Hubs for our Heroes: Vietnam veteran Leslie Palmer backs push for Mackay RSL home

Hubs for our Heroes: Why a Mackay Vietnam War veteran believes this city needs a new home for the RSL and a wellness centre for veterans

Leslie Palmer needs medication to sleep, haunted by the seconds 51 years ago that killed eight of his mates and left him with lifelong physical and mental injuries.

The Vietnam War veteran and president of Mackay Veterans Group suffers a severed nerve and post-traumatic stress disorder but he counts himself lucky after the incident on February 28, 1970.

Mr Palmer said he and his 8th Royal Australian Regiment battalion comrades had been chasing the enemy through Vietnam's Long Dien mountains.

"We knew we were in a minefield," Mr Palmer said.

"We did the prodding of the bayonets into the ground to make sure there were no mines in front of us.

"We couldn't find (the enemy) anywhere … we were coming back for a water resupply down the mountain and we pulled into a harbour … we took our backpacks off … unbeknown to us the enemy had planted a couple of landmines there.

"We activated two of them and it decimated our what we call 1 Platoon A company 8RAR. It virtually wiped us out."

Mr Palmer flew back to Australia a fortnight later and has been "recuperating ever since".

He was now championing the Daily Mercury's Hub for our Heroes campaign asking the Mackay region to get behind a project to build an RSL social club along River St and a first responders and veterans wellness hub at Kinchant Dam.

Hub for our Heroes campaign:

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Hub for our heroes: Plans to find veterans a home in Mackay

Why Mackay should be home to a revolutionary wellness hub
'We didn't even have PTSD. We used to call it being bomb-happy'

Mr Palmer said the hub would save the lives of veterans who found it hard to cope after returning to civilian life.

"I didn't think I had (PTSD) for a long time," Mr Palmer said.

"It's not until later on in life when you feel something's wrong that you go and see a doctor.

"If we get (veterans) in early, they'll be all right."

And he said the RSL club would serve as the home base for all ex-defence force personnel and give younger veterans, who had served in places like Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia, somewhere to turn to.

"Some bloke could be walking down the street, and you wouldn't even know he was a returned serviceman," Mr Palmer said.

"They'd see the big slouch hat on the building and say, 'Righto, we're going down to the river bank'."

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Originally published as Hubs for our Heroes: Vietnam veteran Leslie Palmer backs push for Mackay RSL home