Story 87 - An Englishman at Nui Dat
By Anthony Sexton
Introduction
At the age of 19 I became a ’10-pound
Pom’ arriving in Melbourne in April 1961 to became a ‘Trammie’
taking fares on the Camberwell to Princess Bridge tram run.
Not enjoying the work or weather I left
that job and headed to the sun in Queensland, unfortunately there
was a recession on and I was unable to find employment.
Army Enlistment
There was nothing for it but to apply to
join the Army. I was accepted, did my basic training at
Kapooka, Corp training at the School of Signals and not wanting to
be an ‘Op Sig’ as offered I was posted as a storeman to 101 Wireless
Regiment at Cabarlah near Toowoomba, Queensland. The Regiment
was renamed later 7 Signal Regiment.
After over four years at the Regiment,
I was posted to 104 Signal Squadron in Wacol. The Unit was
raised to replace 103 Signal Squadron in South Vietnam in April
1967. The posting was on promotion as the Technical
Stores Sergeant.
In November 1966 I was very lucky to
arrive safely at my new unit after hitching a ride with another
soldier driving to Brisbane. He drove in a very dangerous and
reckless manner and we were lucky to arrive in one piece.
Sadly, he was killed a few weeks later in a car crash.
I settled in at the unit before taking
annual leave, going by train to Perth. As I didn’t have
any relatives in Australia, I was able to nominate somebody in
Australia as my next of kin (NOK). I nominated Al Winter’s
father my NOK, who had a dairy farm at Busselton, WA. This
gave me an additional 10 days leave each year plus travel allowance.
The trip turned out to be very
eventful, as the train was held up by floods for four days at
Rawlinna on the Nullarbor and then a fire in the buffet car on
arrival in Kalgoorlie.
Training for War
In January 1967 back at Wacol, I was
involved in moving stores and equipment to a Shoalwater Bay Training
Area near Rockhampton where the unit was to take part in an exercise
called Barra Winga to prepare units for service in South Vietnam.
Sleeping in a hole in the ground was not very comfortable but I did
learn how to enjoy warm XXXX beer and tinned sausages. At the
conclusion of the exercise, I was in charge of moving stores and
equipment to Canungra.
Photo (Left): Tony Sexton on Ex
Barra Winga. Supplied by Tony Sexton.
Photo (Right): Tony’s Stores Tent, Ex Barra Winga
The Jungle Training Centre at Canungra
in Southern Queensland was formed in 1942 to train troops for jungle
combat in the South West Pacific area during WW2. In 1954 the
facility was reopened in response to the Communist threat, the
centre having been closed after the war. Following the
commitment of Australian personnel to South Vietnam, the Centre
ramped up its programs as 10,000 soldiers rotated through Canungra.
It was now my turn and after spending most of my Army service at the
‘Country Club’ disguised as an army unit at 7 Signal Regiment, the
experience proved very challenging!
The training at the Jungle Training
Centre, supposedly the best in the world, lasted 4 weeks and
consisted of training in all aspects of jungle warfare. Map
reading exercises up and down mountains, moving on our stomachs
under the barbwire with live ammunition flying overhead, jumping
from a great height in full kit and rifle into a deep waterhole,
climbing trees and along a horizonal rope and other forms of
torture, were all part of this wonderful experience!!
My first meeting with Major Lawrence,
the OC of the Squadron, was when I was marched in on a charge of
returning late from a day’s leave at Surfers Paradise. I was
admonished, marched out and then marched back in to be promoted to
Sergeant.
South Vietnam
I left Canungra early before the rest
of the unit and was part of a small contingent sent to Vietnam to
prepare for the units’ arrival about 10 days later. My main
task was to work alongside the Q personnel from 103 Signal Squadron
that we were replacing and conducted stocktake of all stores and
equipment’s. My memory is that I had to then sign for the
stores as the QM Officer for 104 Signal Squadron had not yet arrived
in country. With some trepidation I did this hoping that I
would not have to pay for any discrepancies.
Flying by Ansett to Darwin and then
into Saigon in a very noisy C130 Hercules and thence to Nui Dat by a
DHC-4A Carabou aircraft - saw me safely at my destination in South
Vietnam.
Photo: Tony outside a
Bar in Vung Tau. Supplied by Tony Sexton.
