Warrnambool Vietnam veteran Terry McInerney says he feels more supported now than he did when he returned from the war in the 1960s.
Warrnambool will mark Vietnam Veterans Day on Thursday with a service at the RSL from 5.20pm, with Mr McInerney saying it was an important day.
"It commemorates our service to our nation because it was very hostile during the period because people were against the war which was natural," he said.
Mr McInerney said you just didn't tell anybody that you had been over in Vietnam.
"You just kept it quiet. There would be somebody, somewhere who would give their opinion on why we shouldn't be there," he said.
And that was not something Mr McInerney wanted to hear, especially knowing that at that moment there were Aussie soldiers over in Vietnam out on patrol or sitting in ambush.
He said he "definitely" felt more supported now than he did when he first returned from overseas.
Mr McInerney signed up at 21 and spent three years in the army - a year of that in Vietnam with the first armoured regiment in the Centurion tanks.
His first impression of the hot and humid country he arrived in was "depressed".
"The population... there's the 'haves' and the 'have nots', and there seemed to be so many 'have nots'. Their standard of living was just humpies and shacks," he said.
"It was a real eye-opener."
He said he was involved in the battle of Coral-Balmoral in 1968 to halt the advance of the communists in Saigon.
"They eventually did and the rest is history and in vain," he said.
Despite what he experienced, Mr McInerney said he had good memories of "meeting great blokes" over there.
He said he hadn't returned to the country since.
"There's too many ghosts back there for me," he said.
"I'm just happy to stay in dear old Australia."
IN OTHER NEWS
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark https://www.standard.net.au/
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines and newsletters
- Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn
- Tap here to open our Google News page.
- Join our Courts and Crime Facebook group and our dedicated Sport Facebook group
- Subscribe
Now just one tap with our new app: Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with The Standard:
Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.
Katrina Lovell
Katrina Lovell is a senior journalist at The Standard who covers council news and human interest stories.
Katrina Lovell is a senior journalist at The Standard who covers council news and human interest stories.
