Pride among Vietnam veterans

Willie Walker is matter-of-fact when he talks about the battle of Long Tan, nothing in his demeanour suggesting the peril he faced in that monsoon-drenched Vietnamese rubber plantation 48 years ago.

Yesterday, the anniversary of the battle, was Vietnam Veterans Day and it was chosen for the launch of an account of the war from the perspective of those New Zealanders who took part.
 based on 150 interviews carried out by a dozen interviewers over four years.
At the launch in Parliament, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Christopher Finlayson referred to Long Tan and the role played by Walker and two other Kiwis - Morrie Stanley and Murray Broomhall.

The trio were the forward observation team directing artillery fire as about 100 members of Australia's D Company tried to hold off an estimated 1500 to 2500 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers.
Conditions had been terrible with torrential rain, low visibility, and thunder and lightning, Finlayson said.
"As they crouched in the red mud between rubber trees, shrapnel flew in all directions, and wave after wave of Viet Cong soldiers surged towards them."
At one point the battle had seemed lost, but thanks in part to the tenacity and skill of the New Zealanders it turned into a decisive victory for the Anzacs.
"We were right at the front. We could see them coming," Walker, a 21-year-old lance corporal at the time, and the team's radio operator, recalled.
At one point in the four-hour battle, Viet Cong soldiers had been just 10 metres away.
"They knew there were people there all right, but fortunately the artillery kept them out," Wallker, of Dunedin, said.
"Even though it was falling dangerously close, that's how we kept the Viet Cong out.
"Our one thought was to keep the shells coming, falling in the right place. We didn't have one mistake," he said.
"It was just nonstop bedlam. Tracers, machine gun fire, mortar fire, artillery fire."
At one point the company had been dangerously low on ammunition, but fortunately an air drop from Australian helicopters landed in the right place.
A relief column was on the way, but the fighters needed to hang on. "If no reinforcements came in half an hour we were going to be overrun," Walker said.

"Fortunately for us they arrived at the right time. They killed hundreds (of Viet Cong) when they came in on their ... armoured personnel carriers."
Walker was calm and straightforward as he recalled the battle.
"At the time you are just there doing your job," he said. "We managed to put into place what we trained for."
After returning to New Zealand, he had been paid at the airport and told to report back to camp in six weeks.
He was aware there was anti-war feeling in the country but it had not bothered him.
"I had six weeks' leave and a pocket full of money."
Hall, who wrote the book for the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, said many of the Vietnam veterans talked about the war with the same sort of attitude as Walker.
"That's based on the fact they were all professional soldiers. They were all there to do their job, and they were all doing it the best they could," she said.
"A lot of them would have gone back and done it again, irrespective of the politics ... and they were incredibly proud of what they did."
The veterans did not want to be seen as victims. "That would have really jarred with the pride they felt."
It was the children and grandchildren who were seen as the victims, particularly with the issues of ill-health many had experienced.

Vietnam War Refugees Found Living In Forest After Missing For 40 Years

This discovery fascinated me as I worked with tribal people in Vietnam for the Red Cross in 1971 and again in 1973-74 for another year. Can you believe this story?

A man and his son that have been missing since the Vietnam War were found living in a forest. (Photo : Wiki Commons)

An 82-year-old man and his 41-year-old son were found living in a Vietnamese forest after they escaped their war-torn hometown, Sowetan reported.

Dan Tri Newspaper reported that in 1973, Ho Van Thanh grabbed his then-infant son and ran into the forest after a bomb went off that destroyed their home and killed his wife and two other children. They had not been since. Van Thanh, the father, can partially 

Ho Van Thanh, the father, can partially speak in the Cor minority language while his son, Ho Van Lang, can only speak a few words, according to an official at Tay Tra commune in Quang Ngai province.

Two people reported to authorities on Wednesday that they'd witnessed individuals with odd mannerisms traveling around the mountainous region. Police officials investigated the area and eventually found the duo, recognizing their alleged behavior and observed that Ho Van Thanh looked sickly.

Since they escaped into the woods, both the father and son have reportedly had no contact with the outside world. They survived by crafting their own tools left from war debris and made clothing out of tree bark. In order to stay protected from wild animals, they built a tent in a tree.

"They still feel frightened despite being taken to an isolated area. People who just come to stare at them bothered them the most," Le Van Vuong, Vice Chairman of Tra Xinh Commune, said. "They do not know how to speak the Kinh people's language. They just know a few words of Cor ethnic minority people's language and use body language to express themselves."

Local authorities are concerned that both Ho Van Thanh and Ho Van Lang may run away, so they're being monitored by officials near their old home that they were brought back to.

The Vietnam War lasted from 1955 to 1975 and caused tens and hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties in North and South Vietnam.