60 years since Australia became involved in the Vietnam War, the plight of veterans is more serious than ever, says Vietnam veteran, conscript and Military Cross recipient, Gary McKay.
Mr McKay shines the spotlight on the need to better support frontline fighters in his new book ‘After the Blood Cools – The Warrior’s Dilemma’.
This year marks 60 years since the first Australian soldiers were sent to Vietnam as part of our country’s commitment to what would be a decade-long war. The first Australian soldier to arrive was the Commander of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam, Colonel Ted Serong, in Saigon on 31 July 1962, and shortly after ‘The Team’ of 30 soldiers.
From 1962 to 1973 about 60,000 Australians served in defence of South Vietnam, 521 were killed and more than 3000 wounded. Many more returned home to face the demons of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Mr McKay is one such veteran. A platoon commander in Vietnam who fought in Australia’s last major conflict in the war, the Battle of Nui Le. Gary was awarded a Military Cross for his actions in this battle, which saved the lives of his troops.
It was almost 30 years since Gary had served in Vietnam when he first experienced the devastating effects of PTSD.
In his new book, After the Blood Cools – The Warrior’s Dilemma, he writes about the experience that triggered his inner-demons, which saw him thrown into restless nights of terror and nightmares.
“In 2004, I led a small tour back to Vietnam. At the conclusion of the tour, myself and a few others were helping to locate a mass grave where about 41 bodies were buried outside the Fire Support Base Coral perimeter. Because the area is classified as a ‘sensitive site’, we had to have special permits to enter,” he recalls.
“Everything was going swimmingly until a Field Force policeman demanded to see our permits, which were promptly handed across. This stood no truck with the officious copper, and before long, a vehicle arrived with armed police. We spent the afternoon locked up trying to explain we had the permits to be there. We were finally released from this chaotic confinement just on dark.
“On return to Australia a day later, I settled into my normal routine. The first night back, I woke in the middle of the night, and the bedsheets were soaked; I had been yelling and screaming and sweating profusely. I got out of bed, showered, and slept in a spare bedroom for the rest of the night. This happened every night for about a fortnight.
Mr McKay visited his GP and was told he should go and talk to the Vietnam Veterans Counselling Service.
“This marvellous organisation referred me to a psychiatrist. I was perplexed because I had returned from active duty, got through hospital dramas after being shot, and now here I was, having nightmares some 33 years later,” he says.
“I spent four months seeing my psychologist. I learned how to deal with oncoming episodes of anger and frustration, and, best of all, how to prepare myself for a good night’s sleep. I also realised that my own PTSD, which really didn’t manifest itself in an overt form, was lurking just below the surface and most probably impacted my immediate family without me really knowing it.”
The Department of Veteran Affairs estimates there are over 640,000 veterans living in Australia who have served in the Australian Defence Force either full time or in the reserves, many of whom would have experienced PTSD.
One in every 20 of Australia’s homeless are veterans, and ex-servicemen and women aged under 30 have a suicide rate more that twice that of the national average.
In his book, After the Blood Cools – The Warrior’s Dilemma, Gary McKay not only shares his gripping full story, including how he faced his inner demons’ decades after the fighting had stopped, he reveals what it’s like to go to war and talks about the dilemma that our warriors face – considering the essential question: how can we better support our frontline fighters?
For more book details: https://livinghistorytv.com/book/after-the-blood-cools-the-warriors-dilemma/
