Pursuing this matter has caused me great angst over the years- from death threats to a stabbing and a bashing. But it's been the orchestrated vilification by a cowardly group of veterans that has caused me the greatest pain- as it was meant to do. I think it's time I answered all the questions raised about me, once and for all. Feel free to forward this paper to anyone you like: So who or what is the ‘Don Tate’ splashed across the internet? It’s me- disabled war veteran, ex-teacher, father, grandfather, and author of five books. So why is my name up in lights with adverse commentary next to it? In this age of information with social media cowards proliferating, it’s unsettling to find yourself vilified by cowards hiding behind pseudonyms- and even more difficult to counter. It’s especially galling when you’ve served your country honourably in war, received a national honour, and raised five fine children who are all professionals in their own right. Thus, this is an attempt to explain exactly who I am, explain why I have been so vilified, and provide the necessary validating documentation to silence the anonymous critics. So let’s start at the beginning….including my army service. I was born the eldest of eight children in Brisbane, and after what may be described as a 'rough' upbringing and endeavouring to make something of myself, I volunteered for the Australian Army. I successfully completed Recruit training at Kapooka, and volunteered for the infantry. I then completed Corps training at the Infantry Centre, Ingleburn and the pre-Vietnam rigours of the Jungle Training Centre at Canungra. Rather than taking the easy route and go to Vietnam with a battalion, I volunteered to go to Vietnam in late December 1968 at a time when reinforcements were badly needed to bulk up the battalions expecting a second Tet offensive. Reinforcements needed to be adaptable and more capable than most- having to rapidly 'fit in' to a unit when casualties occurred. (It also denied those men the sense of 'belonging' that men from battalions were able to experience- with serious sequelae for many of us in years to come.) After three weeks in the Australian Reinforcement Unit, I was posted to 4RAR on January 27 1969 and remained with that battalion until they returned to Australia in May of that year. At that point, along with 39 other men who had also reinforced the 4th Battalion, we were formed in a ‘2nd D&E Platoon’ within HQ Company under the command of Major George Pratt. After a successful ambush on May 29 1969 that platoon was disbanded, and most of us (including me) were re-posted to the 9th Battalion. Three weeks later, on July 19 1969, I was wounded in action with the 9th Battalion in the Long Khanh region of South Vietnam- a wound of such severity that it resulted in my hospitalisation for the next 27 months. That hospitalisation included a year in a full body plaster, chest-to-toe. At no time were there any black marks recorded against my name across any of those four units- save for losing my ID the day I arrived in country for which I was fined $10. And at all times, I served as a rifleman in all capacities- including being the platoon’s interpreter whilst in the 4th Battalion. That service history can be verified by checking the Nominal Roll at: http://www.vietnamroll.gov.au/VeteranDetails.aspx?VeteranId=1272110 and also at the RSL Virtual Memorial suite at: https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/explore/people/778340 which allows for the provision of additional material about a veteran. Other extracts from my movies are posted on Youtube at 'Don Tate, Vietnam'. Unlike some men of that war have done (like the paedophile Keith Tennent for instance) I have never sought to hide my service records because I have absolutely no reason to do so, with nothing to hide or be ashamed of. The records are freely available at Central Army Records, Melbourne to be perused by anyone who cares to. THE VILIFICATION And now to the adverse commentary that has been made about me- in most instances by those who didn’t serve with me, or have never met me. In the first instance, the criticism stemmed from my battle to validate two aspects of my service: - my service with the 9th Battalion (9RAR) -and my service with the ‘2nd D&E Platoon’- all trace of which had been deleted from the records of the war MY SERVICE IN THE 9TH BATTALION It is a fact that when the first Nominal Roll of Australian veterans of the Vietnam war was published, I was not recorded as having served with the 9th Battalion. For reasons unknown, clerical staff in 9RAR had not carried out the administration regarding my posting to that battalion before I was wounded- hence, like the character of Mudd in ‘Catch-22’, I didn’t officially exist in that battalion because I’d come and gone before it was done. To make it worse, the Army had no record of that posting either because the clerks at HQ Company (which was the parent Company of the 2nd D&E Platoon) hadn’t processed the posting at their end either- a perfect storm of army maladministration. So my claims to have served in the 9th Battalion, and been wounded in it, resulted in uninformed fools being