A FAMILY REUNION SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF A WAR ZONE MAY NOT BE IDEAL BUT IT’S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO VIETNAM VETERAN PATRICK SMYTHE WHILE RIDING `SHOTGUN’ ON A VEHICLE HEADING TO BA RIA IN PHUOC TUY PROVINCE IN SEPTEMBER 1968.
“As ‘shotgun’, I was sitting next to and protecting the driver of our vehicle on a laundry and ice run. We were being led by a large American vehicle which hit a landmine and the occupants were killed. Our drivers then took up herringbone positions, angled ready for a ground assault but it never came,” explained the GemLife Highfields homeowner.
“It was then that I spotted a fellow on the back of the trucks, and I thought ‘gee that looks like my brother’. So, I got onto that vehicle, and to my surprise it was my brother Brian. He was serving his first week in Vietnam. Talk about unusual family reunions – it certainly was that!”
Patrick says it was such a surprise because he wasn’t even aware his brother was a member of the regular army.
Originally hailing from Gatton in the Lockyer Valley, Patrick left his trainee teller position at the Commonwealth Bank to join friends and enlist in the army, enticed by the lure of travelling overseas. As it turned out, he was the only one in the group to be recruited.
He was eventually posted to the 8 Royal Australian Regiment (8RAR) in Brisbane and after 12 months in the Demonstration Platoon at Canungra was sent to Malaysia in September 1967, mobilised to the country’s south-west area of Malacca and in May 1968 transferred to Vietnam for 13 months.
While war raged around him, he said there were lighter moments enjoyed with mates such as with their cricket team.
“I can only recognise about three of them in the photo I have of the team today, but it was great to get together back in the war days and enjoy a good game of cricket,” he said.
Patrick said his service in the army, which continued until 1975, taught him a lot.
“I learned about being a team player, mateship, and loyalty as well as everyday disciplines like being tidy and being on time.”
The Vietnam veteran has received a number of awards for his service including the Australian Service Medal for Vietnam, the Australian Defence Medal, the Australian Service Medal of Malaysia, the Active Service Medal, the Vietnamese Campaigns Star, and a gallantry award for Fire Support Base Coral which provided defended firing points for artillery and mortars covering foot patrols sent out by battalions 1RAR and 3RAR.
Patrick is currently helping to organise the annual Anzac Day dawn service at GemLife Highfields where he lives with his wife Lorelle. It will be held on 25 April and is to include a guest speaker followed by Anzac biscuits and a hot drink.