A Vietnam veteran from Coonabarabran recognised for his military service during a special presentation recently says he will never forget the comradeship of the war he fought in as a 20-year-old. 

But while that friendship is something he holds dear, Donald Harrod said community opposition to the Vietnam War was something that lead him to be unfairly victimised by protestors when he returned to Sydney in 1970. 

Don served as a Corporal in the 5th Battalion of The Royal Australian Regiment from February 1969 to March 1970 in south Vietnam. 

“I lived in West Australia and I joined the army and was sent to the eastern states. I was only in it for probably 15 months before I was sent to Vietnam,” he said.

Image: Unsplash.com 

“I was in an infantry battalion and infantry battalions were broken up into four rifle companies, a support company and an administration company. I was in one of the rifle companies.”  

“You'd start off at about 5.30am - 6am with silence and after that, well that’s when trouble often started,” Don said. 

“We were trained to defend our country against communism because we were told by politicians that communism was likely to come to Australia and so it was up to us to stem it in that country. We didn't realise, I mean I was only two weeks past my 20th birthday when I went there,” he said. 

Don said that he later believed the war was political and “we were there purely because the Americans were there.”

Don enjoys his life in Coonabarabran. Image: visit NSW. 

He said that when he came back to Australia “people resented the fact that the Vietnam War was on and they took it out on the diggers”. 

Don stayed in the army for another nine years after Vietnam, followed by time working with the RSPCA in Sydney before settling in Coonabarabran to retire. 

It’s a town he loved from the outset. “A lot of people who come here never leave,” he said. 

Federal recognition

Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton this month presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Don, in recognition of his service in the Vietnam war.

“Certificates of Appreciation are just one way that the Australian Government expresses its gratitude to those who have given so much in protecting our country’s interests and helping to restore and maintain peace around the world,” Mr Coulton said. 

“We are grateful for the dedication and sacrifice demonstrated by our veterans’ service to Australia, and it’s important to recognise this.”