SEARCH AND DESTROY:
MY SUBMISSION TO THE ROYAL COMMISSION ON VETERAN SUICIDES
My submission to the Royal Commission of Defence Suicides concerns those matters that resulted in my receiving death threats, being stabbed in the back twice on a main street in Brisbane, and a bashing on a national highway — resulting in severe depression and an unfortunate, unsuccessful suicide attempt.
Put simply, I had been the victim of an orchestrated campaign of vilification by a band of cowardly fellow veterans that emanated from senior army officers within Central Army Records Office. It related to a corrupt actions by the Australian Defence Force with regards to my war service in Vietnam, and indeed, the integrity of my full service history.
The vilification came via off-shore web sites set up by a former officer of the Army Legal Corps better known as ‘Fergus Fairfax’, and administered by a convicted Queensland paedophile in Queensland — Keith Joseph Tennent — who had anally raped a young boy in the Sergeant’s mess in Townsville. Fellow veterans, ignorant of the facts and the details of my service, joined in the abuse — led by the infamous Bob Buick, and the likes of Alan Price, Bob Gibson, and Barry Billing.
I have no doubt this campaign of vilification was intended to force me to self-harm, or commit an act of violence, and had significant consequences to my psychological well-being, and that of my wife and family members.
But mine is not an isolated case. I know of other veterans who have suffered the same fate at the hands of iniquitous army officers in both the ADF and quasi-military institutions like the Army History Unit and the Australian War Memorial, at least one of which was driven insane.
This submission then, details those corrupt activities and their impact on this one veteran.
BACKGROUND
At the outset, let me make this clear…there is no doubt as to the integrity of my war service. In 1998, the Department of Veteran Affairs released a new version of the Nominal Roll which correctly detailed my service history.
That it took me 28 years for the Army to acknowledge that history is what caused me the greater damage.
The fact is, that when the first Nominal Roll failed to register my service with the 9th Battalion, nor my third unit— ‘Headquarters, 1st Australian Task Force’ (which included the 2nd D&E Platoon) — fellow veterans questioned my service.
So when I told a reporter that I had served with the 9th Battalion and been wounded with it, and the Army records didn’t validate those claims, it was reasonable to assume I was lying. And when I wrote and spoke about the ‘2nd D&E Platoon’ (which didn’t exist in any records of the war) it added fuel to the fire for a cohort of cowardly veterans to vilify me. And it was the Australian Army that empowered them.
VALIDATING MY HISTORY
So it was left up to me to fight two battles against the ADF and the government — to validate my own history, and the existence of the 2nd D&E Platoon.
Battle One
The fact is, I’m a combat-accredited veteran who was wounded in action with 7 Platoon, ‘C’ Company 9RAR on July 19th 1969, running into machine-gun fire from Viet Cong bunkers which had already killed or wounded seven members of my platoon’s forward section.
My section was ordered to take the M60 machine gun forward into the killing field to provide covering fire to the men of the leading section who were pinned down. I wasn’t ordered to do so, but I went forward as well, along with the machine-gun pairing, because that’s what infantrymen do.
What that meant, was struggling uphill through thick mud, reaching an incline, and then standing and running straight into an enfilade of enemy fire from those enemy bunkers. Run towards cover… throw a grenade.. hit the mud…look around to see where the other two were…see one of them (PTE John Walker get shot in the chest and arms and hands)…stand again, struggle to run…fire off a burst towards the bunkers… then dive towards a tree…
Then I was shot, mid-air. I was sent cartwheeling through the air into the jungle, my rifle lost. The bullet had shattered my right hip and rendered me unable to move from that point.
I was dragged from that killing field by CPL Peter Bunn, and subsequently hospitalised for more than two years.
And this was a year later, in the body plaster:
By any measure, what I had done was in the best traditions of the Australian Anzacs. And I’m damn proud of it.
Mind you, it was nothing more or less than what was expected of me in that situation. That’s what infantrymen do in war — take the fight to the enemy and look after your mates under fire.
One of those who went forward with me — PTE Walker — made a Statutory Declaration many years later, on the urgings of Michael von Berg MC (a significant former Army officer) who had intervened in the controversy engulfing the veteran community.
Walker’s Statutory Declaration, follows:
While I can proudly say I did all that was expected of me in that bunker system that day, and proud to have served my country, I don’t have that sense of es spirit de corps most other veterans have.
SO WHY THE CONTROVERSY?
In 1987, I raised the issue of a platoon I had served in having been being editied out of the national historical records of the Vietnam War— the 2nd D&E Platoon.
The reasons why this had happened, as I learned later, was because of various acts we were accused of doing while part of an armour/infantry force under the command of Captain Tom Arrowsmith MG MID.