I was to serve only 7 months in Vietnam
as my discharge was due in December 1967 and I wished to return to the
UK to catch up with family, friends and do some travelling.
My duties while at Nui Dat included
care and maintenance of technical stores, keeping all items well
stocked, guard duty and morning parade were also part of the
routine. A weekly trip to Baria to deliver and collect unit
laundry and purchase Vietnamese rolls (I now buy them from a
Vietnamese bakery in Dianella, Perth). I often drove to Vung
Tau to pick up stores and supplies.
Photo: 104 Sig Sqn vehicle at the Baria Laundry.
Supplied by Tony Sexton.
I had access to American stores units
where I could choose from a range of equipment’s, even clothing, to
take back to Nui Dat. The US Army PX was also available and I
bought grog and cigarettes for the Sergeants Mess of which I was Bar
Member. The PX was a treasure trove of goodies such as vodka,
rum and other spirits, flavoured cigars, chocolates, electrical
goods, watches and playboy magazines, all at very low prices.
I received my Australian Citizenship
just before leaving Vietnam hence the title of my story ‘An
Englishman at Nui Dat’.
The Lighter Side of War
False Alarm:
I had been in Vietnam a few days and having a quiet beer in
the Sergeants Mess when the siren sounded which I took to mean we
were under attack. I grabbed my weapon and raced over to the
defensive weapon pit behind my tent and on the perimeter wire.
The pit was full of leaves and God knows how many snakes!
Throwing caution to the wind I jumped into the pit, cocked my M16
rifle and waited – Nothing. I then heard voices and laughter
coming from the mess, deciding to see what was happening, I went
back to the mess. Walking into the mess I was greeted with
much merriment and told that the siren was only a practise to make
sure that it worked.
Snake Story 1:
One day I was having an outside bucket shower (the
water was kept in jerry cans and was boiling hot in the hot weather
and cold in the cool weather) when somebody shouted from the top of
a small mound that a large snake was heading my way. I shouted
back that the snake was heading back to him, but I still hurried
back to my tent in case it returned.
Snake Story 2:
One day we had a visit from a civilian intelligence
fellow who we entertained in the mess one evening. After a few
drinks he soon came back to his tent to turn in for the night. He soon
back with a very large snake, he told us that on entering the tent
he noticed a large mound on the stretcher which on closer inspection
he realized was a snake. Being an old bushy, he quickly killed
the snake. I’m glad it was not me!
Strine:
After 6 months in South Vietnam, I was eligible for R & R and I
chose to go to Singapore. I flew from Nui Dat to Saigon where
with a few other Australians I joined US servicemen on an American
troop aircraft to Singapore. While waiting in Saigon we were
able to convince our American cousins that we were interpreters for
the Australian Army (Australians did not speak English!), John Zeller
was the ringleader but we all joined in using ‘Strine’, Aussie
colloquialisms and slang, we were very convincing (this was a couple
of decades before the book ‘Lets Talk Strine’ was published)!
Singapore R & R
On arrival in Singapore Ken Trewartha
was my guide to the sites, sights and delights of Singapore
including Buqis Street (where I bought a beer for Singapore Annie or
somebody claiming to be her) and the Kangaroo Club on Collyer Quay.
I also met up with a number of people from 121 Signal Squadron that
I knew from Cabarlah.
Returning Home
On my return to Nui Dat I only had a
few weeks to go before my six years’ service expired and I flew back
to Australia. This was to prove the most frighting experience
in all my time in South Vietnam.
Arriving at the airfield, I was the
last to climb aboard and had to sit in the rear next to the open
rear door. No worries – I’m sure they will close the door when
we take off – wrong! The plane taxied along the runway until
it had enough speed to take off. When this was achieved the
plane lifted off – vertically, still with the door open. I was
only held by the seat strap and I drifted toward the open door – the
most frightening event in my life (I’m 80 now so I suppose there is
still time for something more frightening to happen)!
We landed at Tan Son Nhat Airport, at
the time the busiest in the world, with my heart still thumping and
my hands shaking. Flying Qantas from Saigon and landing in
Sydney in the early hours, going straight to an early opening pub to
calm my still frayed nerves.
I complete my medical and
administrative procedures at Wacol and pronounced fit to rejoin the
civilian population.
