I am very happy to have contributed to two recent publications.
Michael Cecil, an historian with the Australian War Memorial, has written a book titled “Mud & Dust. This book provides an overview of the various vehicles that were used in Australia’s longest conflict, the Vietnam War. He catalogues the trucks, ambulances, bulldozers, cranes, Landrovers, tanks, APCs, earth moving equipment etc which were used by the Australian Army.
My photo of 85 Transport Platoon’s garbage truck is included in his book. This truck, with a garbage compactor built by Evans Brothers, is one of a kind. The army has never had such a vehicle before, or after, its involvement in Vietnam. The task force base at Nui Dat generated about as much garbage as a town of 12,00 people – about 535 cubic metres each week. It was essential to remove this garbage effectively, both for hygiene reasons and to prevent classified materials from falling into the hands of the civilian population.
In a different type of publication, the ex residents of Phuoc Tuy, now living in the United States, recently held a major reunion. These people relocated fromVietnam after the war to escape from the communist government that took over the country. Phuoc Tuy was the province in which we Australians operated in Vietnam. Mr Nguyen, one of the organisers, asked my permission to include some of my wartime photos in their reunion publication. I was very happy to support them.
