Well Done, Those Men: memoirs of a Vietnam veteran
Well Done, Those Men attempts to make sense of what Vietnam did to the soldiers who fought there. It deals with the comic absurdity of their military training and the horror of the war they fought, and is unforgettably moving in recounting what happened to Barry and his comrades when they returned home to Australia.
As we now know, most Vietnam vets had to deal with a community that shunned them, and with their own depression, trauma, and guilt. Barry Heard’s sensitive account of his long journey home from Vietnam is a tribute to his mates, and an inspiring story of a life reclaimed.
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Well Done, Those Men: memoirs of a Vietnam veteran
Well Done, Those Men attempts to make sense of what Vietnam did to the soldiers who fought there. It deals with the comic absurdity of their military training and the horror of the war they fought, and is unforgettably moving in recounting what happened to Barry and his comrades when they returned home to Australia.
As we now know, most Vietnam vets had to deal with a community that shunned them, and with their own depression, trauma, and guilt. Barry Heard’s sensitive account of his long journey home from Vietnam is a tribute to his mates, and an inspiring story of a life reclaimed.
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Well Done, Those Men: memoirs of a Vietnam veteran
Well Done, Those Men attempts to make sense of what Vietnam did to the soldiers who fought there. It deals with the comic absurdity of their military training and the horror of the war they fought, and is unforgettably moving in recounting what happened to Barry and his comrades when they returned home to Australia.
As we now know, most Vietnam vets had to deal with a community that shunned them, and with their own depression, trauma, and guilt. Barry Heard’s sensitive account of his long journey home from Vietnam is a tribute to his mates, and an inspiring story of a life reclaimed.
Barry Heard was conscripted in Australia’s first national-service ballot, and served in Vietnam as an infantryman and radio operator. After completing his national service, he returned home, where he found himself unable to settle down. He had ten different jobs in his first ten years back, worked as a teacher for a further ten years, and then held several mid-managerial posts before succumbing to a devastating breakdown due to severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
Since recovering, Barry has decided to concentrate on his writing. His short stories have received several prizes, including the Sir Edmund Herring Memorial Award and the Sir Weary Dunlop Prize. Barry’s books include the bestselling memoir Well Done, Those Men, its prequel, The View from Connor’s Hill, and the World War I novel Tag. He lives with his family in rural Victoria.
Table of Contents
Introduction ix Beginnings 1 Training Recruit Training, Puckapunyal 1966 11 Infantry Corps Training, 3TB Singleton NSW 31 My New Home: 7RAR, Puckapunyal 55 Canungra 62 Exercises Barrawinga and Nilla Qua Shoalwater Bay, Queensland 71 Vietnam Welcome to Vietnam 79 The New Me 88 The 5RAR Experience 91 7RAR, Vietnam 109 The Battalion's First Operation 113 In the Jungle 132 Operation Ballarat 157 Return to Base Camp 167 Last Days 184 Home Where's Home? 191 Melbourne Lessons 203 No Time for Exams 220 The Long Way Home 236 1992 248 1993 252 1994 255 1995 258 The Aftermath 263 Heidelberg 272 Back to School 286 Afterword 291 Acknowledgements 303