst them for nearly 8 months sharing their "culture" and mostly bad food :-) I have nothing but total admiration and respect for all my ANZAC "mates" "good on all of them"
I was a teenager growing up through the last years of the Vietnam war. As my 18th birthday approached I knew I was in the birthday pool for conscription. It was a shadow over everything else in life. I wrote a poem "the whispering land" about my feelings as that time approached. One of my neighbours was conscripted a few years before and he came home very different. The war ended just before I could be conscripted. I went on to finish high school and go to university not knowing quite how to feel.
You would not have been conscripted at 18, so you would have had nothing to worry about. The age for conscription, in Australia, for Vietnam was 20. I know, I was in the Army & I fought in Vietnam, on two tours. If you don't want to take my word for it, check the history books. Dennis Moore.
@@dennismoore1134 Although the age for conscription was 20, the requirement was to register for National Service when you were 19. I know that because I was in the last ballot for National Service. The National Service Act was repealed on 5 December 1972, shortly before my 20th birthday. The ballot I was in had taken place a few months before that date. Those who were drawn in that ballot were to report for medical examinations sometime early in 1973. So, it is correct to state that it was 20 year olds who were being conscripted into the army.
@@johnnichol9412 The most important thing for me was that I didn't have to get conscripted. Thank you Mr Whitlam. So ending in December 1972 suited me just fine. Nevertheless, thank you for the correction.
I was born in 73 but as a small child I remember my uncle,a returned Vietnam vet jumping out of his skin after something made a loud noise outside my grandparents farm house. I remember his eyes never stopped darting around the house. He was in a bad way for a long time. I'm glad U are ok. I can almost imagine how the thought of going must have plagued your thoughts. I was in the Solomon islands when civil unrest broke out. I was a young bloke and I kept hearing gunshots and I was told by one of my local friends that one of the factions was murdering people down the road. Out of town. Fortunately we managed to stay clear of it but I felt sick thinking about my friends and myself. Arriving back into Australia felt like a strange thing as all of the sudden there was huge amounts of food and no worries about where I walked. Even digging a hole with out worrying about finding a WW2 era bomb or grenade was a novelty. Where I was living was at the end of Henderson airbase and we found everything from unexploded artillery projectiles to a Japanese bomb that was buried in the mud besides someones house. And so many small arms rounds. I have never had to endure the pain of a service man and my small experience was nothing. I really don't claim to know what you and many others went through but I can imagine it wasn't something anyone would want go through.
@@dennismoore1134he may not be Australian. If he’s american then he could’ve been drafted between age 18 to 26. Even though the song is australian, some of it can still be relevent to American veterans.
The 1974 Aussie movie ‘Stone’ is a bikie movie, a Club called “Gravediggers”, digger being slang for soldier. The club members are all ex servicemen, the dialogue demonstrates the PTSD and the reason why returned servicemen, veterans, originally formed these now so called bikie gangs. Only someone else with PTSD can understand my PTSD, and following WW2, many cheap surplus motorcycles…flight jackets with artwork on the backs… Quinton Tarintino has called ‘Stone’ his fav movie of this genre. RIP Sandy and Hugh. I am a former Cold Warrior, Third Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, Airborne. Parachutes are the most fun you can have with your pants on. No PTSD from my service, but plenty from the motorcycle collision where I lost my right arm. ‘Stone’ is interesting as to how Sydney looked way back in the Seventies. Because, nostalgia isn’t what it used to be.
The Vienam Veterans MC used the centre patch from the movie Stone when they formed the club. They had approval from the Hells Angel's MC on the original provision that the club would die when the last Veitnam Vet did.. The club has since changed its name to the Veterans MC and still is allowed to wear the colours. It now incorporates members who have seen active service in Irag, Afghanistan etc Epic movie for its time. Thank you for your service.. My LT at Kapooka was 3RAR, he showed us some wicked videos.. but I'd be the one that spuds into the ground with my leg sticking out sideways if I did that haha... I was RAE, 21 cont sqn and 1CER.
Right, thats the third time ive seen Stone referenced in 2 days (from very different places). Gonna have to find a copy of this one. We do do a very gritty movie, I look forward to it.
I love this song, so real, and so raw, even today... My great grandfather was in ww1 and ww2 my grandfather was in ww2 my other grandfather was in the Korean war and he was apparently the only survivor they were flying the planes, and most planes were shot down, if my grandfather was killed, I wouldn't be here... War regardless of which war is sad, war is stupid...
The Vets I know who served in Vietnam all rated this song highly. The song was originally titled ‘A Walk in the Light Green’ John explains the title on the original live album as referring to the difference of fighting in an area of the map that has lighter jungle cover.
1987 they finally had a welcome home parade in Sydney. I had family & friends who were regulars & were badly affected by their time in Vietnam. Another friend's mum was a Nursing Sister & told me of the nights she would cry but knew she needed to be there for "her boys" as she called her patients. This ballot was 1 lottery you were hoping NOT TO WIN !!!! At 19 these soldiers were not yet old enough to drink or vote here in Australia then.
