Although it’s 50 years since Australia ended its involvement in Vietnam, Tasmanian veteran Brian Shepherd can still vividly recall his role as part of the engine-room of the war effort.
The Leading Stoker in the Royal Australian Navy spent 12 months holed up in the bowels of an Australian warship off the Vietnamese coastline, feeding the furnace with fuel oil to keep the engines going. His shifts were long, hot and peppered with the sound of gun shells and bombs fired at the Australian warships stationed off the Vietnamese coastline.
Being aboard a ship that is at risk of being sunk by enemy fire is a great equaliser. Now, aged 82, Brian reflects, “There’s no difference between the captain, the cook or me down the hole in the engine room. There were 333 men on board, and we all had a vital role to play.”
It’s Vietnam Veterans' Day (August 18) and once again we pay tribute to the service of all Australians in the Vietnam War and honour the sacrifices that they and their families made.
More than 60,000 Australians served in Vietnam, over 3000 were wounded and 523 made the ultimate sacrifice.
And Brian will be among those who will don full medal regalia and lay a wreath on behalf of his fellow residents at Uniting AgeWell Newnham Community, Aldersgate there are some things that can never be erased from the mind.
“Most of the time I just carried on regardless, but there were certainly some pretty hair-raising times,” recalls Brian, who served on the HMAS Hobart and HMAS Perth stationed in Subic Bay and further north from 1967.
The confirmed bachelor who spent the rest of his working life in aluminium production in George Town after his stint in the navy, is “grateful to still be around”. He not only survived the war, but also a recent serious heart condition. Nearly two years ago Brian opted to join his sister who also lives at Aldersgate Village, for more specialised support. And he’s enjoying all the care and comfort of his new home in Launceston in his beloved northern Tasmania.
Uniting AgeWell is honoured that so many war veterans, like Brian, have chosen to move into our aged care facilities both in Tasmania and Victoria. And that many veterans from a number of wars are living their best lives at home supported by home care packages through the not-for-profit aged care provider.