Post by Dave Homewood on Aug 10, 2016 19:59:57 GMT 12
Vietnam Veterans Day commemorates 37 dead Kiwi soldiers
JARRED WILLIAMSON
Last updated 10:12, August 10 2016
Ford Family
Ken Ford pictured, on the left, in Vietnam between 1965-1966, and right, last year wearing his medals.
Popular action movies often distort what really happened during the Vietnam War, veteran Ken Ford says.
But that doesn't mean he didn't witness some graphic scenes of war.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial will be held at the RSA Memorial at the Manukau Memorial Gardens on August 21.
Ford and other veterans from across Auckland and Northland will gather to commemorate the annual Vietnam Veterans Day on August 21.
The Auckland service at Manukau Memorial Gardens will remember the 37 New Zealand soldiers who died between 1963 and 1975.
It will accompany other services in Wellington and Christchurch around the same time.
Ford, who lives in Weymouth, was one of 3500 New Zealand servicemen in the war.
He did his training in Waiouru, initially working as a "tankie" driving tanks. And then the call to enlist came and Ford arrived in Vietnam in 1965.
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In the 161st Battery, he was a radio operator as part of a forward observer group. Ford was tasked with sending coordinates back for "fire support".
"It was quite exciting waiting for something to happen, you weren't stuck in camp all the time," he says.
"You could spend two weeks in the bush, but you we never that scared, your job was to serve."
But Ford says the fire fights exchanged with the Viet Cong were quite fierce. He can recall a number of graphic sights in describing the aftermath of combat.
Eight months in, he was moved and spent the rest of his deployment with the Australian army driving armoured personnel carriers.
Returning to the country, he left the army and took up other occupations, including poultry farming and many years as a fisheries officer.
Now the Manurewa Returned and Services Association member keeps himself busy with a number of projects. This year he took the up the reigns of organising the commemorations.
"It is a chance for families and veterans to remember the fallen," he says.
And following the service, veterans and families will get together at the RSA to catch up on life and share memories.
The Air Cadets of No 4 Squadron, based at Ardmore, will parade the 37 flags which bear the name of fallen soldiers.
* Commemorations get underway after 10am on August 21 at the RSA Monument at the Manukau Memorial Gardens.
- Stuff
www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/82933573/Vietnam-Veterans-Day-commemorates-37-dead-Kiwi-soldiers
JARRED WILLIAMSON
Last updated 10:12, August 10 2016
Ford Family
Ken Ford pictured, on the left, in Vietnam between 1965-1966, and right, last year wearing his medals.
Popular action movies often distort what really happened during the Vietnam War, veteran Ken Ford says.
But that doesn't mean he didn't witness some graphic scenes of war.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial will be held at the RSA Memorial at the Manukau Memorial Gardens on August 21.
Ford and other veterans from across Auckland and Northland will gather to commemorate the annual Vietnam Veterans Day on August 21.
The Auckland service at Manukau Memorial Gardens will remember the 37 New Zealand soldiers who died between 1963 and 1975.
It will accompany other services in Wellington and Christchurch around the same time.
Ford, who lives in Weymouth, was one of 3500 New Zealand servicemen in the war.
He did his training in Waiouru, initially working as a "tankie" driving tanks. And then the call to enlist came and Ford arrived in Vietnam in 1965.
Ad Feedback
In the 161st Battery, he was a radio operator as part of a forward observer group. Ford was tasked with sending coordinates back for "fire support".
"It was quite exciting waiting for something to happen, you weren't stuck in camp all the time," he says.
"You could spend two weeks in the bush, but you we never that scared, your job was to serve."
But Ford says the fire fights exchanged with the Viet Cong were quite fierce. He can recall a number of graphic sights in describing the aftermath of combat.
Eight months in, he was moved and spent the rest of his deployment with the Australian army driving armoured personnel carriers.
Returning to the country, he left the army and took up other occupations, including poultry farming and many years as a fisheries officer.
Now the Manurewa Returned and Services Association member keeps himself busy with a number of projects. This year he took the up the reigns of organising the commemorations.
"It is a chance for families and veterans to remember the fallen," he says.
And following the service, veterans and families will get together at the RSA to catch up on life and share memories.
The Air Cadets of No 4 Squadron, based at Ardmore, will parade the 37 flags which bear the name of fallen soldiers.
* Commemorations get underway after 10am on August 21 at the RSA Monument at the Manukau Memorial Gardens.
- Stuff
www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/82933573/Vietnam-Veterans-Day-commemorates-37-dead-Kiwi-soldiers