outraged, calling me a liar and wannabee. Exacerbating that maladministration, the 9th Battalion published a record of its tour including an account of the ambush in which I was wounded on July 19 1969- and made no mention of me being involved. It was put together by a ‘Ted Chitham’ 25 years after those events had occurred, and despite he being a former senior officer of that battalion, he cared less about detail and accuracy than he did about ensuring his officer mates like Lt Guy Bagot were ‘written up’ in that account of the action in which I was wounded (Lt Bagot having contributed nothing to what transpired except keeping his head down and getting a little scratch at some point). To cut this part of the story short, in 1998 the Australian Army formally recognised my service in the 9th Battalion after coloured movies I had shot showing me in 7 Platoon were made public, and other members of the platoon (and the Company) verified my service in the battalion, and my actions in the contact in which I was wounded. I thank former platoon commander Michael Mummery OAM for bothering to do so. It had taken the Army 28 years to correct that error and update the Nominal Roll- a disgrace. With respect of my service in the 9th Battalion and my wounding- and to silence any doubters, I have placed on record a number of validating documents: the media report of my wounding at: https://www.facebook.com/warwithintate/photos/a.276070162497529.55792.276021632502382/276077075830171/?type=3&theater the Army Signal sent from Vietnam to my father at: https://www.facebook.com/warwithintate/photos/a.276070162497529.55792.276021632502382/276085745829304/?type=3&theater the first page of my hospital records at: https://www.facebook.com/warwithintate/photos/a.276070162497529.55792.276021632502382/276085845829294/?type=3&theater the Army's 'Battle Casualty' form completed for every man wounded in the war at: https://www.facebook.com/warwithintate/photos/a.276026855835193.55770.276021632502382/823446491093224/?type=3&theater a newspaper report detailing the length of my hospital stay at: https://www.facebook.com/warwithintate/photos/a.276026855835193.55770.276021632502382/277589242345621/?type=3&theater and placed extracts from my movie footage with 9RAR in which I am shown returning from a patrol back into the Company position carrying the M60 at: https://www.facebook.com/donald.w.tate So that was the first matter that created some considerable animosity. There were those who dared argue, that it was ‘too bad’ if the records were incorrect as long as my service in Vietnam was recognised, and who cares really? My argument was that service records were sacrosanct and couldn’t be corrected after the veteran died. If I didn’t correct them while I was alive, they would remain incorrect evermore. I often asked other veterans what they would have done if they’d come home wounded and then found their service history compromised. If they said it wouldn’t bother them, I’d call them a fool. Anyway, the issue of my service with the 9th Battalion was resolved- but the mud thrown about me stuck. There wasn’t a lot I could do about that, although I did learn something interesting about the 9RAR records much later. I was playing golf with a fellow 9RAR veteran named Eric ‘pogo’ Pope from Sydney, and he told me, completely unabashed, that he and another soldier had been tasked with carrying a metal trunk of 9RAR records home with them when they returned to Australia on the HMAS Sydney. He said, it was too much trouble, so one night he and the other soldier simply threw the trunk overboard- along with much of the 9RAR administrative records! MY WOUNDING Because of the mud, that was shown I should also elaborate here a little on my actual wounding because it too, has been the source of much conjecture in the hands of malicious fools. This was to be expected. In the first instance, I should point out that actually being physically wounded isn’t something every veteran experienced. In fact, only 4% of men fall into that category, and not all wounded men’s injuries resulted from combat, or in significant hospital stays or permanent impairment. As well, the reality is that those who weren’t wounded (the bulk of the veteran community) can have no real appreciation of the trauma involved in the actual incident, nor how it was compounded by the hospital process, nor of the long-term effects of permanent physical impairment on a man's life no matter how well they can empathise. Only a few people can truly understand the effects of spending more than two years in hospital. Or having to depend on your wife to dress you every day. But I'm not the worst of the wounded and never claimed to be. I still have my limbs and organs, at least. A review of my condition was made by an orthopaedic specialist in 1992, and a page of that is at: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153881399334895&set=pcb.10153881409399895&type=3&theater I attempted to explain the consequences of being wounded in 'The War Within'- but this was regarded as some of the more ignorant voices as 'whingeing'. Each of those aspects of my wounding alone is worthy of some attention. Here is a