Gil Green joined the Army in 1969 when he was 18. He went with the 7th Battalion to Vietnam which arrived in February 1970 at Vung Tau.

Gil Green is an Aboriginal Koori Elder from the Bundjalung group, born in Woodenbong, who spent his formative years in and around Sydney before volunteering for service in the Australian Armed Forces in the late 1960s.

Topics of discussion:

SIDE A: Memories of family life, education and childhood. Parental influences on adult life. Experiences in the Army during the Vietnam War, including military exercises, the importance of 'R&C' (rest in country leave) to infantrymen, casualties and leadership within his battalion, treatment by other soldiers, US soldiers. Ethical reflections on the war. Agent Orange. Friendship with Graham Cornes. Marriage.

SIDE B: Personal consequences of war. The reception of his family and the Australian public on return from Vietnam. Career as a member of the Military Police. Careers in civilian life and the move to Adelaide. Divorce and remarriage. More reflections on war and personal involvement in war.

Photographs:

Studio portrait of 2791899 Private Gilbert Green, who served in Vietnam 1970 as a rifleman with 7th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment.
This item is reproduced courtesy of the Australian War Memorial. [ID No. P01428.001] It may be printed or saved for personal research or study. Use for any other purpose requires written permission from the Australian War Memorialand the State Library of South Australia. Further information may be found at Permission to publish.

US Red Cross workers visited the 7th Battalion at the Horseshoe. Gilbert Green makes a point to the group.
Photo: Andy Mattay; courtesy of the 7th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment. It may be printed or saved for personal research or study. Use for any other purpose requires written permission from the 7th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regimentand the State Library of South Australia. Further information may be found at Permission to publish.

Gil Green receiving his Certificate qualifying him as a South Australian Police Negotiator from Police Commissioner Mal Hyde. The photo was taken on 19 March 2003.
This item is reproduced courtesy of Gil Green. It may be printed or saved for personal research or study. Use for any other purpose requires written permission from Gil Green and the State Library of South Australia. Further information may be found at Permission to publish.

Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial Vietnam Canberra: Dept. of Veterans' Affairs, 2002

Crowe, Ambrose. The battle after the war: the story of Australia's Vietnam veterans, St. Leonards, N.S.W. : Allen & Unwin, 1999

Doyle, Jeff, Jeffrey Grey, and Peter Pierce. Australia's Vietnam War College Station: Texas A&M University Press, c2002

McKay, Gary. Bullets, beans and bandages: Australians at war in Vietnam St Leonards, N.S.W. : Allen & Unwin , 1999

McKay, Gary. Viet Nam shots: a photographic account of Australians at war St Leonards, N.S.W. : Allen & Unwin, 2002

Murphy, John. Harvest of fear: a history of Australia's Vietnam War St Leonards, N.S.W. : Allen & Unwin, 1993

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in defence [State Library of SA fact sheet]

Anzac Day Commemoration Committee (Queensland) See: History: Vietnam

The Australian Veteran and the Vietnam Experience Compiled by R (Bob) Teusner, ex-9RAR

Australian War Memorialsee: Australians at War: Australian Military History Overview: Vietnam War 1962-1975 ; see: Encyclopedia: Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in the Australian Defence Force

Australian Army History Unit [Department of Defence]: See: History & Battles: History Index

Australians at War [Department of Veterans' Affairs]

Indigenous Australians at War [Garth O'Connell and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies]

Vietnam Veterans' Association of Australia See: Education: Chronology of Events