A man called Barry Heard came in to talk to all the students here at Snowy about his experience in the Vietnam War and when he got out of Vietnam. He talked about what he thinks about war and how it changes people. He talked to us about when he got out of Vietnam and how people treated him. He told us that when he arrived home he was a completely changed man, he never swore but after Vietnam he did.

One of the biggest things that stood out to me was when he told us that people would ‘boo’ you in the street for serving your country and doing what you were told to do. These people were heavy protesters against the war because the government showed what was happening in Vietnam. He told us that they showed villages getting bombed and people would run out of their houses burning alive. He told everyone that he went into hiding because of the mental abuse you would get if people knew he served. He changed his hair and went to a Mental Institution in Melbourne because he came back an alcoholic and an abusive man. In this Institution the doctors there told him to write a letter to his family, he did this but he sent it to all of his Vietnam mates and family. When they received this letter about his experiences in Vietnam they told him to publish it, he didn’t but 8 years later he did. This was to be a book called ‘Well Done Those Men’, it became one of the biggest borrowed book in 2012. Barry has received many awards.

Bailey (Red Cliffs SC)