short video of what it’s like to recover from such a debilitating war wound as I received at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_TTYEOzn5c&feature=youtu.be Historian Ashley Ekins included the account of my wounding in his final volume of the trilogy dealing with the history of the Vietnam War- ‘Fighting to the Finish’. That account is found on p. 295 of that volume, and he describes my actions in running forward with two other men to provide covering fire for the first section of 7 Platoon (which had been ambushed in bunker system) as ‘assaulting forward into a storm of enemy fire’. Who wants to argue with the national historian? Having served in four infantry units during Vietnam, and wide-reading thereafter, I can confidently say not many other infantrymen can honestly claim to have run towards enemy bunkers like I did on that occasion in an ambush in which men had already been killed and wounded- so I am proud to say that I find myself in rare company in that regard. The simple facts were that when our platoon was ambushed, almost every man in the first section (led by Corporal Andy Ochiltree) was wounded or killed and were battling heavy machine-gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades from two sides. The machine-gun crew in my section (which was the next section behind platoon HQ) was ordered forward into the killing field to provide covering fire- and I went with them. I didn’t have to- wasn’t ordered to do so- but I thought that was what infantrymen were supposed to do when mates were in grave danger. So I went with them. Those two men were Privates Greg Salmon and Private John Walker. The three of us breasted the rise that led into the killing field, then ran forward towards the bunkers. Walker was hit first, behind me, wounded in three places. Salmon made the cover of trees safely, and began proving covering fire. While I was struck in the right hip and sent cartwheeling into the jungle, my rifle lost, and the jungle alive with bullets and metal fragments from RPGs. Private Greg Salmon was the only one of the three of us who wasn't wounded- and they awarded him the military Medal for gallantry. Some fools, for reasons that still astound me (and who weren’t present in that ambush) have stated that I was shot in the backside (somehow that was meant to imply that I was running away) while others claim that I was shot by one of my own men. They are outrageous comments. Even Major Harry Smith (of Long Tan ‘fame’) bought into the debate publicly airing a comment he alleges he’d heard to the effect that I’d asked someone to shoot me- a proposition so ridiculous for a former infantryman to even utter it, it belies belief. More than anything, it was proof that Harry Smith was becoming imbecilic with old age. I could have countered Smith's stupidity by pointing out that at least a dozen members of 11 Platoon from his Company had bullet wounds to the back- but what would I be implying, and what would that have proved? To answer those comments about my actual wound, I point out that movie footage of the wound is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watchv=f_TTYEOzn5c&feature=youtu.be (and clearly shows the location and size of the wound) as well as in various videos on Youtube under 'Don Tate, Vietnam' and I make the point that no one at all was behind me, save for Private John Walker whose fingers had mostly been shot off and was incapable of using his rifle. I am indebted to my Company commander, the eminently respectable Major Laurie Lewis AM who wrote an account of that ambush and sent it into the veteran community to obviate the ridiculous comments being made. It is at: https://www.facebook.com/warwithintate/photos/a.276026855835193.55770.276021632502382/804524452985428/?type=3&theater while Private John Walker made the effort to go to a police station and swear out a Stat Dec to also account for what I did that evening. His Stat Dec is at: https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/explore/people/795631?t=1458779646785&wizard-page-index=2 In the 37 years since I was wounded, I've endured 22 operations. I think that's more than most veterans have had to contend with. THE 2ND D&E PLATOON MATTER The second challenge - and one which enraged fellow veterans even more and created more controversy - was having to prove that the ‘2nd D&E Platoon’ not only had existed, but that I had served in it, including the most successful ambush by the platoon at Thua Tich on May 29 1969. See: https://www.facebook.com/warwithintate/photos/a.276026855835193.55770.276021632502382/749079245196616/?type=3&theater Trying to validate a platoon of which there was absolutely no record in any history of the war was no easy task- made more difficult because of the vitriol attacks against those of us trying to prove it. Standing up against a bureaucracy like Defence was akin to Quixote tilting at windmills. The vitriol emanated first from Bob Buick- who was once highly regarded as a hero of the battle of Long Tan (but long since revealed to be a coward who deserted his position and ran for his life leaving wounded men behind). Buick led the attacks until an email he sent