HYATT, Leslie Keith
| Service Number: | 3786985 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 June 1965 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 5th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (5RAR) |
| Born: | Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, 26 May 1945 |
| Home Town: | Ballarat, Central Highlands, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Ballarat Technical School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Train Driver |
| Memorials: |
Vietnam War Service
| 30 Jun 1965: | Enlisted Australian Army (Post WW2), Private, 3786985, 2 Recruit Training Battalion (Jungle Warfare) | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 May 1966: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Private, 3786985, 5th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (5RAR) | |
| 6 May 1966: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Private, 3786985 | |
| 10 Jun 1966: | Wounded Australian Army (Post WW2), Private, 3786985, 5th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (5RAR) | |
| 29 Jun 1967: | Discharged Australian Army (Post WW2), Private, 3786985 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Scott Hyatt
National Serviceman called up in the first draft. Wonded by Mortar June 10 1966 and returned to Ballarat. First National Serviceman returned home. Article on being the first National Serviceman returned from Vietnam.
The Sun News Pictorial – July 14, 1966
Ballarat – Pte. Leslie Keith Hyatt, 21 the first National Serviceman to be returned, wounded, to Australia, doesn’t want to go back to Vietnam.
Pte. Leslie Hyatt returned to his parent’s home in Grant St. West yesterday. Pte. Hyatt, who lost 2 ½ stone in weight after he was wounded in both legs by mortar shrapnel on June 10, said it was unlikely the Army would require him to return to Vietnam.
"I don’t want to go back”, he said, It’s pretty rough there.”
He was operated on in Vietnam. After three weeks he had recovered sufficiently to be flown to Sydney, where he was a patient for a week at the Ingleburn Military Hospital.
He was hit by shrapnel from 12 mortar bombs which exploded in a patty field where several Australians were eating a meal. Two servicemen were killed and two others wounded.
Pte. Hyatt was flown from Sydney yesterday morning and his parents brought him to Ballarat by car. He will stay at home for a fortnight before being admitted to Heidelberg Hospital. He is still being troubled by the wounds in his left leg.
“It’s just terrific to be back in Ballarat” he said. “Yet I suppose any place is better than Vietnam.”
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