You are only part right. The drinking age in Qld. was 21, but over the border, in NSW, it was 18, I know, I was there. The voting age however, Australia-wide was 21, as that was a Federal issue. The age of conscription for Vietnam, was 20, so this song is not about conscripts, or 'Nashos'. I joined the Australian Regular Army, in 1966, at 17, for 6 years. I did 2 tours of Vietnam, as an Infantry soldier, so my knowledge is first-hand, based on what I experienced, what I did & what I survived. By the way Kaitlyn, the name of the song is "I Was Only 19", not "I'm Only 19". Please get it right. Dennis Moore - Vietnam, 3RAR 1967 - 1968; 1971.
@@dennismoore1134 1974 According to a quick search the standard age was pushed to 18. During the Vietnam war era it was dropped to 18. Confusing as hell but anyone will to fight with their country services should be allowed to have a beer. Old mate with us was 21 when he was called up as a Reg & got married in his new flash Sergeant's Uniform on a 72 hour pass.
@@matthewbrown6163 What 'standard age was pushed to 18'? You could join any of Australia's armed forces at the age of 17; I joined the Army. It is still the same today. Nobody would have been 'called up as a Reg. at 21'. The age of conscription was 20. You could however 'volunteer for conscription' & do 2 years' service. The drinking age in different states was because that law was administered by the State governments. I was there, I lived through it & remember these things as they happened yesterday. When you fight for your country - as I did - these things are cemented in your mind. Dennis Moore.
@@dennismoore1134 thanks for the extra info, as for the put down on kaitlyn and that's how it came across. She's young and wants to learn, that's why she's doing the reaction. Perhaps help and encouragement would be better, I suspect there's a lot you could teach.
@@alwynemcintyre2184 It was not a put-down, it was a correction. How is she going to learn if nobody tells her? Thanks for your comments though. Regards, Dennis Moore.
Instant like, haven't even seen your reaction. Just the fact you're checking it out is a like for me. This hits anyone who has served the country right in the feels. Such a powerful song about PTSD and Vietnam. This song was played EVERY morning when I was at basic training at Kapooka. The CPL played it as we awoke. So it is engrained in my memory even though I don't have a good memory. I was 17 when I joined the Army and it was literally when I was 19 I was supposed to deploy to Afghanistan so I can imagine what these kids were feeling. In terms of PTSD, serving doesn't mean you have it. You may have elements from some of the situations you're put in, but there is a huge difference between elements and someone suffering from PTSD. More service personnel have taken their own lives than have been taken from modern war. PTSD is real, and many others are dealing with elements that cause severe depression and anxiety which isn't seen as serious but still causes damage. If you know anyone that's suffering, just be there for them or do what you can to get them help. "Dark side of heaven, righteous side of hell" by "five finger death punch" has a lot of stat's about veteran suici*e based from America's perspective.. but similar numbers can be applied to Australian Veterans. Thank you to ALL that have served. 💜🇦🇺
PTSD is certainly real. I still have trouble driving as I expect to hit an IED. So I hardly drive. I have left my car in the middle of the street before as I had to get out. A kind stranger asked if they could move it. I was shaking uncontrollably. When I came back it took me a while to drive in a straight line or even drive over a manhole cover.
@2DogsVlogs I hope you didn't misinterpret what I was trying to say... PTSD is very real, and I feel for anyone that suffers with it. I was trying to say that it's not a given that service equals PTSD as I was typing out my comment as I was watching and Kaitlyn was saying that some had told her everyone that serves has it. While I personally have suffered severe depression and anxiety and have had panic attacks from experiences triggered from when I served. It's different to what people who suffer PTSD deal with. At times I need to lock myself away from the world to cope, and I often wonder how I've managed to not let the darkness take hold. I apologise if my comment hit a nerve mate, it was not my intention at all. 💜🇦🇺
@@ThatguyPurps I didn't misinterpret your comment and thankyou for raising awareness. I've tried taking my life a few times but I've been pretty stable for the last 10 years since getting a support dog, whom passed away in October.
I didn't get picked either, but a few of my mates did.1968. Now, they are dying most probably from the chemicals that were used at that time. The song reminds me of them.
Col. Henry Blake died when his plane was shot down by enemy fire ( as Radar said in the OP theater ), what's surprising is the whole cast thought he was going to make special appearances through out the rest of the series, no one knew until the last second that they had killed him off ( except radar who delivered the news and the producers), the tears and emotions where VERY real in that scene 😭
@@johnnichol9412, a reference was made to MASH and the emotional death of Henry Blake but Kaitlyn couldn't remember the details and asked for someone to comment. Kaitlyn did comment that MASH was Korea, not Vietnam but was drawing a parallel in the discussion.
Both this song and The band played waltzing matilda are both universal and very Australian at the same time. The first funeral I went to was a soldier who was killed in Vietnam and left behind a young wife and unborn baby who would be now in his fifties and never knew his Dad. I cannot stand the sections of the media/politicians ( who never fight themselves) who want to promote war with whoever is the currently perceived enemy and these songs show that the price paid by those poor men and women. Sometimes one has to fight and we should always be prepared but always a last resort.