The particulars of that matter are contained in another essay:
These included bodies dragged into a ditch near the gates of Thua Tich where they were blown up with explosives; other bodies strapped to the backs of APCs of 2 Troop B Squadron, of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment for propaganda purposes; and how one of the armoured corps machine-gunners on an APC opened fire on villagers collecting grass on the outskirts of Xuyen Moc. My recollection was that a woman and her child had been killed.
I didn’t know it at the time, but the maters had already been in the public domain. These images taken from a Time/Life magazine in 1969, tell the essence of the story:
I raised the matters in an article subsequently used by Mike Cordell of the Sydney Morning Herald in 1987, titled, ‘Coming Home’…
But when a journalist (Mike Cordell) sought more detail of those matters, and requested details of my service as part of his due diligence, the army attempted to throw him off the scent by advising him that I hadn’t served with the 9th Battalion, that there was no record of my being wounded, and therefore anything I had to say about a ‘phantom’ 2nd D&E Platoon had no substance to it. Cordell made no further enquiries.
This left me in an invidious position, as I said, fighting the Army on two fronts.
THE FACTS ABOUT MY SERVICE, AND CORROBORATING DOCUMENTS
So it was that I was forced to prove every aspect of my war service — that I had served with the 9th Battalion; that I had been wounded in action with that battalion; and that the 2nd D&E Platoon had existed, and existed by that name.
Now…to the PROOF OF MY SERVICE HISTORY
While the Nominal Roll now correctly records my service history, in order to prove how corrupt the Australian Defence Force is, it is important that I provide the validating documentation which the Army ignored:
Document 1: Page 1 of my hospital records (which begins on the day I was wounded) is the best place to start because it contains all the true elements of my service at that time and which are obvious for all to see:
Document 2: Immediately after I was wounded, the Army sent a Signal to Army Headquarters (AHQ) in Canberra advising them of my wound and to advise my next of kin (my father) :
The historic details are very clear.
Document 3: As was custom, the Army’s Public Relations unit then issued a press release containing the names of men wounded in action and the specific details, and this appeared in national newspapers three days later…
Again, the basic details are provided, and correct.
Document 4: But, just to make sure there was always adequate proof of every aspect of my war service, this was the ‘Battle Casualty’ document that accompanies every wounded serviceman’s personal records:
So, again, all the information is present…the date, my Corps (Royal Australian Infantry); the unit (9RAR); and a description of the wound.
Document 5: And as far as official Army recognition is concerned, one must also go to the Army Narratives held by the Australian War Memorial to locate and check the unit diaries. And in the diary narratives of the 9th Battalion, a record of the action of July 19th 1969 and a list of the men killed and wounded in it clearly lists me as wounded (I am listed immediately after Private Ray Kermode who is underlined, and who was killed in the action):
Document 6: And finally, a description of the manner in which I was wounded, is found on p. 295 of the national historian’s final volume on the Vietnam War (Fighting to the Finish, Ashley Ekins, Allen& Unwin, 2011):
Having established those basic facts then, one must ask these questions:
- why would the Australian Defence Force deliberately corrupt the service history of a digger who had done all that was expected of him in combat, endured years of hospitalisation, and attempt to destroy his service history, and character?
- how did they do it?
- and why would they?
As to the why…as I said, it relates to the 2nd D&E Platoon matter which, as I asserted in my memoir — The War Within (Murdoch Books, 2008) — had been ‘edited out’ of the war histories.
The Army had much to be concerned about, and much to hide.
And destroying the man who had brought this matter into the public arena was essential.
THE PERSONAL COST OF THE BATTLE
Surely those responsible for the vilification that came my way had to be aware that it would have repercussions for my wife and I and my family as well as grandchildren — and force me to waste years and my energies in defending my service.
I have fought for a decade to offset the lies and innuendo that came my way from men hiding behind pseudonyms. Men of the ilk of Alan Price (aka BEEBEE), ‘Bomber’ Bob Gibson (aka ‘NUIDAT68’), Greg Marheine (aka RUGER358), Normie Rowe (aka CAVALRY); Gary Sloane (aka ‘CURT AINSWORTH’ and ‘PHILLIP MARLOWE’); and convicted fraudster, Barry Billing (aka ‘CICERO’ and ‘CERTO’); and Arthur Clive Mitchell-Taylor (aka as ‘VERITAS’ and ‘ACTION’) just to name a few.
But it was Bob Buick—long revered as a ‘hero’ of the battle of Long Tan — who did the most damage to me publicly and from anonymity. Eventually though, he came undone when he sent an email to a fellow veteran (Allen Peterson) dated 16 November 2008, boasting that his attacks on me:
‘..had support at the highest levels of the government and the military.’