out saying his attacks had ‘support at the highest levels of the government and the military’ was made public, and he retreated from view and went underground to continue his opposition, like cowards do. Unfortunately, Buick had wide support in the early days and influenced many veterans into believing the 2nd D&E Platoon never existed. He was joined by a convicted paedophile, Keith Joseph Tennent and a bevy of thugs and petty criminals including Garry Sloane, ‘Bomber’ Bob Gibson, and Alan Price who contributed to the vitriol on ‘hate’ sites using pseudonyms to hide behind, and they made life most unpleasant for me. Former members of the Armoured Corps also took up the attack- using anonymity and the Corps' 'SITREP' site to vilify me. Such enmity among veterans who had once fought alongside each other! The AVM website was the perfect vehicle for cowards to do their dirty work. In addition, the Australian War Memorial's Director- General Steve Gower- and the national historian provided stumbling blocks in our endeavour to prove the platoon existed, even as far as overtly deceiving Senators and Ministers on many occasions as they sought answers. Nevertheless, on May 29th 2008, the federal government announced that the 2nd D&E Platoon HAD indeed existed. In a statement from parliament house, the Parliamentary-Secretary for Defence Materiel (the Hon Dr Mike Kelly MP) stated that not only did the 2nd D&E Platoon exist, but that it had been involved in important actions against the Viet Cong and would thereafter be ‘enshrined in the nation’s history’. That statement is at: https://www.facebook.com/1638701263085542/photos/a.1638941703061498.1073741827.1638701263085542/1772287403060260/?type=3&theater So I was vindicated in respect of that matter as well. But no apologies came my way. In fact, there never have been. Every time, I have placed on record contrary comment to the slander posted about me, it has not been posted on those 'hate' sites. Sometimes, an edited version of my reply has been posted, or something supposedly from me posted that I never wrote in the first place, to make matters even worse. It’s the way these vigilantes work. Recently, I chanced upon an email exchange between a number of the vilifying cowards who inhabit those hate sites, and it is interesting to note how they go about their business. I place that email below as proof that the thugs simply write whatever they want to and force their ‘target’ to defend himself over and over again, or as some targets have done, eventually kill themselves. I am not of that ilk who kills himself or cowers in fear, and for a decade, I have stood up to the fools who have slandered me. It is my hope that this comprehensive discourse answers all the questions they have posed and which interests so many veterans. Here is that email exchange: -----Original Message----- From: belmonte@webone.com.au [mailto:belmonte@webone.com.au] Sent: Friday, 9 May 2003 11:31 AM To: mailto:garry.scott1@bigpond.com.au Cc: petermcnamara@hotkey.net.au; birdshome@bigpond.com Subject: Re: STAT DEC Hi Just completed the stat dec, it’s a real pisser, I have made up some really good shit, this should hang him. I signed off as Delta two AKA Jon Belmonte. I have been advised by delta 412, the boss has said i will be ACT's C.P.M.H investigations officer. Jon (The author of that email by the way, Jon Belmonte, has long since been exposed himself as a lying fraud who claimed to have fought with the Sultan of Oman, and as a mercenary in new Guinea, among other lies- all disproved. He is currently a Captain in the Salvation Army). But if you wanted evidence of collusion, conspiracy, and the deliberate vilification of a person by that cowardly element within the veteran community, that email is all you need. I might also add that in 2012 I published 'Anzacs Betrayed'- an expose of the corruptions surrounding the deletion of the 2nd D&E Platoon from all records of the war. In it, I provided all the evidence (documents/photographs etc) proving the hows and whys of about the 2nd D&E Platoon, but Gary Moseley- ex-4RAR, and an apologist for Defence- sent out an email via Bob Buick's underground 'kangaroo court' in which he dismissed the evidence as 'lies'. That commentary was read '8000' times. The irony was, Moseley hadn't even read it. He sent out his email a week before 'Anzacs Betrayed' was even printed and published- but he was successful in derailing the book insofar as sales were concerned. (It says a lot about Gary Moseley that he would do such a thing, but I learned later that his own son is a career criminal, so it appears he set a fine example as man.) The fact remains that the great majority of veterans never actually read the book or saw the evidence to make up their own minds- and so most still remain ignorant of the facts. This is the book: https://www.facebook.com/AnzacsBetrayed/photos/a.401243196648216.1073741827.383795401726329/581999058572628/?type=1&theater Ignorance of the facts is precisely Defence wanted. Veterans were always going to be kept in the dark about the matter like mushrooms if Defence could ensure it. So those have been the facts of the matters relating to my service