D. J. Poulton 2020 | Ormeau | Queensland | Australia| Contact Dave
DAVO’S HOME PAGE FOR VIETNAM VETERANS
Discharge Day - Not Really a "Thank you mate." Whilstin-country(Vietnam)IwastoldthatIwastohaveashortbreakonreturntoAustraliaandthen backtoVietnamforasecondtourofdutyasSeniorNCO'sinRAEatthetime(1968)werescarce.The reasonfortheshortturnaroundwasthedischargeof53SeniorNCO'sfromthecorpsthatyear(1968) oncompletionoftheirengagement.HavingalreadysufferedoneWIA,IwasnotabouttoletCharlieor anyoneelsehaveasecondgoatme.Iknewthat12monthsinVietnamhadsomehowchangedme.I smokedmore,dranktoexcess,wasalonerandwasgenerallynotaniceguytobearoundwhennotin the company of other digger mates. AsIrecall,IwasamendingthethenMBI'sonedayintheTroopOfficeattheDatandstumbledacross asectioninthe'goodbook'allowingasoldiertovetohisre-engagementwithinsixmonthsofre engaging.AftergettingasecondopiniononinterpretationoftheMBIfrommyTroopCommander,that wasit-mywayout.Ihadalwayswantedtobea20yearman,butVietnamfinishedthatideaoff.I submittedmyvetoapplicationformandwaspromptlycastigatedbytheCOwhoinnouncertainterms toldthathewoulddohisbesttoseethatInevergotajobwiththeCommonwealtheveragain.Atthat pointIdecidedIhadanewenemyandIbegantoplotbattlestrategies.(AsaservingPoliceOfficerin theACT,IneverdidrunintomyoldCOwhenhewasoutandabout.Ihadhopedtopullhimoverforan infringement and stick it to him real good.) IwasoutonanoperationinJuly68whenthewordcametogetbacktotheDat-"Poultonyour'eoutof here,packupandleavetown."Thecalendarhadbeencompleted(albeittwomonthslate).Iwas processedsofastIdidn'thavetimetobreathletaloneallowtimetogetaletterofftoletmywifeknowI wascominghome.Offtototheairstrip,choppertoVunger's,offtoSaigonandthenontoaQantas flight home. From the bush to the Qantas flight all in a day - how's that for leaving town? OnmyarrivalatSydneyairportat0100hoursIwasmetbytheMovementControlOfficer(MCO)who usheredmeintoabackroomattheairportandpromptlyremovedmypaybook(neededreconciliation atpayofficeIwastoldandthattherewasnomoneyowingtomeuntilafterthebookwasreconciled), informedIwasnowdischargedfromtheAustralianRegularArmyandshouldreporttoEastern Command Personnel depot (ECPD) the next day by 1000 hours for issue of discharge certificate. SohereIwasatSydneyAirport,oneo'clockinthemorning,nomoney,notransportandawifeand familywhodidn'tknowIwashome.Wedidn'thaveacarnoraphonesoIwasliterallystrandedat SydneyAirport.Mypleaformilitarytransporttomymarriedquarter(home)fellondeafears.I eventuallyhadtobumsomemoneyonthestreetforacabfarehometoHolsworthy.Ican'ttellyouhow angryIwasatthetime.IfIhadliveammotherewouldhavebeena@@@@#!!fightrightthereinthe airport.Iarrivedhomeataround0500hoursandmywifethoughttherewaseitheraburglaratthedoor or the Padre to inform her of bad news. Ihadtimetoshower,getmybreathandthengetpublictransportfromHolsworthytoECPDatSouth Headby1000hours.ThethoughtinmymindwasthatifIwaslateIwouldprobablyendupinboobat Holsworthy.IwastakenintotheRSM'sofficeonarrival,toldmydischargecertificatewouldbemailed (signedaheapofforms)andhandedanevictionnoticetomymarriedquarterwithadeadlineoftwo weekstovacateorIwouldbeforciblyremoved.Myreactionwas-"bringiton!"AfterprocessingIwas backonpublictransporttoHolsworthywiththewonderfulnewsformywife.Wehadtwoyoungsonsat thistimeandtheprospectswerenotlookinggood.IalmostdecidedtoreapplyforthearmyIcantell you. MywifewasfranticwithworryandnotimpressedwiththegracewithwhichIwashandled.Wefought hand-over-fisttokeepourmarriedquarteruntilIcouldfindahousetobuyunderWarServiceHomes. Alltonoavail.Finallymywife,sickandatherwitsendrangtheDailyMirrorandwegotfrontpage headline-'ArmyStaysEviction!'Weweregrantedanextensionontheleaseofthemarriedquarterat our service rental rate and allowed to stay until we bought a house. NoonewantedaVietnamVetasanemployeeexceptsecuritycompaniesandthePoliceForce.Itried both,MetropolitanSecurityService(MSS)forafewmonthsandthenIwasacceptedintoThe CommonwealthPoliceon23rdDecember1969.BythetimeIjoinedthepolice,thedamagehadbeen doneandmyfamilyandIwereonadownhillrun.EachdaywasspentlookingforotherVietnam Veteranstohangoutwith.Societyhadrejectedusandallwehadwaseachother.Thelooserinallthis wasourfamily.SomemateslefthomeandreturnedtothejunglesofSouthEastAsiainother capacities. The tragedy is that it could have been prevented. REFLECTION:Thingshavechangedsincethosedays,andIamdeliberatelysharingthiswithyouin thehopethatnoyoungservicepersonnelofthiscountryshouldeversufferthattypeoftreatmentever again. In 1968 it was not a grateful nation! ItisinterestingtonoteherethatinmyclaimstoDVAIhadtoprovethatIwasinVietnam,thatIhad qualifyingevents(exposureinacombatzone)andthatIhadillnessesthatweredirectlyattributableto servinginanactivetheatreofwar.Noonebotheredtoaskwhatthenationandthemediadidto contribute to or escalate my illness. Ihavealwaysponderedwhatitwouldhavebeenlikeifthenationwasgratefulandtherewereno moratoriumorloungeroomwar.Somethirtyyearsdownthetrackwewereaskedtoapplyforthe "GratefulNationCertificate."Iwenttomylocalmember'soffice,washandedtheform,filleditoutand wastold,"Wewillmailittoyouwhenthemembersignsit."Ienquiredaboutreceivingitpersonallyfrom themember,asitwasmybeliefthatthiswasthepracticeonlytobetold,"Noway,matewemailthem out." In1968Iwastreatedasanon-personandin1999Iwastreatedthesame.AsIleftthelocalmember's office I remarked, "Nothing much has changed!" TheaboveweretakenacoupleofdaysafterIreturnedbeforetherotsetin.WhenIlookbackonthese slidesIrealiseitishardtoimaginethatourinnocentwifeandchildrenhadtosufferwhattheydid becauseoftheinsensitivitytotheveteranbytheDefenceForceandtheAustralianpublic.Thegreatest tragedywouldbeifouryoungservicepersonnelhadtosufferthesame.Iknowtheywon'tandinsome waythatiscomfortingbutthequestionstillremains,"WhyareVietnamVeteransstillsuffering?"There aremanyanswersthatareproposed,someofwhichlaytheblameatthefootoftheVeteran,othersat society,otherswiththemedia,otherswithgovernmentindifference.IthastostopbeforeVeteranspass away and are just another mortality statistic. go to top