Hi Kaitlyn, This song has to be a Classic from Redgum and John Schumann. It almost makes me tear up whenever I hear/see it. I was fortunate enough to be too young to be involved in Vietnam (much to my relief) but that does not mean that I am not moved by what the conscripts went through or did. As a group the vets were treated horrendously when they returned and it was not for many years that they were recognized for what they did and endured. I will suggest that you watch a documentary or film on "The Battle of Long Tan", it might help put some context around what you just listened to. PS, Welcome to OZ and please do try to get to see more of the country that just Sydney. Cheers, Bryce.
I did a tour of Vietnam, the song describes emotion during contact with the North Vietnamese Army. That is just one of possibly dozens of contacts with the enemy by this company
Redgum had this song approved by vets or would not have released it, in at least one live concert there is an old guy in a wheelchair side stage. That's Frankie.
I was only weeks away from having to register for the draft when the government of the day ceased conscription. My father was a WW2 veteran and I knew what he had been through. As we say here in Aus, I was scared shitless of being conscripted and sent to Vietnam. Thankfully it never came to that. I get goose bumps every time I hear the opening bars of this song and invariably end up in tears by the end of it.
I was in the ballot but wasn't conscripted. I was led to believe that a conscripted soldier could not be sent to Vietnam unless he agreed. Of course there would been a lot of pressure to comply and be with your mates. Perhaps a conscript vet. would know?
@@blueycarlton Conscripts got sent to Vietnam based on demand and the units they were assigned to. In the 1960’s it could be just as easily Vietnam as Germany (or Greenland). The only guys guaranteed not to go to Vietnam were in the National Guard.
Hi Kaitlyn, as one Australian to another, which you are now, can I ask you to look up the band Redgum which recorded this song. They represent yet another rabbit hole of Australian social awareness, representing a sub-set of Australia of their time. They have many great 'aware' songs like Raggin' , Long Run, It Doesn't Matter To Me and many more. "Well if that's being commo It's commo where we stand"
Hi Kaitlin, I really appreciate your videos. In this instance there is a significant point you have missed, and once you understand it the song takes on a whole new aspect. Not many Australians "volunteered" or signed up to go to Vietnam, it was a subscription system, where a lottery was held each month and a number of day numbers were selected, if your birthday (18th I think) fell on that day in that month, you were forced into the army, and off to Vietnam. By the time the war ended there was huge anti Vietnam feeling in Australia, and when the soldiers came home they were not celebrated as heros. ALL the Vietnam veterans I know are seriously screwed up, they didn't want to be there, and when they got home it was to a country that didn't want to know. This song started the process of changing the public attitude to the poor buggers who had to serve in Vietnam. Thanks again for your videos.
The lottery was once a year and if your 20th birthday occurred on one of the days selected in that year you were in for 2 years. Not everyone was sent to Vietnam.
I lost 2 friends, plus another whose sporting career was ruined forever, his leg gone when he was destined for the very top. Three more who live half a life, their wives and children also suffering to this day, every day. Acquaintances who drink way too much, they're still fighting, we're waiting for them to collapse, to finally give in. Yett, still we have the Putins, Xi, North Koreans, Pol Pot et al. Then there's the horror of Venezuela no-one talks about, and the re-education and concentration camps around the world. Evil never sleeps. Interestingly, 99% of the shit in this world comes from the Left, who call themselves 'Compassionate" when, in fact, it is they who have killed 200 million people in just the last 110 years and destroyed 30 countries. Read 'Death By Government' by RJ Rummel of Yale. The Left will kill a few hundred more aged, sick, frail, mentally fragile, unemployed and unattractive people this week in the Socialist paradise of Venezuela, following the Socialist, Left, Nazi, Labor, Antifa dictates of the Fabian Society who rule all. The first law written by the Fabian Society on the 20th January, 1884, was Eugenics. Eugenics is population cleansing, extermination and breeding control. Labor? Yes. Every LaborNazi leader since Gough Whitlam must be a member of the Fabian Society and take orders or they don't get the job. No-one escapes war. No-one ever truly wins. It continues today, wearing a different persona, a different name, using different methods and bombs. Mostly today, they use stealth and votes to attain power to kill people. Population cleansing.
Yes, our men were conscripted and had no choice- the way they were treated by our government upon return was horrific. I taught this truth to ensure this is not forgotten.
@@victoriam6626 not just the Government though, was it? Many of the clueless population turned on them. Left protestors, and not forgetting the unions who refused to load essential equipment for shipment to our bravest.
This song was a national reconining for australia as we came to terms with the legacy of Vietnam, the young men conscripted were treated poorly exacerbating their ptsd, it is deliberately reminiscent of the band played waltzing matilda..the writer john schumann talks about being nervous so it was first performed at an rsl hall to vets he said there wascomplete silence and he thought he'd offended not being a vet but the vets told him that for the first time in years they fet understood and could begin healing.
Hi Kaitlyn, Thank you very much indeed for this video. And for what it's worth it affects a lot of we Aussies the same way as it did you! I'm 72 btw so lived through the Vietnam War but didn't go overseas - Army Reserve could individually volunteer to be sent (I think) but couldn't be compulsorily sent.
