Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Written by the Year 12 VCE Vocational Major students of John Paul College, Frankston

John William Symons is a Vietnam Veteran, whose rank was private, and was conscripted into the Australian Army. He was drafted at 19 but was deferred as he had to finish his apprenticeship of 5 years so he was 21 when he joined and and after recruit training was trained as a storeman in Mechanical and Technical stores then got posted to Vietnam and was married a week before he left. He officially started in Vietnam in the 1st Ordnance Field Park at 21 years old on the 3rd of Dec 1969 to the 30th of Nov 1970.

John was born on the 9th of August, 1947 and was raised in Melbourne, Australia. He lived with his mum, dad and three siblings, one sister and his two brothers. John told the group that as he grew up, he had a very close relationship to with his dad, and always looked up to him. John wanted to serve his nation because his father had served in the Army during World War Two.

He was based in the Nui Dat Force Base which was the first ever Australian task force base. For many of the soldiers ‘the Dat’ was more than a military base, it became a second home for most and everyone became family. John stated that planes and helicopters would transport soldiers to different bases in the War. John worked as a store man at Nui Dat. 

John did multiple jobs in the army but the one that stood out to him the most was being attached to the bath detachment unit. He worked supplying showers at fire support bases where the soldiers stopped off after weeks on patrol to get a quick wash and his job was to pump water for them. John said that they’d get up to four hours of sleep as it was difficult to sleep in such horrible environments.

In the army John gained the nickname ‘plates’ due to the high prescription glasses that he wore. His team took care of each other, they were there for each other emotionally and mentally supporting each other during a tough time when they didn’t have their family.

John didn’t regret any of it, none of the experience. He said “I wouldn’t be the person I am today.”

His life after the military was difficult as he had a lot of trouble getting back into a regular daily routine at home. John's family was very supportive when he came home. He adopted his children and to this day still catches up with his friends from the war. They have coffee at the coffee shop and march together on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.

John said that his major achievement was being accepted to serve in the Australian Army Force for Australia. John got awarded for his excellent service with five medals, Defence Force medal, National Service medal,Campaign Vietnam medal, Overseas Service medal, and an Australian Active Service medal.

John showed leadership by being there for the soldiers in his group and protecting them from the enemy. The medals he received are evidence of his work, effort and commitment in the Vietnam War and John made an impact which resulted in the medals in his military career. John showed teamwork by doing his role in his group in the Vietnam War and protecting other Australian soldiers.

We are very grateful to have met John and been able to hear about his experiences. He is so brave for still being able to go back in time and talk about how intense and eye opening the war was, something so traumatic. We look up to John and hope that we can gather the same courage he had and use it in our lives.

We want to thank John for sacrifices he made to make Australia what it is today and if it weren’t for him and many other veterans, we wouldn’t have the many privileges as we have today as Australians.