Dear Friends,
Some of you may recall that back in 2001 I published an autobiography
entitled "From Fishnets to Foxholes and Back Again". This dealt in
detail with my 2 years in the army and fighting in Vietnam, then the
subsequent effects of this time on my life.
This week I have published the second enlarged edition in readiness
for tomorrow - ANZAC Day. You see, with the help of modern
technology, we have been able to round up all of the men in my
section with whom I served in Vietnam, and tomorrow we are all
marching together here in Ballarat. There are around 20 of us, 3 of
whom have flown over from New Zealand. It's all very special, as I
never expected to see some of those blokes again.
Today, started with me being interviewed on ABC radio at 0640hrs -
God that's a ridiculously early hour - I even had to set the alarm.
As a result of that interview I was phoned within the hour and
invited to be guest speaker at a luncheon for Rotary - which I did -
and sold a few more copies of my book :) Following that I went to the
local Leagues club where the men were gathering with their partners.
It's a bit worrying when you haven't seen someone for 38 years who
you may not have been too fond of even then, However, each and every
one has proved absolutely delightful - even my old sergeant, Reg -
who it turns out was in fact only 6 months older than me and now
lives in Canberra.
At 1700hrs today the rest will have arrived and we are all meting at
a local pub to get to know each other again.
Then tomorrow, there is a dawn service at 0600 (more alarm clocks);
breakfast at the Returned Servicemen's Club; wreath laying at
1030hrs; big march at 1100hrs; big loooong Nana nap; then a meal and
evening at another pub.
It's all very exciting and moving
David in Ballarat
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