chapter 25.
Call ups were becoming more frequent and it was increasingly harder to get out of them. This particular call up was with Fifth Battalion. We were sent put on patrol and our section commander was in a bit of a muddle. We found ourselves walking in zigzags though the bush in the night. This is a very superb way to get shot. You walk into your own stop groups -- the people you put out there to stop terrorists. When I pointed this out to him, he changed direction. We walked through the bush and then we settled down and a group of them decided to set up some claymores. Then we lay down to rest. I remember some insect bit me on my back. It was like a red hot needle pushed into my back. While we were lying there, I heard a machine gun start up about two miles away. This was our other stop group. It was started off by screaming, and this screaming went on for about ten minutes. I thought a woman had walked into the stop group and got shot. That screaming haunts you for years afterwards.
Then I lay on my back and looked straight up and I asked myself if it was likely there'd be a satellite there, and then I saw one. But you can't even talk about it because you are in an ambush position and your whispering could result in yourself being shot. It was a curious thing to see a satellite out in the middle of the bush. I was in Ruya river area.
Later that night it rained. It absolutely pelted down. Everything we had got soaked. I used to point my rifle downwards so the rain wouldn't run down the barrel. I never had to fire it, so I suppose that was good enough. I used to clean and oil it fairly regularly.
The next morning, we got told to go to a certain grid reference to be picked up. This happened to be next to an old church. So, I got all my equipment out and laid it in the sun to dry, which worked.
Some bloke arrived from another group and asked if he could swap raincoats with me. I don't know why. I told him that my raincoat leaks, so it wasn't a good idea for him, but he insisted. So he took mine, I took his. I later discovered that his raincoat was perfectly good and didn't leak at all. I had done a home job in waterproofing mine, by covering it in soap. The idea I had was, you rub soap on it, then you pour vinegar on it and the vinegar turns the soap into oil. This hadn't worked.
Some time previously, when walking through Mt Darwin, I had bought a piece of foam rubber from a shop to use as a pillow. You'll be surprised when you are out in the bush how a pillow can make your life a lot better. It was quite a substantial piece of foam rubber, about two inches thick.
We got picked up by the trucks and we continued walking through the bush and found ourselves walking up towards an escarpment. when we got to the top of a rise, we found ourselves looking down into a valley, with some unusual rock formations, one of which was shaped like a long train. It was known in the army as 'the train'. Then, I realized I'd dropped my pillow, so I ran back to get it. I ran for about half a kilometer. I'd dropped it in a river bed. That was a bit dangerous, dropping something and going back for it, but I was quite glad I got my pillow back.
We were now ordered to move to another grid reference and wait for transport. That arrived in the form of helicopters. One of my companions disappeared so I went looking for him and when I found him, he'd moved some distance into the bush. Ii asked what he was doing here and he said, well he was 36years old, so why should he go up in a helicopter. I got to thinking I'm 35. Why do Ii want to go up in the helicopter? When I first found him he said he was looking for his spoon. Then, I was looking for my spoon too. Ever since then, if I get myself into a situation I don't want to be in, I start looking for my spoon.
Then the choppers came in and lifted everyone into battle, but we stayed behind and nobody noticed.
When they brought them back, I overheard one of our officers talking. He said he found himself in a gully and he came around a corner, there was a terrorist right in front of him. So he picked up his rifle and the terrorist picked up his rifle and they found themselves facing each other with their rifles. He put his finger on the trigger and pulled it and it just went click. The terrorist did the same and his rifle just went click. Everything depended on who reloaded quicker. The terrorist decided to put his rifle down.
That evening, listening to the radio, I heard Ian smith say that the situation in the North East where we were was deteriorating. Then we got picked up and moved to a camp in Mount Darwin.
Then I lay on my back and looked straight up and I asked myself if it was likely there'd be a satellite there, and then I saw one. But you can't even talk about it because you are in an ambush position and your whispering could result in yourself being shot. It was a curious thing to see a satellite out in the middle of the bush. I was in Ruya river area.
Later that night it rained. It absolutely pelted down. Everything we had got soaked. I used to point my rifle downwards so the rain wouldn't run down the barrel. I never had to fire it, so I suppose that was good enough. I used to clean and oil it fairly regularly.
The next morning, we got told to go to a certain grid reference to be picked up. This happened to be next to an old church. So, I got all my equipment out and laid it in the sun to dry, which worked.
Some bloke arrived from another group and asked if he could swap raincoats with me. I don't know why. I told him that my raincoat leaks, so it wasn't a good idea for him, but he insisted. So he took mine, I took his. I later discovered that his raincoat was perfectly good and didn't leak at all. I had done a home job in waterproofing mine, by covering it in soap. The idea I had was, you rub soap on it, then you pour vinegar on it and the vinegar turns the soap into oil. This hadn't worked.
Some time previously, when walking through Mt Darwin, I had bought a piece of foam rubber from a shop to use as a pillow. You'll be surprised when you are out in the bush how a pillow can make your life a lot better. It was quite a substantial piece of foam rubber, about two inches thick.
We got picked up by the trucks and we continued walking through the bush and found ourselves walking up towards an escarpment. when we got to the top of a rise, we found ourselves looking down into a valley, with some unusual rock formations, one of which was shaped like a long train. It was known in the army as 'the train'. Then, I realized I'd dropped my pillow, so I ran back to get it. I ran for about half a kilometer. I'd dropped it in a river bed. That was a bit dangerous, dropping something and going back for it, but I was quite glad I got my pillow back.
We were now ordered to move to another grid reference and wait for transport. That arrived in the form of helicopters. One of my companions disappeared so I went looking for him and when I found him, he'd moved some distance into the bush. Ii asked what he was doing here and he said, well he was 36years old, so why should he go up in a helicopter. I got to thinking I'm 35. Why do Ii want to go up in the helicopter? When I first found him he said he was looking for his spoon. Then, I was looking for my spoon too. Ever since then, if I get myself into a situation I don't want to be in, I start looking for my spoon.
Then the choppers came in and lifted everyone into battle, but we stayed behind and nobody noticed.
When they brought them back, I overheard one of our officers talking. He said he found himself in a gully and he came around a corner, there was a terrorist right in front of him. So he picked up his rifle and the terrorist picked up his rifle and they found themselves facing each other with their rifles. He put his finger on the trigger and pulled it and it just went click. The terrorist did the same and his rifle just went click. Everything depended on who reloaded quicker. The terrorist decided to put his rifle down.
That evening, listening to the radio, I heard Ian smith say that the situation in the North East where we were was deteriorating. Then we got picked up and moved to a camp in Mount Darwin.
No comments:
Post a Comment