1. Australian Vietnam War
Name: Hong Tianyu Veera
Birth: 1926
Age (In War): 22
Location: Sydney, Australia
Marital status: Married
Employment: Retired
Unit served in: RAR5 (Conscripted)
Time served: 1 year 5 months (Due To Injury)
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You'd think it would be strange for a person with an asian background to be fighting for Australia. I always wanted to fit in with the Australians. Coming here on a boat was hard enough, but trying to fit in with the white community was the hardest. During my teenage years, I experienced hardships. This was because of my bad english and the way I looked. It was when i was 22 when people were looking for soldiers to fight in the war. This was my chance to be one of them, my chance to become more settled in the community. Although I thought it was a good idea at the time, it was the worst decision of my life...
Eversince the war I've changed a great deal. I doubt that anyone cares cause I was critised for participating in this war. Haven't seen many people eversince the war. Sometimes I miss the words of the soldiers I fought beside. "Hey you! The one who should be fighting on the other side!", "Hulk!" and "Dim Simmy!"...those words always resound in my head.
I was a conscripted private in the C Company of RAR5, I was only 22 at the time. My company was posted in a little village in the Phuoc Tuy province. Our mission, was to protect the village and the people living there. This involved defending them against Vietcong raids, providing food and health support, and "Winning the hearts and minds of the people". Even though we were assigned with this, I couldn't understand half the things in which I was...