Horsham veteran John Finn was conscripted to the army at 20-years-old.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
He spent 343 days in Vietnam, where he would fight in the Battle of Suoi Chau Pha, one of the bloodiest days for Australian soldiers in the war.
For ANZAC day 2021, Mr Finn shared his story, from his upbringing in Melbourne to the battle that would leave an imprint on him for the rest of his life.
Welcome Home
Mr Finn did not get the heroes welcome he expected when he arrived back in Australia.
"I found it absolutely disgraceful. We were disowned by every politician from Horsham to Cairns. The pollies didn't want to know about us. I was disgusted by it," he said.
He recalled the attitude in Australia at the time was one of shame. Silence about the Vietnam war at best, and being spat on and called a 'baby killer' at worst.
Finding it hard to deal with, Mr Finn withdrew from public life. He played one year of football for Sunshine on his return but eventually gave it away.
"When I came home I used to go into the pub and get drunk every night, and get into a fight every night," he said.
READ MORE:
Mr Finn had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of his experiences in Vietnam. Throughout the years, he has tried many different stress and anger courses, seen counsellors and doctors, but to no avail.
"I can remember seeing a counselor, a psychiatrist from the Austin. I sat down with him for an hour and talked to him about Operation Ballarat," he said.
"He said I had the worst case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder he had ever come across.
"That is what he said to me."
In 1977, Mr Finn and his wife moved up to Horsham. He started a fertiliser business before joining the Horsham Safeway, where he worked as a storeman until retirement.
Since retiring, he and his daughter teach rock and roll dancing at the Haven Town Hall, a hobby Mr Finn has had since he was 15-years-old.
"When I came home I used to go into the pub and get drunk every night, and get into a fight every night."
Mr Finn was a founding member of the Horsham Vietnam veteran RSL branch, formed in 1984. By the late 1980s, the taboo around Vietnam started to die down, with more people feeling comfortable talking about the topic.
"When we had our first meeting I couldn't believe it, a lot of guys I met at Safeway, I knew them but I didn't know they were veterans," he said.
"We didn't want people to know people we were Vietnam veterans; we were labelled as psychiatric idiots, so you didn't go around telling people we were Vietnam veterans.
"We just sort of looked at each other in amazement, because nobody talked about Vietnam."
OTHER NEWS:
Together with his fellows from the 7th Battalion, Mr Finn attended the 1987 Welcome Home Parade in Sydney, which symbolised wider Australia's acceptance of Vietnam veterans.
Since then, he has continued to volunteer his story.
"What I expect out of (telling it) is just acceptance," he said.
"I would like somebody to say 'well-done digger', the only three words I want to hear."
So to Mr Finn, 'well-done digger'.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.mailtimes.com.au/
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/Wim_Mail_Times
- Follow us on Instagram www.instagram.com/wimmeramailtimes/
Did you know you can receive updates straight to your inbox? To make sure you're up-to-date with news from across the region, sign up below.