Well Done Those Men: Memoirs of a Vietnam Veteran.

• Author: McGibbon, Ian
• Position: Book review

WELL DONE THOSE MEN Memoirs of a Vietnam Veteran

Author: Barry Heard

Published by: Scribe, Melbourne, 2007, 303pp, $24.95.

Although the Vietnam War has been over for more than thirty years, it remains a matter of controversy. Veterans of the war in the United States, Australia and New Zealand have been vocal in fighting for recognition of on-going health problems they attribute to their service. Just last December the New Zealand veterans' long campaign was brought to a successful conclusion with the announcement of a range of government support measures, designed to deal not only with health issues arising from exposure to Agent Orange but also with their longstanding sense of grievance over their treatment by both public and governments since returning from the war.

Although Barry Heard served in the Australian Army in South Vietnam, his experience was identical to that of most New Zealand veterans. This is because virtually all members of the New Zealand V Force served as part of the 1st Australian Task Force. Heard's account of his service, therefore, provides an excellent insight into the experience of New Zealand soldiers in their country's longest and most controversial war.

Heard was a country boy from Victoria whose birth date condemned him to National Service, just like many young men on this side of the Tasman at the same time. But Australian national servicemen, unlike their New Zealand counterparts, could find themselves in Vietnam. Heard provides a vivid description of the process which transformed him from civilian into fighting man, and of his involvement in the war. There is much here of interest about the response of young Australians (and New Zealanders) to the culture shock of army life and of deployment to an unfamiliar and...