The final section of the official history of the Australian war in Vietnam Fighting to the Finish: the Australian Army and the Vietnam War, 1968-1975 will be launched by Peter Cosgrove on Tuesday.
Now if you were the editor of our national broadsheet writing about this, what do you reckon you’d report?
You could, for instance, write about the dogged efficiency with which the task force went about securing Phouc Tuy province, and how the success of the counter-insurgency tactics employed overwhelmed the local force VC units to the point where they avoided contact with Australians at all costs.
You could have described how a set of regular and conscripted soldiers were welded into a seamless fighting force that earned the respect of both allies and enemy.
You could have written about some of the notable actions that occurred during this period (68-71) including Operation Coburg (24 January − 1 March 1968), Coral–Balmoral (12 May – 6 June 1968), Binh Ba (6–8 June 1969), Long Khanh (6–7 June 1971), and Nui Le (21 September 1971).
Well no.
Cameron Stewart writing in The Australian on March 03, 2012 decided that an account of alcohol abuse by diggers entitled Vietnam War soldiers found 'solace in binge drinking' would be much more apposite.
I guess it panders to the stereotype of the Vietnam Vet as an alcoholic loser.
No wonder it’s called The Fart of the Nation.
I wonder where the figures of “equivalent of five to six cans per day for every soldier in the force” came from.
And I wonder who drank mine…….
1 comment:
When I was a uni student, we found solace from study in beer. When I got my first job, we found solace from a grinding work in beer on a Friday night. When I was rowing, we found solace from the blisters in sinking a few jugs at the pub. When I was cutting the balls off thousands of sheep a day, we found solace at the end of a bloody day with a few stubbies (although our arms were so rooted, we had to get someone else to open the bottles for us).
I think it's better to say that no matter what the situation, some people just like to have a beer afterwards!
What a turkey....he could have found something good to say, and he blew it.
Post a Comment