Brian Robertson, in his new book, Voices of Australian Veterans, has captured the essence of an extraordinary group of men who fought for Australia from WWII, onwards through the occupation of Japan, the Korean War, the Malaysian uprising, the nuclear testing by Britain in South Australia, to the Vietnam war.
The stories have been retold to Brian, and he pays homage to each man by adding a covenant to their true stories – these men who stood up for all Australians. Brian also adds some additional information in accompanying histories of the how’s and why’s of each war.
“We were taught to hate with a passion, and we did,” are the words of one of the soldiers. This sums up why we go to war. On reflection, many things come to mind – not only the horrors of war - but the resilience of these men. Some incidents in the forces are amusing to the men. One incident where a moustache was burnt off the face of a soldier whilst setting fire to bitumen. The aftermath of war – the civilian lives - tell success stories. One stands out how one man became an international dog judge – as far from war as you could possibly imagine.
Voices of Australian Veterans, need to be heard.
Judith Flitcroft
Author