Nowra man Barry Brown was on one of the last helicopters to leave Fire Support Base Coral and Balmoral in Vietnam.
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The three-week battle from May 12 to June 6 1968, saw 26 Australians die and 99 wounded as they attempted to hold off the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong, at bases 20 kilometres north of Bien Hoa City, across a route used by the forces to attack Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City.
Mr Brown, a born and bred Nowra National Serviceman, recently attended the 50th anniversary commemorative activities of the battles in Townsville, the home of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR).
Now aged 72, he said catching up with mates, witnessing a changing of the battalion colours and being awarded a gallantry citation were among the highlights of anniversary commemorations.
It was a far cry for the then 22-year-old, conscripted in April 1967, who was told the day after arriving in Vietnam that his mother had died on April 9.
“They offered to fly me home for the funeral,” he said. “But I knew if I came home after seeing this place [Vietnam] I probably wouldn't go back, so I stayed.”
Private Brown was part of 8th Platoon Charlie Company 1 RAR 1st Battalion, in Vietnam for most of 1968 and through to March 1969.
His role was second in charge of the machine gun.
After arriving in Nui Dat, he was shipped off to Fire Support Base Coral.
“The Battle of Fire Support Base Coral was the toughest and longest we were involved in,” he said.
While the Battle of Long Tan, August 18, 1966, where 18 Australians were killed and 24 wounded in one single action was the country's worst single-day loss during the war, the action at Coral and Balmoral over the 25 days of fighting were among the largest and most protracted battles fought by Australians during the course of the war.
We came under rapid fire from AK47s and mortars. Leaves dropped around us like confetti - we were being fired on from front and rear.
- Vietnam veteran Barry Brown
The battles involved almost 3000 men and was the first Australian all arms brigade-sized operation since World War II.
Fire Support Bases at Coral, Balmoral and Coogee were established in early May 1968. Enemy forces reacted aggressively and started their attack of Coral on May 12. This followed with an assault on Balmoral on the night of May 25-26 and again on May 28.
“We had done a few patrols outside our base getting familiar with the area. We did a number of operations before the battle proper started,” Mr Brown said.
“One evening we were beside a road about two or three kilometres out of the base on an ambush. In the early hours of the following morning we heard the firefight - ground fire and rockets - the North Vietnamese, seeing our guns [artillery] were not really secured by infantry attacked and overran the base. Our troops managed to fight back and take back the guns.
“At the time we didn't know what was happening. It wasn’t until we made it into the base later that morning that we saw the full extent of what had happened.
“There was a bulldozer moving all these North Vietnamese bodies into a huge hole. That was the first time I had seen the enemy.
“It was very confronting - I was just 22.”
Not long before he had been working at local department store Woodhills with his father Charlie. He was one of four Browns employed at the Berry Street business at the time, along with Les and Phil.
“Why we were down the road I never understood. We should have been there to defend the artillery unit,” he said.
The units dug in outside a large rubber plantation, setting up barbed wire and weapon pits and the attacks continue in the early mornings with rockets being fired into the base followed by ground assaults which were again fought back.
Mr Brown said patrols continued and he recalled an encounter with the enemy when they came under “rapid fire” from AK47s and mortars.
“They saw us coming,” he said.
“We hit the deck and watched as leaves dropped around us like confetti - we were being fired on from front and rear and in a scary moment the radio wouldn't work.
“I thought we were all gone but miracles happened and the radio worked and we were able to call in the tanks who saved us.
“You were 22, you just did what you were told - I doubt today’s kids would have done what we did.”
More patrols and more contact with the enemy ensued, including finding a number of bunker systems which were destroyed by artillery.
“The ongoing early morning attacks became the norm,” he said, “if you could call it that.
“They just kept hitting us in waves of 30 or 40.”
The action lasted until June 6 with the North Vietnamese eventually giving up as the Aussies continually and defiantly defended their position.
Mr Brown was eventually one of the last to be airlifted by Chinook helicopters out of the bases.
We heard the fire fight - ground fire and rockets - at the time we didn't know what was happening, it wasn’t until we made it into the base later that morning that we saw the full extent.
- Vietnam veteran Barry Brown
By the end of his service he had been promoted to Lance Corporal and upon returning to Australia onboard HMAS Sydney said his platoon didn't suffer any of the animosity experienced by others who previously returned from Vietnam.
“We came into Sydney. There were no protesters, no animosity other veterans experienced - no red paint, etc - there was a parade,” he said.
“I feel sorry for the guys who came back and got that treatment - Australians didn’t do the wrong thing, they weren’t on the wrong side.”
Mr Brown was offered to sign on and stay in the army, an offer he gladly refused and returned to work at Woodhills.
He has been a proud member of the Bomaderry RSL Club since his return.
“I never had a problem - there were a number of vets who faced some stiff opposition and were told they were not allowed in RSLs etc,” he said. “I was never knocked back. God knows what would have happened if I had been.”
He said the 50th anniversary reunion was a great chance to catch up with many of his former comrades.
“There were three I had not seen for 50 years,” he said.
“Despite what we went through so many went on to have amazing careers.
“Seeing the changing of the colours and the awarding of the citation, which the brass had been fighting for for more than 20 years, was very special, as was the parade and service.
“Many guys don’t talk about what we did - but you can’t forget it.
“I think we have to talk about it - too many kids don't get to know what their family members did and it is too late when they are gone.
“On Anzac Day I always remember and pay respect for those who didn’t come home.”
“The military was a great thing for me - it taught me respect and put me on the straight and narrow.
“It is good to see the way the Vietnam veterans are now so accepted and are able to be proud of what they did like other vets.”
He has also discovered he was not the only Shoalhaven serviceman at the Coral or Balmoral - Berry’s John Coble and his brother Mike, and Gerringong’s Rod Orford served during the battle, as did Gary Hastings, who now lives at Greenwell Point.
Following a short stint at Woodhills upon his return, Mr Brown decided he wanted to “work more outside” and worked for Peter Osbourne in the insurance industry for 25 years before going out on his own, where he had 28 agencies between Nowra and Bega.