Seeing how Vietnam has just got on with things

Diana Hunt shares her thoughts about visiting the communications bunker at the 1st Australian Task Force Base at Nui Dat.

The photo of us at Nui Dat was the picture I chose because it had significant meaning for me. Standing where men and women over 50 years ago stood, some awaiting their fate. Standing where bullets and shells rattled, defending capitalism and the freedoms fought for many years ago by the ANZAC forces. It was very powerful being able to acknowledge all the men who served their country, despite them not having a choice whether they served or not. Some had volunteered but many did not have a choice, it was National Service or prison. Peter and Cheryl explained the military side of the many battles fought in Vietnam, particularly the Battle of Long Tan. It was amazing to see the difference between the Australian Army and the American Army tactics, particularly in the rubber plantations, like how the battle of Long Tan was fought. Seeing how Vietnam has just got on with things and sort of ignoring the bloody battles fought on their soil. It was emotional for me, because the soldier I researched, Anthony Quigley died within the base at Nui Dat. Standing where he fell was a emotional experience. Not that I wasn’t thinking of Anne Donnell, my World War 1 nurse, she would have seen similar horrors on Lemnos and in France to what the medics would have seen right where we were standing. Being able to stand on the ground where boys, some not much older than us, gave their lives for the fight against communism. The old base now looks very different to when the Australians arrived there. Being in Vietnam has given me experiences that I would have never got in Australia. When we first met each other at the meet and greet, I didn’t believe the students who had gone before when they said you become a family. Within the first few hours, we had formed our little family with Malcolm as our ‘Papa’. Within a few days or arriving back in Australia, we were dying to see each other again. Thanks Anne Donnell and Anthony Quigley for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime and one I will never forget.