history. OTHER ISSUES Finally, the issues to do with the war service aside, what caused some controversy was the publication of my memoir, ‘The War Within’ by one of Australia’s most prestigious publishers- Murdoch Books in 2008, and subsequently by iUniverse. This is a review by Ian McPhedran published in The Daily Telegraph, NSW's largest paper: https://www.facebook.com/warwithintate/photos/a.276026855835193.55770.276021632502382/276026859168526/?type=3&theater There were three main contentions arising from the book: - that I had embellished my accounts of my war service - that I was critical of army officers - and that I had dared raise the spectre of atrocities in my outline of the 2nd D&E Platoon matter. Simply, any fair person who read ‘The War Within’ would have to agree that my memoir is self-deprecating to a fault. I had consciously detailed my errors and failings in life- more than most men would rather do. While I thought honesty was the singularly most important aspect of a memoir, and not wanting to just provide a veneer of a life like the General Peter Cosgroves of the world do, I let it all hang out, as they say. So no, there were no embellishments. For example, in one bunker assault I describe, I record how three of us were pinned down in front of a bunker firing a fusillade of machine-gun bullets directly at us (Privates Garry Winchester, Bryan Holborow and myself) and none of us had fired a shot in return during that vicious contact. Perfectly accurate and honest. Nothing gung-ho. (On the other hand, many years later, Holborow was boasting of having kept up machine-gun fire as the platoon withdrew, but I was his ‘number-two’ on the M60 and if he was firing it, I’d have been feeding the belts of ammo into it. The fact was, it never happened that way, but Holborow was never challenged because he never made the statement publicly, or in written form). I won't criticise him for it either; memories of events of almost 50 years ago are affected by the tyranny of time. Another matter I described, and which resulted in some adverse comment, was my very first action in which I had spotted a small group of VC following the platoon whilst in the ’tail-end charlie’ position. After stopping twice to make sure that it was exactly what I thought it was, I opened up on the group firing a full 30-round magazine in their direction. They split to the right-hand side of the platoon, and two were killed in a 'contact right' a minute or so after I had initiated the contact. It was a relatively minor matter, and I claimed no more than that. But others from my platoon didn’t remember that initial part of the contact, or my part in it- a common problem between veterans discussing aspects of various contacts they were involved in. Fortunately for me, my account was backed up by Lt Col Brian Avery in his official record of 4RAR’s tour, ‘In the Anzac Spirit’, when he wrote: ‘….the rear elements of 10 Pl noticed two VC following the platoon…..they fired at the two, killing one…’ Avery wasn’t precise- ‘rear elements’ doesn’t make it clear who did what. But in this case, I was the ‘rear element’- the last man in the platoon. (That action, validating my account, is also recorded historically in the official 4RAR Narratives, published in the Australian War Memorial collections, Serial 335). As for my criticism of army officers, well, it's a subjective thing. They almost got me killed on at least three occasions, including the night I was wounded, and I have no doubt many were always just after gallantry medals. Nothing will ever alter that opinion- and many other veterans agree with it. All one has to do is note how many officers received gallantry awards compared to the rank and file- mostly just for their 'leadership' in various battles- not always from the front. But an infantry private writing a best-seller! That was altogether another thing. It earned the ire and jealousy of many within the veteran community- especially from ex-officers who weren’t capable of doing so. One- Lt Col Brian Avery even admitted to jealousy at its success, while others (like Gary McKay MC) considered only they were capable of writing books, and who did I think I was attempting one? McKay sent me a single sentence as a review before he book was published, saying, 'Nice try Fail'. Selling 15,000 copies of it and being invited to speak at 180 libraries across Australia in relation to it put McKay's comment into perspective. But outlining the 2nd D&E Platoon matter within 'The War Within 't was the focal point of much of the angst- with accusations that not only was the 2nd D&E Platoon a ‘fantasy’, but if it did exist, I wasn’t in it. But it wasn’t confined to trying to validate the platoon’s existence. In order to up the ante against a recalcitrant military bureaucracy, I disclosed certain contentions the platoon was involved in- atrocities, in fact. I ensured that the matters became public knowledge. see: https://www.facebook.com/1638701263085542/photos/a.1638941703061498.1073741827.1638701263085542/1643600975928904/?type=3&theater and in many other newspaper articles and other media reports., most of which I’ve posted