As a kid in a Melbourne suburb it wasn't unusual to see a man with a missing limb or disfigured and it scared me a bit. My mum told me they were veterans so I tried to say "hello" when I could but I wonder how many others I saw without knowing as nothing was visible.
I really appreciate your appreciation for the topic. The video, obviously, shows 'flash-backs' to the war. The song is loaded with local references and slang words. It's clear you 'get it'. But for your own benefit, please ask some older Australians you might know to go thru the song with you. It's deep song. You've done well. Welcome to Australia. You're now a 'Sheila'! Much respect.
This is an iconic song, Our neighbour was a returned servicemen His wife said many times she was woken by him on top of her and he was yelling Vietnamese orders all because he had heard a helicopter in the night.
My family will be celebrating my fathers 100th birthday in May, he served in the RNZAF during the Pacific war joining the day he turned 18,. His two auncles never returned from the Ist great war and his father served in the Otago Mounted rifles in the first and Artillery in the 2nd. I was in the last draft lottery, however the Australian and NZ govts chose to withdraw and were pulled out of the war prior to my call up. One of my best friends an Australian returned 3 tours, regular, Vietnam vet committed suicide only a few years after his return and the effects are felt widely by his friends and family to this day. So many vets struggle with life and indeed deserve better support from the ADF. So many of our ANZAC families suffered along side them and forever miss those young lives destroyed or lost due to the terrible consequences of war. "Lest we forget" .
I served in the Australian Army and it was found that Basic Training was enough to cause PTSD during that time aside from what combat does to people.I have friends who really suffer, I was diagnosed with but in the secondary sense based on mistreatment by the medical system regards the injury that got me medically discharged back in 2000.
I have to say, Kaitlyn, you have a very good understanding of Aussie lingo now - both its accent and its unique vernacular. It takes time for one's ears to adapt to a different language but you appeat to have understood pretty much the entire song. Most Americans, when hearing this song for the first time, which is sung in an Aussie accent, would probably have no idea what the bloke was singing, about apart from the fact that it has something to do with the Vietnam war. I take my hat off to Australian musicians like John Schumann from Redgum and Missy Higgins, for example, who sing with an Aussie accent and not a forced, contrived American or English accent like most singers. To me it shows great pride. Can you imagine if John Schuman had sung the song with an American accent? It just wouldn't have had the same impact.
Hi kaitlyn, Thanks for putting this video together. The song writer John Shumman wrote the song about a close friend of his who did a tour of Vietnam. A veteran who suffered from flash backs to his time in service. This is why the video takes the form of a veteran who is constantly haunted by the flash backs to his past. Very interesting and moving piece. To explore the concept further try keh san by cold chisel the video is very moving.
My dad served in Vietnam ‘67-‘68, and came home with some complex issues. One thing that helped him deal with his trauma was helping with the Salvation Army’s refugee resettlement efforts in the ‘80s, and getting involved in veteran welfare through his regiment association aver the last 25 years.
Thanks Katlin for showing us this song and video I have never seen this video before and I think it moves everyone even though I first heard it back in a early 80s
This song makes me weep. As did Huey Lewis' "Walking on a thin Line". Being English, I didn't go to Vietnam, but at 19 I did go to war in Borneo. And we still tell our young boys that war has honour. It has only pain.
Yes I believe the men in the clip are genuine vietnam vets. The medals shown in order are the Australian Active Service Medal 1945-75 (clasp ‘Vietnam’), the Vietnam Campaign medal, the anniversary of national service medal (issued post 2001 - this is a 2013 re release) the republic of Vietnam campaign medal. Not worn: the Australian Defence Medal
As the son of a Vietam vet it took 3 years for my father to actully get diagnosed with PTSD. In that time we had to help him through a total mental melt down ans sale of the farm our family had held for almost 100 years
Kaitlin Another thing that may interest you is the reference to. “ the Agent Orange sunset through the scrub”. Whilst your comments about PTSD are valid the far greater concern was agent orange(or it’s other variants) which was EVERYWHERE and effected both the locals and the foreigners as it was in the water and on the leaves of the scrub. When it was sprayed out it stuck to their clothes and as they’d be on patrol for up to a week or more in the same clothes they got LOTS of exposure. We had a Royal Commission into Agent Orange. Look at the Canberra war memorial info on it. We also had the secretive Tiger Men and other units out and about. See the movie Danger Close to get a snapshot of what it was like
The words are 'Asian orange sunset through the scrub'. Check the published lyrics. I did two twelve-month tours of Vietnam, as an Infantry soldier, in the Australian Regular Army. We would have loved to have been out in the scrub for only a week; our operations lasted longer than that. Our longest, Operation Toan Thang, in 1968, went for 6 weeks. The movie "Danger Close:The Battle of Long Tan" does not give an accurate picture of what it was like on operational activity, for weeks at a time in South Vietnam. The story of the Long Tan battle is one of a Rifle Coy. who were sent out from Nui Dat, following a rocket attack on the base. They performed heroically & acquitted themselves admirably, but their battle was a 'ready-reaction' response. It was over & done with in 24 hours, after which the survivors returned to Nui Dat. I & many - if not all of my mates - suffer from the after-effects of Agent Orange; more than one of them has children with birth defects, so I do not need to be lectured on it. We also have all been diagnosed with PTSD, which is another story. Going by a lot of the comments on this vlog, there are a lot of people out there, in Australia, who think they know a lot about the War, second-hand, but who keep on repeating inaccuracies. I was there; I fought there - twice. I think I would know more. Dennis Moore.