When this email was publicly revealed, Buick’s ‘support’ withered and he went underground as his heroics at Long Tan came under closer scrutiny by fellow veterans, and his actions revealed to be nothing more than abject cowardice. He had run from the battle at its height, left wounded men behind, and hid inside an APC that night as other soldiers from another 6th Battalion Company (under the command of Captain Charles Mollison) searched for survivors.
A ‘CONSPIRACY THEORY’ YOU SAY?
If you think this is just a ‘conspiracy theory’. Think again. It’s what they did. Now remember, I have already posted the documents held by the army that record my service history.
But my revelations about the 2nd D&E Platoon made headlines:
…even in the prime news magazine of the day in August 2006 which was celebrating the 40th anniversary of the battle of Long Tan. The editors placed a picture of me on the front cover instead of any soldier who took part in that battle — including Major Harry Smith and Sgt Bob Buick:
These revelations aroused considerable comment Australia-wide — especially among veterans who were appalled at the allegations. I appeared on Channel 9’s ‘TODAY’ show and was interviewed by George Negus who had also brought Normie Rowe in to discuss it.
Rowe went ballistic and demanded a Royal Commission. But wiser heads within the military didn’t go down that route. The RSL advised against it. (Rowe subsequently admitted he had been personally involved in the very same events at Thua Tich in an interview held by the AWM!)
But the Australian Defence Force (ADF) went after me, because the Minister for Defence of the day — Labor’s Gordon Scholes — demanded an explanation from it.
The ADF took two tacks. It released two statements — one to the Minister, and one to Cordell, both of which contained false statement about my service. The premise of the attack was simple — if they could discredit me by issuing false records of my service, it would stop any further ministerial enquiries, and circumvent further enquiries in to the 2nd D&E Platoon by journalist, Cordell.
Here are those two false documents — one to the Minister, and one to Cordell:
and secondly, one by a ‘H. Seymour’ on behalf of Central Army Records Office, also falsely stating my service history:
The implication of those deceits was that I had to be lying about my service in the 2nd D&E Platoon, and lying about serving in the 9th Battalion, and lying about being wounded, and therefore anything I had to say about the 2nd D&E Platoon or any other matter had to be a lie, and couldn’t be relied on.
I GO TO WAR AGAIN
However, as the fight to validate the 2nd D&E Platoon took on a life of its own, and a vicious debate became more vitriolic by the day, I started pressuring the Army about what I thought at first was simple, blatant maladministration of my service history.
That’s when I found that the first edition of the Nominal Roll of Vietnam Veterans had already been published (in 1966) — and there was no mention of my service in the 9th Battalion.
A follow-up letter from Defence — sent by a ‘Dave Gibson’ — continues the deceit:
So, by 1997 (28 years after I had served in Vietnam) the Army still hadn’t been aware, or acknowledged, that I had served in the 9th Battalion — let alone be part of a platoon called the 2nd D&E Platoon!
I then pointed out to the Army that I had carried a Super 8mm movie camera with me, and had taken images throughout my tour of duty — including with the 9th Battalion. I had donated those films (valued at about $80,000) to the Australian War Memorial in 1996:
I later learned that the films were hidden away from public view (even to this day) so I made excerpts of them them available on Youtube (at ‘Don Tate, Vietnam’). For example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDEfTkgRUAY&frags=pl%2Cwn
But the more I pressured the Army to explain why all trace of the 2nd D&E Platoon had vanished from the records of the war, the more duplicitous the ADF became. Despite the plethora of documents available to them that proved my war service, this next document reflects even more poorly on army administration and how they went about their business.
This document is from a fool of an officer, Mike Casey:
And then to top it off, another incompetent officer in CARO sends me a letter stating that I had served in World War 2 instead of Vietnam!
AND SO YOU ASK — WHY DID THEY DO THIS?
The answer is simple.
It is always in the best interests of the Australian Army to present an image of the ANZAC to the public of a bronzed, bold, courageous larrikins — and anyone who detracts from that image is the enemy within.
And writing a memoir exposing the atrocities made me Enemy №1, and even Australia’s most prestigious pseudo-military institution, the Australian War Memorial became part of the process of discrediting me.
Right from the start, its Director — General Steve Gower — and the national historian — Ashley Ekins (supposedly ‘independent’) — refused to accept any suggestion that a ‘2nd D&E Platoon’ ever existed, and maintained that view between 2005 and 2007, at which point they moved from that position to a new one — now at least acknowledging that a previously unacknowledged ‘rifle section’ of infantry had been involved in the ambush at Thua Tich.
Under mounting pressure, and in a final concession in 2007, the AWM finally that a ‘second’ D&E Platoon had existed.
