Sir Peter Cosgrove remembers Vietnam war as ‘life of endless whispers‘
Just 22 when he commanded a platoon in Vietnam for his year-long tour in 1969, Sir Peter Cosgrove hopes commemorations this year will bring Australians together.
A life of endless whispers. That’s how Peter Cosgrove remembers the Vietnam War.
Acutely aware that every word, every click of a weapon could ring out through the undergrowth and alert the enemy of his position, the then platoon commander stayed alive thanks to the lessons learned from the Diggers who had served in the jungles of Malaysia and Borneo in the 1950s and 60s.
“You were living at that basic, basic level. You spoke eternally in a whisper. The thought of having an ordinary conversation in the jungle would have had people tearing their hair out because that sound travels,” he told The Australian. “When you cleaned your rifle, which you did several times a day, you were extremely sensitive about the click of metal on metal when you disassembled or reassembled the weapon. You would gently slide the pieces together so that there was no chance of an unnatural sound.
“It became a stock in trade … We found ourselves able to locate enemy enclaves deep in the jungle without them being aware we were nearby.”
Australians were known as the “ghosts of the jungle” in the Vietnam War, mastering the fortitude needed not only to survive but to do so in almost complete silence.
“We used to say ‘Make the jungle your friend’,” Sir Peter said. “But the living conditions were primitive in the extreme. You’re carrying enormously heavy loads on your back and around your waist … and you were travelling extraordinary distances through very, very tough terrain and doing so in very oppressive climatic conditions and … always concerned whether you had enough water.”
Perhaps the most well-known Australian military leader of the past 50 years through his service as the commander of the International Force for East Timor, the Chief of Army and the Chief of the Defence Force, Sir Peter was just 22 when he commanded a platoon in Vietnam for his year-long tour in 1969.
It was an experience he would continue to draw on for the rest of his career, right up to being invited by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to be the ambassador for the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.
Most Australian forces had left Vietnam by 1973. Of the 60,000 Australians who served in the war, 523 lost their lives and more than 3000 were wounded.
There are estimated to be more than 35,000 Australian veterans of the conflict still living, most of whom are 70 years or older.
“It was a career-long change for me. I understood the dilemma and burden of soldiers in combat. As a general, I knew what, through my orders, would happen down in the area of battle when young Australians in uniform went into battle,” he said. “I understood what a shocking thing it was.”
The 50th anniversary of the conflict, for which Sir Peter will be the public face, was described by the DVA as potentially the last opportunity to acknowledge publicly these war veterans and their sacrifices.
Sir Peter, who served as governor-general from 2014-19, is hopeful the commemorations will bring Australians together, after the sharp political division the war caused in the ’60s and ’70s saw many Vietnam veterans poorly treated when they did come home.
As part of the anniversary, the federal government will produce a commemorative medallion and certificate of recognition, which will also be made available to widows or family members of veterans who were killed in action or have subsequently passed away.
While he had prepared almost his whole life to fight at war – thanks to having a father and grandfather who both served in international conflicts – Sir Peter was stunned by the moment he took his first life in battle.
“I remember the first time that occurred. We had shot people in the attack that we were doing. I was on the radio informing my superiors that we’d had this battle and this was the outcome,” he said.
“It was only part-way through that necessary passage of information that it just came into my mind: I was standing in the midst of the bodies of our slain enemy.
“I realised that my training had subsumed the ordinary human horror of being at a scene of this nature.”
It was by leading such attacks without casualties among his own soldiers that Sir Peter won his Military Cross in 1970.
He said he felt he had not suffered the scars many of his fellow soldiers had after Vietnam, but struggled to see friends who were later dogged by the memories of war. “Even those who had been traumatised, in my experience, got on with the job. But I’ve got no doubt that later on it came back to haunt them,” he said.
Despite not losing soldiers in the line of battle, Sir Peter remembers the trauma when an officer in a platoon co-located with his was murdered by one of his own soldiers.
“It was because of a resentment he (the soldier) had against the officer which lasted for some time and I suspect that drink was involved. It was a reminder that even among this wonderful group of soldiers, there will be aberrant behaviour,” he said.
“The other soldiers … were outraged and horrified that the team, which has built up over a year of living dangerously, had been let down and traumatised by the actions of an individual.
“You would have expected in Vietnam, when the cohesion of a team was life or death, that would overwhelm what might be called ordinary feelings of offence or resentment.”
The Vietnam War was divisive in the countries involved, due in large part to it being the first televised war. Thanks to the advent of broadcast technology, ordinary Australians were seeing the horrors of the conflict in their living rooms.
Sir Peter recalled the feeling of “ambition” and excitement of the young men who trained in Duntroon ahead of fighting in Vietnam, only to come back “wounded” by the criticism from some sections of the community.
“The thing about the military feeling wounded is we didn’t ask to go. We didn’t ask to stay,” he said.
He described the behaviour of those who directed their concerns over the conflict at returning soldiers as un-Australian.
“I know plenty of people who found themselves either as a collective when they were copping a serve, so to speak, or individually were harangued about being part of a murderous activity,” he said.
“That was very confronting because the Australian image was of dignified, respectful acknowledgment of legions of men and women now in civilian clothes, marching down our main streets in the capital cities or towns to the sympathetic reception from the onlookers. It was quite the reverse when you’re having people run out throwing paint on you, or you know, pushing and shoving.
“That’s not what you expect from your fellow Australians.”
The Vietnam War was the third longest conflict of the 20th century, following World War II and the Korean War, which had made Australians “war weary” and contributed to an anger felt by some in society.
“Those feelings were tipped into being somewhat jaundiced about war in any event. A section of the population were trenchant in their criticism, but the immaturity of some of those people was to visit that upon the men and sometimes men and women who were just doing their job for their nation for many decades,” Sir Peter said.
“When called, they go.”
Sir Peter is hopeful the 50th anniversary will bring Australians together and allow them to make peace with the past.
“I would like people to reflect on the Vietnam War and I want people to reflect on what is the place in society and stewardship of those people (who served),” he said.
“They are a precious group of our community now. Beyond that, I think it’s hugely important for Australians to say ‘let that be a beacon for how we regard and care for all of our veterans’.”
As the first army chief who fought in the conflict to make an official visit back to Vietnam, Sir Peter said it was important for communities across the world to move forward together.
“I met some of the people who, nominally, I would have been fighting against … and it was shake hands and have a beer sort of stuff,” he said. “We’re not trivialising what happened, but we’re saying, let’s move forward.”
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