This song bring tears to my eyes every time I hear it, my pop and dad both played it and us to tell old army stories. Some got a little deep after some drinks but it was also a way for them to unburden them selves. I only got that as I got older. Thank you 🙏 You really are Aussie 🎉
A highly sensitive and respectful reaction to a very poignant song. When faced with subjects like this, Aussis will often turn things around with humour - not to mock but as a form of honour and respect. If you want to watch one of the best Aussie flicks about the Vietnam war, then you can't go past the dark comedy "The Odd Angry Shot". Witty, tragic, irreverent, honourable, unforgettable, it is one of the finest examples of Australian black humour you will ever see in a war movie.
There was birthdate based “lottery”, televised in Australia from 1964 to when I was born in 1972 to send troops to Vietnam. My father was 21 in 1964 and the right age. The day before his birthday was called and my grandmother, until she died in 2005, still talked about the stress and worry of that time. As a child and teenager in the 70s and 80s the Vietnam war seemed like an historic event, “years ago” even. It’s only upon reflection in my 20s and 30s that I realised what a close call it was for our generation and, to be honest, what a pointless loss of life it was for so many, from both our countries and more. It was the first conflict Australia had participated in without the British and I think that impacted on how retiring veterans were treated by older generations when they returned. It still casts a cloud to this day.
Thank you Kaitlin. First video I've seen of your. I'm a young man, my PTSD comes from my time as a US Paramedic. I was 19 when we came under fire in a crowd. We had to drag this shot up autistic kid screaming through a road of bodies while shrapnel was kicking up on us. When it got too heavy we'd lay on him and patch up what we could and keep low at IEDs went off and lead came in. The kid died before we got him to hospital. I took a slug to my gut, one to my spine, and a graze to my leg. The shrapnel in my abdomen back spine and leg still tear me up half a decade later. We kept going back in to grab more wounded and that was my first night on shift. Up to my early 20s I've seen a hundred dead and transported such in bodies to morgues and MEs. 3 months after we lost that kid I delivered a healthy heavy lil boy in the field. Years on now I shiver when our independence day in state rounds. I got my two year old boy and mama who suffers frequent seizures and mania. Life is rough and I struggle but I'm glad I've done what I have so hundreds of others kept their lives and their loved ones still hold the person they cherish. But most nights when I do get sleep, about two hours a time, three days a week, I wake in a puddle of sweat and terrified. It's been rough and that's what we sacrifice that others may live. I'd never undo the service given, someone needs to do it, but I will never allow my son or those I love to go through the same hell.
Recent research has shown that soldiers have two separating issues from military service that were conflated and confused. One was Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the other is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. CTE is very literally “shell shock” as it is a concussive injury caused by explosions at close range. Almost identical injuries are found in ice hockey players and American Rules Football players from repeated head impacts. PTSD might respond to drugs and therapy. CTE is permanent irreversible brain damage and early onset dementia. The US Military are redesigning their helmets because the previous two designs actually made concussive injuries more likely by funnelling the blast pressure to the head. It is entirely possible to have both independently.
The lyrics of this song hits home. This is an updated video clip, but I think the clip from when it was first released in the 1980‘s. It actually featured helicopters flying, and battle sounds, which I think hits really hard.
Kaitlyn, thanks for this, appreciate your concern and compassion. :) A timely reminder of the mostly, not all, public humiliation our great Vietnam Vets, suffered on return. As a member of my local RSL, I got into a yarn with an elder gent, a Viet Vet. This was around 2000, after I had left Service. He said he had only joined two years back, due to earlier being told to go away and fight in a real war. Our Viet Vets deserved much better. As for PTSD, 50 odd ears back, my Dad, in a pub, noticed a young fellow, with two black eyes and a plaster over his nose. Asked if he was OK, "yeah mate, appreciate you asking, the XYZ came last night, tried to get me slur (SLR) but the room door was shut". If you wish, while He could be caustic, take a look how the Late and great George Carlin describes Shell Shock though to PTSD.
Hi Kaitlyn. You my friend have raised my option of Americans. My knowledge of the American people comes from media and having served along side American troops in training exercises but never in combat. Your compassion and empathy are an eye opener for me as I have a media driven option of what makes an American. I find myself seeing some Americans in a different light, not all are how the media portraits them to the world. Cheers and welcome to Australia
I agree totally. I have worked with the US Army and spent a bit of time in the US (US Army and US Air Force towns). I must admit that a certain stereotype started to form, which wasn't positive. @Kaitlin Amanda, you have changed that stereotype and now I am hooked on your videos. Thank you. One of the places I spent a fair bit of time in was Kansas City in the great state of Missouri. Enjoy the Superbowl.
Yes Kaitlyn, they are supposed to be Vietnam War Diggers, dressed in jungle-greens, with the correct weapons & the ribbons & medals are correct. Dennis Moore.