on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=The+2nd+D%26E+Platoon' and in other facebook pages including: Anzacs Betrayed; Donald William Tate; Memoir-The War Within; and Don Tate. The accusation that I could not only make up a story about a non-existent platoon and detail its activities, and claim to be in it- when supposedly none of it was true, was an absurdity. How then could I have known intimate details of how it was formed and what it had done? The revelation by the Hon Mike Kelly MP in 2008 silenced most of the naysayers- but not all. Some desperately wanted it not to be true to give substance to their wild accusations. Some men, like Ern Marshall and Gary Moseley are simply born fools. It's also interesting to note that I upset fellow 4RAR veterans with a Letter to the Editor I wrote many years ago which they interpreted as a criticism of the battalion. It wasn't. I was merely highlighting the nobility of men who go to war. That letter is at: https://www.facebook.com/DONALDWILLIAMTATE/photos/a.342230379177760.77000.342184929182305/547444791989650/?type=3&theater Members ion the 4th Battalion got into a real lather about it. CONCLUSION To conclude, I would like some final points about who I am in reality- not the man shredded by inane comment by those who never met me, and who know nothing about me. After being discharged from Greenslopes Repatriation hospital, I faced another two years of recuperation and rehabilitation and found myself with no education, no skills, and no employment opportunities. I did the HSC at TAFE and graduated in the top 10% of the state; then, achieved a Diploma of Teaching, finishing second in my graduating year, and the Diploma marked 'Meritorious Academic Record'. Because of the disabilities, I only worked full time for a dozen years- meaning that financially, I ended up hundreds of thousands of dollars worse off than many of my fellow veterans, and men of my age who never fought in the war. Yet- I was never homeless like many veterans claim to be, and raised a family of five together with my fine wife who has remained by my side for 47 years up to this point. I am not an alcoholic, and never have been. Alcoholics aren’t prone to writing quality books, or serving their community. I’m not a drug addict by any stretch, pain-killers being all I take. Save for a period of counselling after being stabbed in the back in 1999, I’ve not been an habitual attendee in PTSD wards or therapy sessions. Nor do I need to cling to ‘flashbacks’ and poor social behaviour to justify and maintain my war pension. The pension I receive is based predominantly on significant orthopaedic disabilities recognised and acknowledge by the Department of Veteran Affairs- and I only applied for it 24 years after being wounded. In 1970, on day leave from the military hospital at Yeronga, I battled with demonstrators at the Brisbane Moratorium march- defending Australian soldiers still fighting in Vietnam when most Vietnam veterans kept their heads low. A report of my actions that day is at: https://www.facebook.com/warwithintate/photos/a.276079612496584.55795.276021632502382/276082312496314/?type=3&theater In 1977, I was awarded the South Coast Cricketer of the Year after taking 62 wickets in First Grade- proving doctors who said I’d never run again, wrong. See: https://www.facebook.com/DONALDWILLIAMTATE/photos/a.342230379177760.77000.342184929182305/977180812349377/?type=3&theater I captain-coached four cricket clubs, and held a variety of administrative sporting positions. I coached women’s softball, girl’s softball (winning six regional championships), junior cricket, and Australian Rules. In the 1990’s I volunteered to assist in the National Surf Lifesaving Championships held at North Wollongong. In 1996, I donated coloured movie footage I had shot in the war as a young infantryman to the Australian War Memorial in the nation's interest. It was valued at $90,000. See: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151022973874895&set=t.561934894&type=3&theater In 2000 I received the Australian Sports Medal for services to my community in the area of sport. I have assisted intellectually-disabled high school students in tree-planting projects. As far as veteran issues are concerned, I am currently a volunteer with the RSL Virtual Memorial (an initiative of the S.A. RSL in conjunction with the Australian War Memorial) responsible for adding the names of all veterans who went to war to the Memorial record. And for three years, I worked to construct a Vietnam Veterans Commemorative Walk in Albion Park Rail which required the planting of more than 200 trees, and at which, a plaque on a sandstone rock acknowledges all veterans of the war, but specifically Corporal Jim Riddle- the de facto platoon commander of the 2nd D&E Platoon. See: https://www.facebook.com/warwithintate/photos/a.276079612496584.55795.276021632502382/276083152496230/?type=3&theater The Department of Veteran Affairs paid for the walk. I would add that over the last ten years, I have made the acquaintance of many good men- some of whom were significant officers in the Australian army. They have stood up for me- some publicly, some privately. Men