Reunited Vung Tau 2011

Last Wednesday, 9 March 2011, there was a reunion of the Australian Diggers from 2Comp Ord / 2AOD who were based in Vung Tau and their Vietnamese employees from back in the late 1960s.

The leader of the return tour was Stan Middleton and his wife, Sinh. You may recall that Stan was the man who contacted the Swannies on this website a few weeks after we played our inaugural ANZAC Friendship Match last year. He was the one who told us all about them playing footy as well during the War at the Lord Mayor’s Oval – which is now the Dog Track where we play our match (see Aussie Rules during Vietnam War).

Stan and Sinh are great friends of the Vietnam Swans and it was therefore an honor for Swannies National President, Phil Johns and National Committeeman, Glenn Nolan to be invited to the occasion.

Stan and Sinh run a foundation that supports the former employees. One by one, they went to the front of the room to collect their envelope. Each had a story. One was overcome with emotion. She is 43 and has an Australian father who she has never met him. He had already moved on by the time she was born and she is torn with grief.

A big grab at the Lord Mayor's Oval, late 1960s

Jim recounted that his first tour to Vietnam was OK. His second tour was “horrific”. He didn’t elaborate but we all sensed that the tone in which he muttered that word was worth a thousand. He said that when he saw footage of the tanks crashing through the gates of the Presidential Palace in 1975, he held grave fears for one of his Vietnamese staff. Just a few years ago, he found out that he was still alive and living in the US which filled him with untold joy.

Stan made Glenn and Fabbo feel extremely welcome as did other members of the Noble Park RSL Club and others. He also gave the ANZAC Friendship Match repeated plugs to the very receptive audience. He then presented Glenn with an item of memorabilia for the Tommy’s 3 Sports Bar.

Stan has also forwarded on some additional photographs of the footy during the War in the late 1960s. To see another 60 photos, visit the Vietnam Swans Web Album.

All photos courtesy of the 2nd Advanced Ordinance Depot 1968-72‘s website.