The medals. Whenever you see the green and white striped one with the diagonal silver bar with the years the war started and finished that’s a Vietnam medal. There are others from the Vietnam war, my husband ended up with five medals from his time there but that one always stands out from the others because of the colours.
My dad was fortunately medically unfit to serve, when he was called up. I'm grateful this happened, as I may not be here today. When I turned 19 in late 1991, I played this, thinking to myself how fortunate I was to not be alive during a period of conscription, and the first generation of the 20th century to be in that position. My dad's generation had Vietnam, my grandfather's WW2, and great grandfather WW1.
I haven't read through all of the comments on this video Kaitlyn, , if you watch the Travis Fimmel movie Danger Close. You are literally, watching the story behind this song. As well as haunting almost every Australian generation for 40 years, this song will bring the strongest veteran or serving soldier to tears, almost every time. We don't have "ex soldiers " in Australia. Once a soldier, always a soldier. And we forever m9urn our lost
Kaitlyn, on some of the medals you can make out red and yellow vertical stripes, those are Vietnam medals the others I'm not sure about but they also probably pertain to the war. My own medals are still in their original presentation boxes jammed in the back of a drawer somewhere.
Kaitlyn. I was a Nasho and went and this song grabs me every time. Loved your perspective. My mob have a reunion next month and this song always seems to score a mention
You may, or may not, like the 1979 Australian movie, The Odd Angry Shot, based on the 1975 novel by William Nagal, based on his own experience. It traces the tour of duty of an Australian Special Air Service Regiment reconnaissance team from their departure, to their return home to Australia during the Vietnam War. (Yes, I copied and pasted from Wikipedia.) It focuses mainly on the Aussie larrikinism away from the battlefield, but has its moments of combat. It's classed as an Australian War Comedy, much like M*A*S*H was an American War Comedy, but this movie doesn't include political commentry concerning our involvement in the Vietnam war. It Stars Graham Kennedy, Bryan Brown, John Hargreaves, John Jarratt, Graeme Blundell, Ian Gilmour, and Richard Moir. Worth a watch.
@@johnnichol9412 no one said it was otherwise, but I did mention it was based on the novel written by someone who was there during the Vietnam war. Not to everyone's liking, and no one's forcing anyone to watch it or read the book, but it exists for those who might be interested.
It's good to hear you speak about The older generation & how some young people in their 20's & 30's only see an old man or woman & they don't know or comprehend these people were once young themselves & they don't know these old men could have fought in The Korean War or in Vietnam War ! The 30 year olds just see a old man & not his history ! I like how you Tapped in to that Kaitlyn 👍😊 it's true luv ! I feel some younger people in their 20's & 30's See our Elderly as just old people & that's Sad.. Steve from Queensland Australia 🇦🇺🏄♂️
Hi Kaitlyn I'm from this generation and medals from Vietnam war . A lot of these soldiers were compulsory conscripts I missed out on my in intake by 1 number it was conducted like a lottery ! Friends of mine returned either injured or severe PTSD
Regarding the lines, "Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moon, God help me, he was going home in June"; mankind kicked the moon on 20 July 1969. The point of the line in the song was that Frankie should have been home by then as his tour was over, but like with many Australian soldiers in Vietnam, was required to stay longer - partly because there wasn't enough troops to replace them, and too often because getting them out of there was too hard. If you were able to listen to it again with just the lyrics, you'll notice that it's very heavily focused on the lived experience of PTSD and what it's really like, and the dark depths from where it comes.
Col. Henry Blake was the MASH CO who died on the way home... the plane crashed and "....there weren't no survivors" as Radar reported to the operating theatre. It was set up as a surprise for the cast, their reactions were spontaneous. I've worked for 20 years with crews from the ADF - and some from the USA and UK, Canada and NZ. They are among the very best of us.
Hi Kaitlyn, by some of your comments I'm not sure if you realised (please forgive me if you did) but the guy featured is meant to be suffering from PTSD and being haunted by images of the young men he went to war with. He sees himself in the mirror as a young soldier when he puts his slouch hat on. It's meant to be him saying the words of the song if you know what I mean. I had mates who didn't make it back home alive, another who came back terribly maimed both physically and psychologically and I know many more who are still suffering from PTSD from the war, and again, other younger friends who are suffering from their time in Afghanistan, Iraq and East Timor. It's a great song and extremely well presented in this video. Thanks for highlighting it.
Hi, around 1966 the US President LBJ Johnson, asked Australia to assist America in the fight against Communism from Nth Vietnam. We introduced conscription around that time. I thankfully missed out on going to Vietnam in 1969, but a few of my friends were conscripted and either died there or came back changed men. 😬
I served 5yrs in the RAAF(Royal Australian Airforce) and never served a wartime experience, but I have PTSD, Anxiety, Depression, Social Phobia and a general physical mobility issues related to Pain Disorder. Most were developed in the RAAF and as I never served in a wartime aspect did not believe I was a veteran, recently I got my DVA card and have had 2 ops to relieve carpal tunnel pain. Many of the people I had served with also have PTSD, I think some of it is joining up at 17yrs old and when you leave your not really giving any guidance on how to live in society again, or find work. I left in the early 80's so things like understanding culture shock from military to civilian life was never thought of. Hope they do better for leaving personnel these days.