like Brigadiers George Mansford OA and Neil Weeks AM MC- a former member of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council on veteran issues. I maintain a wide circle of other, less distinguished (but equally important) veteran friends, and teachers I taught alongside in my teaching career in the NSW Education Department. But the friendship of two men, in particular, means more to me than most any other- that of Garry Heskett and Michael von Berg MC. Heskett is a former President of the 4RAR Association (NSW) and a former detective who earned acclaim for locking up the Anita Cobby killers. He was a NSW Policeman of the Year. While Michael von Berg MC is one of Australia’s most significant veterans- a pillar of society and the business world. Neither man is a fool- and both carried out due diligence in relation to me and the matters that swirled around me. Both men have helped me overcome the attacks on my service and my name. But I guess the most significant things that have happened to me which came about as a consequence of the slander and vilification directed at me were: - receiving $50,000 in compensation from the Defence Abuse Response Tribunal set up by the Labor government in 2011 in relation to the maladministration, corruption of my service history, and abuse I received within and without the Defence Force See: https://www.facebook.com/warwithintate/photos/a.276026855835193.55770.276021632502382/914115208693018/?type=3&theater - receiving a formal apology from the Australian Government in respect of the maladministration of my service records and the abuse I have suffered as a consequence See: https://www.facebook.com/1638701263085542/photos/a.1638941703061498.1073741827.1638701263085542/1776683502620650/?type=3&theater - and receiving a formal letter of apology from Major General Fergus McLachlan of the Australian Defence Force (a current serving general) in respect of the maladministration and the abuse that ensued See: https://www.facebook.com/photo.phpfbid=10153926535099895&set=a.45204899894.58378.561934894&type=3&theater If that doesn’t shut the mouths of the depraved fools at the AVM and ANZMI, nothing will. In 2006, Paul Daley- editor of The Bulletin (Australia's iconic news magazine for decades) placed a picture of me on its front cover which was celebrating the 40th anniversary of the battle of Long Tan- despite my not being in that particular battle. He felt that more than anyone from the 6th Battalion which was featured in that edition, my battles with the Australian Defence Force showed the true Australian 'diggers' fighting spirit. That cover is at: https://www.facebook.com/warwithintate/photos/a.276070162497529.55792.276021632502382/276074385830440/?type=3&theater Suffice to say, that decision enraged Harry Smith and Bob Buick who were the face of Long Tan and demanded all the attention and focus. The decision had nothing to do with me- but that was beside the point. It too, ruffled feathers. There was one other contention that my detractors used as ammunition- my mistake in leaving my bolt out of my rifle on one occasion whilst serving with the 4th Battalion. I had freely admitted this in 'The War Within'. As I said, that memoir was brutally honest. But what my antagonists didn't appreciate was, that in the greater scheme of things, it was a relatively minor incident that had no repercussions. On the other hand, the Narratives are full of incidents where soldiers had accidental discharges that resulted in death and/or wounding of others- including soldiers of the SAS. Then there were murders, AWOLs, drunkeness, fragging, etc etc carried out by fellow soldiers which never earned the villains a word of bad press. In fact, the national historian- Ashley Ekins- states that in 1968 alone, 13% of all Australian deaths and 25% of all casualties were caused by accidents- evidence of gross incompetence across the board. But I'm hung, drawn and quartered because I left the bolt out of my rifle in a piddling day patrol from FSB The Horseshoe where the only enemy we were likely to confront was boredom? Such a joke. In conclusion, I believe, if nothing else, that my memoir 'The War Within' has proven to be a significant work in that Defence have acknowledged that my revelations about the treatment of reinforcements to war zones and the treatment of wounded men has resulted in significant changes to the way Defence goes about those things. While the Department of Veteran Affairs has used the book as a textbook for its bureaucrats in dealing with the very real problem of PTSD. ironically, I have achieved more for the betterment of conditions for today's 'younger veterans' than they would ever realise- even though some of those have also been part of the slander coming my way. It's just the way of the world these days. As for my critics and detractors, they should be reminded of the final paragraphs in my memoir, 'The War Within'. I wrote,' Take me on at your peril, because, just like my father did, I can hold grudges- well, not so much hold them as clutch them to me like a treasure. A vengeful sword burns bright in me.' The Bob Buicks of the world should have taken heed of those words.