Army Mates
Mates for Life 1:
In April 1968, I set sail for England on the ‘Ellinis’ via
Wellington, Tahiti, Panama Canal and Curacao. I was to spend
18 months in Europe working and touring Scandinavia, Russia and
Eastern Europe before hitting the Hippie Trail. Starting in Norway a
mate and I hitched and used public transport through Europe and Asia
taking in Iran and Afghanistan along the way. I flew from
Calcutta to Bangkok where I ran out of money. A loan from the
Australian Embassy got me to Signgapore where I was taken into
custody as I was penniless. Bomber Brown and Jack Morgan from
121 Signal Squadron bailed me out by lending me the money to fly to
Darwin. As I was very sick John Melandri and his wife Anita
very kindly put me up for two weeks until I was well enough to fly.
Hitching from Darwin to Adelaide ended my Hippie adventure.
Photo: RHMS Ellinis, The ‘Greek
Lady’.
Mates for Life 2:
On my return to Australia in 1972 (more on this later
in the narrative) with my wife Rosalie we arrived in Sydney with me
very sick with hepatitis and both of us without employment, my old
mate George Pardon and his wife Ros very kindly welcomed us into
their home until we were back on our feet. Note. Ros and
George also welcomed me into their home all the time I was with 7
Signal Regiment in Toowoomba.
Mates for Life 3:
At the age of 80 and living in Perth does not give me
much opportunity to catch up with old army mates but there are a few
we visited and correspond with: Bob and Dorn Lean – George and
Ros Pardon – John and Anita Melandri – John and Dulcie Zeller – Roy
and Annette Grace – All befriended this Pommy a long way from home.
To Army mates past and present, thank you
for your friendship.
Coda
The skills that I learnt in the Army set
me up for future work and travel.
During the 18 months I was in England in
1968 I worked as an Aircraft Baggage Handler, Automotive Spares
Delivery Driver and Program Co-ordinator for Plessey.
I have already told you about my return
to Australia to as far as Adelaide where I stayed with an uncle.
It was then onto Sydney where I worked as a storeman at Ansett
during the day and cleaning offices at night to repay my debt to
Jack Morgan. My next employment was Warehouse Manager for a
large American construction company in PNG. I spent 9 months
on Bougainville and 9 months at Mt Hagen before with 3 others a trip
was planned to travel overland through Africa from Cape Town to
London. We sailed from Sydney stopping at Perth on the way to
Singapore and Cape Town. In Perth, my future wife Rosalie
boarded and after a shipboard romance we subsequently got engaged in
Johannesburg and married soon after my arrival in London! (Rosalie
worked as a Nursing Sister in Johannesburg). The Trip up the
east coast of Africa and across to Nigeria and up through the Sahara
took about 4 months and we accomplished this in a VW Kombi Van.
After time in England with my family
and a visit from Rosalie’s Mother and Father and a honeymoon on
Corfu, it was time to head back to Australia to create a life
together and raise a family.
Our first home together was at Manly
with Rosalie working as a Theatre Sister at a private hospital and
me as Warehouse Manager for Dymo Corporation. After 9 months
it was time to move to Perth to be near Rosalie’s family and luck
would have it the WA State manager for Dymo gave his notice and I
was offered the job, which I gratefully accepted, staying in that
position for 18 years. I then joined a friend as the Sales,
Marketing and Administration manager for his small printing company
that we built into one of the larger printing companies in Perth.
Rosalie continued a very successful career in nursing, mainly for
the Cerebral Palsy Association. We have two children, Nicola
and Peter and three grandchildren, Julia, James and Amelia
Conclusion
Rosalie and I and sometimes with the
children have travelled extensively to Europe, America and Asia
including three trips to Vietnam that Rosalie and I thoroughly
enjoyed. The first trip was a tour from Ho Chi Min City
(renamed Saigon) to Hanoi, the second was with friends hiring a
Transit van with guide and driver travelling from Hanoi to the far
north including Dien Bien Phu (location of a decisive Vietnamese
military victory over the French) and the Chinese border and the
third trip was a few days in Ho Chi Min City and longer in Hanoi, a
city we really enjoy.
Photo: Tony and Rosalie – 50th
Wedding Anniversary
In retirement and because of COVID we
enjoy travelling far and wide in our home state.
Tony Sexton,
Perth, Western Australia
June 2022