I have known many various soldiers over the years both old and young that are perfectly sane with no signs of PTSD at all. One in particular was diagnosed as Psychopathic, which means he is immune to such mental illness's. Another got into very serious trouble during rec leave and was arrested by MP's and thrown into jail. They had to do a Psych Eval on him and found him perfectly sane despite everything he had done over the years. But he still keeps that piece of paper and likes to show it off that he was one of the lucky few who left the wars with their minds intact. But I also know of many retired soldiers from all over the world that were jumpy, flighty and seeing things that weren't there. As a nurse I walked into a mans kitchen one day and found him standing at his kitchen center island addressing the troops. The doorway I came from was behind him and he spun in both surprise and anger as was about to snarl at me for being late to the assembly. But I watched as he caught himself and looked around for a second and remembered where he was. He would also scream and cry in his sleep from reoccuring nightmares of his time in service. He did confide in me to what they were over the years before he died.
Hi Kaitlyn. This is still a powerful song, at 19 I was lucky enough to not get drafted, but a school mate of mine was one of those that did not come home. My father is now in his late 90's and one of the very few WWII veterans left. Thank you for such a fantastic response to this.
You should also check out the songs "The Year Of The Drum" by Wongawilli, and "The Snowy River Men Just Couldn't March Again" by Ted Egan (I think). They're about the 1st and 2nd world wars.
Henry Blake was the MASH Colonel. The main difference between WW1 and to a lesser extent WW2, was that they had relatively short fight time between digging trenches, stock food and ammo. When they got to Vietnam they were being loaded in to choppers every day. The thinking is that the soldiers had time to recover between battles in WW1 and WW2, but in Vietnam they were on peak battle mode for 9 -12 months continuously. This version is quite good, but I prefer the Official Redgum video. The singing is more sombre and a little less upbeat than this version. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mGDhzVi1bqU.html When this song came out the Australian Public finally understood what these Veterans had been through. The Defence Forces take extraordinary people, turn them into extraordinary fighters, but don't return them to the pre-damaged state when the war has finished. When Vietnam War had finished there was no ticker tape parade, they were spat on by protestors at the docks as they climbed off the ships, just like the US Soldiers were. This song changed every Aussies attitude towards the Vietnam Vets and the sacrifices the armed forces make in general for the freedoms we think are just a given. We made amends for how they were treated when they hopped off the ships and planes 10 years earlier with a Welcome Home Parade in 1987. Many Veterans quality of life was improved from then on, and many government services were improved, which was about time. We (as a country) train ordinary people to be Extraordinary Soldiers, but we don't de-train them how to join society again. Here is the Wiki page that explains some of the slang and colloquialisms. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Was_Only_19 Excerpt from Wiki. The song was released in July 1983, went to number one, and four years later 25,000 Vietnam veterans marched through the streets of Sydney in a belated welcome home parade. For the hundreds of thousands of Australians who bought the record, Schumann suspects it was a way of saying sorry. “I think I was only 19 provides an ‘I get it’ moment,” Schumann said. “Australians are fundamentally fair and decent, and I think I was only 19 was a story … that made us stop and think, ‘Oh, shit, we didn’t do the right thing by those blokes.’ It gave us all a chance to look over the fence, and look into the backyards of the Vietnam veterans who lived next door or down the street. “I think we’ve learned to separate our position on the war and our position on the men and women who are sent to fight it. And I think that’s a very important distinction.”
Army Surgical Team Vietnam. I try to get to the march each April and always pleased to see the parents who bring their young kids along to watch, and hopefully explain things to them.
Hi Kaitlyn, the Vietnam War affected so many people in so many ways. In my family there were three boys and I was the only one who was too young to be sent to Vietnam. In Australia, we had a particularly cruel way of choosing who would go to Vietnam as many of those who went were conscripts. The way that they were chosen was by lottery. I don't remember how often they were held (maybe every 3 or 6 months), but someone would pick dates out of a box and if your birthday was pulled and you were of military age (18+), off you went. Every time the lottery was held our family gathered around the television and prayed that it wouldn't be my brothers who would be called up and we were lucky in that though some dates were really close, my brothers' birthdays were never called, but the stress was palpable for the whole family. Sadly, the family across the road had two of their boys called up and both came back with major psychological problems that they never received any help for. This was what made me a pacifist and the total neglect of our veterans by the government was what made me hate the hypocrisy of Anzac Day. Lest we forget? If only we would remember and say, 'Never again!'
The Aussie experience was far different to US conscipts. Aussies went through a lot more training, with extensive jungle warfare training at Puckapunyal. Also, our tactics was a lot more effective and scary, as the patrol was used extensively, where diggers where sent deep into jungle. In a way, the Aussie where very successful, with their part of Viet Nam was less infiltrated (between patrols and hearts and minds ops). Our withdrawl in 72 was due to change of government and public support for the war deteriorated badly.
