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CONTACT - WAIT OUT
A Vietnam Diary
Author: Bruce Ravenscroft.
Foreword
By 2nd Platoon Commander
Brigadier Mike O'Brien CSC
 Five
Platoon B Company 7 RAR was like all of the
Infantry Platoons that fought in Vietnam.
It was an equal and almost
indistinguishable mix of regular and
National Servicemen. Its soldiers were
well-trained (in 7 RAR we considered we were
the best-trained of all soldiers), well
motivated, young and fit. We had several
very experienced soldiers that brought with
them the knowledge of other small wars.
There were people of all types.
They
were all dedicated to the Battalion and few,
if any, questioned Australia's involvement
in the war. And yet the platoon, while the
same as those others had its uniqueness. It
had a personality as each Australian platoon
has.
5 Platoon was particularly good at the
sorts of soldiering that were most
demanding. It had a particularly well-honed
skill in ambushing, a capability to move long
distances noiselessly, a determination to
get the job done. It was a very close-knit
group of soldiers. It was a privilege to be
associated with them.
Bruce
Ravenscroft's diary is a valuable addition
to the documents about the war from an
Australian's perspective. He tells the story
directly from the "sharp' end where the
scout always was. Bruce's account makes a
very important fact very clear; the average
infantryman's war is, for most of the time,
repetitive and tedious, but the few moments
of action are so compressed that they will
always remain etched in his memory. War is
mainly inaction, punctuated by occasional
feverish bursts of contact with the enemy.
Mike O'Brien
Melbourne, March
1997
Note:
Brigadier O'Brien
is still serving in the Australian Regular
Army.
From the Author:
The book is, Contact – Wait Out, and based
on a day by day diary that I kept in Nam
with 7 RAR.
It has been selling for
$32, but for any of your members wanting one
they can get it for $25 including postage
anywhere in Australia.
The diary can be
seen in the Australian War Memorial (AWM) in
Canberra.
For anyone who wants a
copy, they can email me at,
Cisco5b7@gmail.com with their details
for postage, and any other information they
may want, and I will send them my bank
details and they can put the money directly
into the account, and email me back with a
copy of the receipt they get.
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