For 30 years Vietnam veteran David Brooks avoided Anzac Day.
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The former Lance Corporal fought in the war in 1969 and 1970, but experienced a confronting era where his sacrifice was not recognised and his fellow soldiers were often seen as outcasts.
“We weren’t any different to any other soldiers that went away, we did our job just the same,” he said.
Mr Brooks still remembers the day he returned from Vietnam, and found nobody waiting to welcome him.
“I came back on aircraft carrier and I was taken out by stretcher from the boat to an ambulance and straight to the hospital,” he recalled.
“When I got out of hospital, I was sent home with a bag in my hand … the nurses at the hospital took my gear away and I can still remember they were spit polishing my boots, ironing my trousers and uniform so I could go home on the plane dressed nicely.
“I get to Launceston and there’s no welcoming party, no friends, no neighbours, no mum, no dad. I caught a bus into town and a taxi out to Invermay where I was living.
“I was away for two years, but who really cared? That’s just the way it was.”
The perception of Vietnam veterans has since changed and Anzac Day is now a tradition for Mr Brooks.
“It took me 30 years, but when I had a little girl she used to want her dad to come march and if it wasn’t for her, I don’t know whether I would have even bothered.
“We still have quite a few guys that I know do not come to Anzac Day ... some don’t want anything more to do with the armed services because when they got back nobody wanted anything to do with them.”
Attending Wednesday’s Launceston services Mr Brooks said the day was about “respecting those who travelled before us and honouring the blokes he served with”.
His service didn’t end in Vietnam either.
Back in Australia, he rejoined the army and served for another six years at Woodside Barracks in South Australia before he travelled to Queensland where he spent more than four years as a uniformed military police officer.
Leaving the army in 1979, he was a Tasmania Police officer for more than two decades and continued with the military reserve forces for 14 years.
Now, he dedicates his time to other veterans through ‘The Shed’ at Kings Meadows, which he started in 2016.
“It’s all to do with mateship and friendship, particularly when you went overseas you relied on each other, there was no backing off, you did everything together and if someone fell by the wayside you always knew somebody would stand up straight away because that’s the way we were trained.”
Mr Brooks was one of thousands of servicemen and women, friends and family of veterans and community members who stood in front of the Launceston Cenotaph on Wednesday.
The crowd listened as guest speakers explained the meaning behind Anzac Day.
Launceston RSL sub-branch president Graeme Barnett used his speech to thank school children for their support.
“It is very heartwarming for me to see the interest our new generation are taking,” Mr Barnett said.
It was also the first year women were invited to lead the march.
The move was part of the national ‘By The Left’ campaign, which aims to broaden the public perception of a veteran and put an end to service women being asked “whose medals are you wearing”.
Melissa Mobbs
A journalist with more than a decade of experience, Melissa Mobbs currently works as the Deputy Editor for The Examiner Newspaper in Launceston, and has a strong background in reporting on crime and the justice system. Send tips to Melissa.Mobbs@examiner.com.au or on Twitter via @melissamobbs.
A journalist with more than a decade of experience, Melissa Mobbs currently works as the Deputy Editor for The Examiner Newspaper in Launceston, and has a strong background in reporting on crime and the justice system. Send tips to Melissa.Mobbs@examiner.com.au or on Twitter via @melissamobbs.