But the dogs were still barking. In various correspondence between the Director the AWM — General Steve Gower — and governement Ministers, I was accused of not being present at the ambush of May 29th (despite validation by fellow members of the platoon that I had been); that I was ‘brain damaged’ and my recollections couldn’t be trusted; that the colour movies I had donated to the Museum were not valued at $80,000 (despite two valuations to the contrary).
Curiously, on one occasion General Steve Gower used the convicted paedophile, Keith Tennent, as his messenger to do his dirty work.
Called before a Senate Hearing in 2009, Ashley Ekins boldly denied the existence of the platoon, despite two former senior army officers (MAJOR George Pratt and MAJOR Barry Parkin both publicly declaring that the 2nd D&E Platoon had existed and that they had first-hand knowledge of it.
But perhaps the reason also involved the successful publication of my memoir — The War Within. There was considerable jealousy within the veteran community about it. I was considered an upstart — that writing books about military matters was only the prerogative of officers, not infantry privates.
But this is how that battle ended:
THE HON. DR MIKE KELLY MP — Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Support — issued the following statement on May 29th 2008:
COMBAT HISTORY OF THE 2ND D&E PLATOON IN THE VIETNAM WAR
The Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Support, the Hon. Dr Mike Kelly AM MP, and Ms Jennie George MP met today with veterans of the 2nd D&E Platoon who served in the Vietnam War as part of the Australian Task Force (ATF), to discuss the acknowledgement of the Platoon and its history in that conflict.
For many years now the surviving members of the Platoon have been battling to have their record and role in the Vietnam War officially recognised.
Dr Kelly said, “I am pleased to announce that I have been able to bring this long struggle to a conclusion by confirming that the Rudd Labor Government and the Defence Department have been able to determine that the Platoon did indeed exist and engaged in a series of important actions in Vietnam as part of the Australian Task Force.”
“I would like to pay particular tribute to the courage and dedication of the men of the 2nd D&E Platoon. They were a team that was effectively born in battle, not having been formally raised and trained as a sub-unit in Australia before deploying to Vietnam, but being assembled in country in response to the particular security requirements of the ATF. They were able to come together as an effective fighting force thanks to the professionalism of the soldiers and in particular the Non- Commissioned Officer who led them, Corporal James Bertram Riddle,” he said.
The action for which the 2nd D&E Platoon should particularly be noted for was the successful ambush they executed together with 2 Troop, B Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, in May 1969 at Thua Tich. This was a ferocious battle that involved the engaged troops taking on a much larger enemy force beyond artillery support and through many heroic individual and collective efforts were able to soundly defeat the enemy without loss. Their success was a tribute to their professionalism and the outstanding leadership and courage of Corporal Riddle whose personal actions ensured the survival of many members of the Platoon who would otherwise surely have been killed.
“I am delighted to advise these proud veterans that their role in the war will be forever enshrined and acknowledged in the Official History of the Vietnam War which is soon to be published. I was privileged to have been able to meet with them personally and thank them for their service to the country and the Australian Army. They served and performed in the finest traditions of the Australian Defence Force and they will have an honoured place in its history. As part of my responsibility for education and training in the ADF I intend to see that our future generations of Army leaders will have the opportunity to not only be aware of this legacy but to have the opportunity to learn from it,” Dr Kelly said.
Media contacts:
Mark Sjolander (Dr Mike Kelly): 02 6277 4840 or 0407 102 220 Defence Media Liaison: 02 6265 3343 or 0408 498 664
Thursday, 29 May 2008
019/2008
Ironicallt, in 2011 the AWM released the final volume on the history of the Vietnam War- Fighting to the Finish. Written by the national historian — Ashley Ekins — it devotes some eight pages to that one solitary battle by the 2nd D&E Platoon, more content than amost every other action by any platoon in the war, and included six photographs it had always kept under wraps. But in a final act of defiance, Ekins steadfastly only called it the ‘D&E Platoon’ which meant the men of the generic D&E Platoon, operating elsewhere at the time, can lay claim to the heroics.
APOLOGIES
In 2014, I received a formal apology from the Department of Defence:
…and a letter of apology written by the Assistance Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert, essentially only apologising for the ‘inconvenience’ I had been caused. It wasn’t worth much.
COMPENSATION
A claim for compensation for the personal damage done to me by the ADF, has recently been concluded. But no amount of money can undo the damage done to my family and I.
My last act in this matter will be to refer the actions of Defence to the Royal Commission into Veteran Suicides on July 13th 2022.
(My latest book details some of the matter — as well as 370 matters from the war of considerable interest.
It can be purchased via Paypal at: https://py.pl/7pTVMGB0R8n