The Jungle Training Centre was at Canungra, in south-east Queensland, inland from the Gold Coast. I was stationed there in 1969 -1970, before I was sent back to my Infantry battalion - 3RAR - which was based at Woodside, in the hills above Adelaide. Puckapunyal was a recruit training base & the Royal Australian Armoured Corps, with its Centurion tanks was also based there. Australia began withdrawing from Vietnam in early 1972, before the Liberal-Country Party federal government was thrown out, by the voters & was replaced by Gough Whitlam's Labor Party , in December,1972. Check your history books. Dennis Moore.
@@dennismoore1134 Australia began withdrawing in 1970 when 8 RAR was not replaced in November 1970. From the DVA "Most Army combat troops and members of supporting arms (Navy, Air Force) were home by December 1971. Only small detachments providing logistics and security remained in the country until the Australian Military Forces, Vietnam, was disbanded on 5 March 1972. These troops arrived home on 6 March." Australian Government Cabinet Minute, from item 5 " ..... the objective that the first of the two remaining battalions would be withdrawn in October 1971 and the second in December 1971." The United States, North Vietnam, South Vietnam and the Vietcong signed a peace agreement in Paris in January 1973 marking the formal end to hostilities. You should know, you were there. Therefore should I suggest that you check your history books?
@@daviddou1408 So, you tell me what I got wrong. 3 RAR was set to South Vietnam in Feb., 1971 & we were withdrawn very early into our tour. I was home by August, 1971, much to my then wife's delight. We did not see out our twelve-month tour.
G'day Kaitlyn 🖐😊 I seen Redgum Play this song at The Ocean Beach Hotel in Umnia on the Central Coast 45min north of Sydney & You could of heard a pin drop & when the band finished playing/ singing Everyone was so emotional ! I'm very proud to be Australian 🇦🇺 I was only 19 is very well written & tells the Story of 1 Australian soldier during the Vietnam War ! & The video is chilling & Truth , Lest we forget the boys who didn't make it back home 🙏🇦🇺
Regards to PTSD I still suffer from what I saw on the fire ground in the 2019/20 Black Summer season. As a fire fighter we suffer the same effects as the ADF. It hasn't been fun, but I did my job to save the environment, animals, people and the country a price I had to pay.
I’m sorry to hear you have PTSD from your service to the community. I hope you are receiving the help you need. As the widow of a Vietnam veteran I am very familiar with the effect PTSD has on someone’s life. Sadly it’s not uncommon amongst fire fighters, police, paramedics and others who look after our communities. I hope you can find the peace you deserve.
Agent Orange was the gasoline mix that fire-bombed the jungle & many came home with rashes that recurred intermittently. In the 1st WW the vets were about 35 days on the frontline, 2nd WW it was 45 days but in Vietnam it was around 70 days plus. Many came back absolutely nutz. In both the US & Australia the Vietnam vets were treated terribly in fact the Anzac Day marches only really accepted them marching in the late 1980s. I remember the conscription adverts on TV when I was 14 & I was terrified.
Agent Orange was a defoliant. I saw an old video of a US officer dipping bread in a barrel of it and eating it to prove how safe it was. I hate to think his ultimate fate.
Australia Birthdates drawn in National Service ballots 1965-72 Men chosen by this ballot and had to perform 2 years continuous full-time service in the Australian Regular Army. This could include overseas service in Vietnam. The balloted compulsory military service for 20-year-old males. Service was for two years (later cut to 18 months), and the scheme was intended to provide enough additional personnel to support the escalating commitment to the Vietnam War. RIP 523 died as a result of the war and almost 2,400 were wounded. 58,220 U.S. military fatal casualties of the Vietnam War. Peace out.
I would like to suggest watching the movie Danger Close. This was the unit the song represents to a tee. 6RAR (Royal Australian Regiment) is the 6th Battalion mentioned. I have had the honor and pleasure to meet some of the survivors of this event and more honored to be trained and led by some of their children during my Service in the forces. These men, although they came home, were never really whole again from what I have been told first hand by the expats that I have met. Even back in 1990 many still refused to talk about the events of what they went through, and after watching the movie for myself, I can understand why. I am the fourth generation of My family to serve in the military but again, honored to be the only Member to have met these heroic Veterans. (and that was Col Henry Blake, His chopper was "shot down over the sea of Japan")
this song ...i really have no words for what it stirs inside a lot of us older Aussies , those of us that were enlisted , those that had friends and relatives that went, and those of us that had friends and relatives come back a shadow of what they were, wheather that from injuries or just being there messed with their heads,and lives. and werent the same person they were before they left. the real history needs to be taught not the g rated watered down version that is glanced over in schools globally as the saying goes those that dont learn from their mistakes are bound to repeat them another song that is an aussie classic is Khe San by Cold Chisel...a different perspective of the Vietnam war
Before Vietnam it was called “Shell shock” I was in the Royal Australian Navy for 18 years and I have PTSD. Yes, I have been diagnosed. At the time of Vietnam there were ANY WWI and WWII survivors. I think the last WWI vet died in the early 90’s if I remember rightly - the last WWII I can’t recall but there were indeed a lot still alive in Vietnam.
