My Australian Story: Vietnam

Here we are, fighting alongside the so-called mightiest nation on earth with all the firepower you could ask for—jets, B52s, tanks, gunships, arty, rockets, napalm, you name it—and the VC are creeping around with a rifle each and we still can’t beat the beggars! And it’s getting worse, not better. It’s 1969. The sixties are still swinging, man is headed for the moon and surfing-mad Davey is out to win the inaugural Newcastle Under-14 Surf Championship. But when his older brother Tom is drafted to fight in the army, the far-away war in Vietnam creates waves very close to home.