Vietnam War Battle of Long Tan veteran Allen May recounts “surreal” experience
Allen May was in the thick of the Vietnam War’s Battle of Long Tan when he felt a mighty blow to his back. He fell to the ground, sure he was a gonner ...
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Allen May believes he is a lucky man. He won the lotto of returning from the Vietnam War, after surviving one of its most fierce battles, at Long Tan.
It might have happened in 1966, but when Mr May talks about it — the rubber trees, the flying bullets, the barrage of bombs, the “invincible” enemy vastly outnumbering his men — it’s like he is talking about yesterday.
“It was totally in slow motion,” he said. “Totally surreal.
“I had 480 rounds on me when it started ... I only had one round left at the end.”
It was there he survived any soldier’s worst nightmare — being shot in the back.
“I stood up ... and felt this wack in the middle of my back ...”
It was a bullet.
Video and stills by Renae Droop and Richard Walker.
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