AUSTRALIAN MILITARY

• xxiv, 271 pages : illustrations, 1 map, portraits ; 23 cm #021024

My Vietnam is Dave Morgan’s story. A typical 20 year old, he was forced into extraordinary circumstances in Vietnam. Far from his carefree youth, the Vietnam War would expose Dave to an atmosphere of ever-present danger and sheer terror that would impact him forever. His return to a divided Australia would isolate him further. During his service Dave wrote home to his mother from Vietnam tracking the days and the events. In 1992, after his mother passed away, he found all of his letters carefully numbered and in order. He has combined these letters with his own recollections and diary entries, and the short stories of seven other veterans, to capture the unbelievable danger and horror that these young men experienced in Vietnam. He also describes how Vietnam established life-long feelings of intense loyalty, trust and mateship between the men that served there. Dave’s story focuses on his time as a soldier and his return psychologically exhausted to a divided nation. After Vietnam and the freedom of ‘home’, Dave tried to live a normal life, however the horror he’d experienced caught up with him. The pressure was immense. Eventually, something had to give. It wasn’t ever a matter of if, but when you would crack. The impact of Vietnam on his life has been, and continues to be, immeasurable. Many of those who go to war and survive are scarred forever. My Vietnam is the biography – a coming of age story – of a self confessed ordinary bloke who has lead anything but an ordinary life.

• Morgan, Dave
• Vietnam War, 1961-1975 — Veterans — Australia — Biography
• Veterans — Australia — Biography
• Post-traumatic stress disorder — Australia