John Arthur Richard Carter

  General Notes:

John served in the Australian Army during the Vietnam War. His Service number was 3411507. He sailed from Sydney to Vietnam on board the HMAS Sydney, which became known as the Vung Tau Ferry, in April of 1966, less than a day after he proposed to his young girlfriend - Jean. Jean was also serving in the army when she met John, doing clerical work for the Women's Royal Australian Army Corp.

He was attached to the Royal Australian Service Corps and spent the next year driving supplies between Vung Tau and Nui Dat and delivered ammunition to the helicopters for the Battle of Long Tan. His chief form of protection was a couple of heavy sand bags on the floor of his open-top Jeep in case he accidently drove over a landmine. Fortunately John returned safely home from the war in 1967.

After settling down in their Ferntree Gully home after the war, John tried to join a nearby RSL, where he hoped to share drinks and stories with fellow veterans. But, sadly, the war in Vietnam was still taboo and he was spurned by the members who said that he hadn't fought in a war. Eventually, in 1998, John met another Vietnam veteran through his work as a courier, who invited him to join the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia, where he found great support talking to other veterans in his position.

John married Living