Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

I was born in 1947 in The Hague in the Netherlands to Dutch parents,
Both my parents had been prisoners of war (for 31/2 years under the Japanese, )my Mother was held prisoner in Indonesia, along with her 2 children, a young daughter and a baby boy. Her Mother (my Grandmother) was with her as well.
My Mother's Brother was also imprisoned in Indonesia and died from starvation.
The youngest boy (would have been my elder Brother) died of dysentery during the first year of imprisonment. He was 10 months old.
My Father was imprisoned on The Burma Road. He told us of being transported to Japan just before the war ended.
The graves of my family who perished as prisoners are still in Indonesia. The surnames are Stoeken.
My father had been serving as a Dutch Marine when he was captured and taken to Burma..
After the war, he continued to serve and was posted to Curacao, which at the time was a Dutch colony..
On discharge from the Military, my father worked for the Dutch Oil Company, Shell, before immigrating to Australia in late 1955. We (my parents, my eldest Sister, Ria who was 7 years older than me, and my younger Brother Arnold. He was 7)
We arrived by boat in early 1956 on the Sibajak in Melbourne, where we were transported to Bonegilla Migrant Camp.
Bonegilla was near Albury, Wodonga. I was 8 years old.
My Father had extreme difficulty holding down a job. 2 of the jobs he had were as a driver at the Government Garage in Brisbane and as a Lighthouse Keeper on Dent Island in the Whitsundays.. He later moved to Lady Elliot Island as a keeper before settling in Bundaberg.
Some years later, my parents returned to The Netherlands.
As a Dutch War Veteran, the services provided by the Dutch Government were far better than struggling to survive in Australia.
9 years later I would return to the Bonegilla area as a Soldier posted to RAEME training Centre, where I would attend an adult training course to become a Radio Technician.
I dropped out of the 12-month course after 3 months.. I wanted to experience the bigger world and made noises about wanting to go to Borneo to serve.. I had no idea what Borneo was about, or what that entailed.
In hindsight, I feel that my very strict upbringing and now having some money in my pocket didn't allow me to see past my immediate future.. It was a decision I have long regretted..
The time from living on the lighthouse to joining the Army was a great experience. I came from living on the lighthouse on Dent Island with my younger brother Arnold to travelling with a family friend across to Perth..
The trip was instigated by my father who was keen to get rid of us boys..
My brother was working on one of the tourist vessels, and I was shunted off with a family friend who had visited us for a brief period.. My father had times when he was very angry and physically violent, so when the opportunity rose to get rid of us, he jumped at the opportunity.
I was 16 at the time. The family friend who visited was George Beyer, a Dutchman who had been working in Mount Isa as a miner..
George had an early model VW Beetle. Now he had me as a passenger, which meant less space in the car..
To save money and give us room to sleep in the VW, George cut the bottom off the steering wheel and bought 2 short collapsible stools. The VW was fitted with brackets to lay the chairs backwards, the stools were used to support our feet as we slept in sleeping bags.
This was 1964.
As we travelled, we noticed an oversupply of rabbits, so we used them to supplement our food. Shooting rabbits for dinner was part of our routine and great fun..
We stopped over in Adelaide (rented a flat in Colonel Light Gardens) where we used the opportunity to top up George's savings by getting a job with the Adelaide Building company. I was employed as an apprentice carpenter. My only previous experience at woodwork was at school during brief periods of woodwork and metal work. ( I enjoyed both those subjects enormously)
After some 3 months we left the jobs and headed across to Perth..
The Nullarbor Road crossing in 1964 was a unique experience. No Bitumen for most of the length of the road.(781 miles or 1200K) Bull Dust filled holes that could damage a car beyond repair, corrugated roads that went for over 100 miles, impossible to drive fast enough to stay on top of the corrugations (a technique some drivers tried)
We did the crossing both ways.. On our return trip, somewhere in the desert of the Nullarbor Road, the car generator broke down. George had identified the problem and decide he would hitchhike East to where he could buy the part and return to repair the car.. I was to stay with the car.. I was 16, had a rifle and slept in the car by the side of the corrugated dirt road for 3 to 4 days... At the time it was a 'boys own adventure'. It never occurred to me that something could go wrong..
As I slept in the VW at night, loaded semi trailers would pass at speed. The wind of the trucks passing would rock the VW from side to side. My time there was uneventful.
George returned 3 to 4 days later, repaired the VW and we continued our travels.
I eventually returned to Brisbane, where my Sister Ria was now married and living in Zillmere. I stayed with her and her husband. I got a job at Dunlop as a tyre builder.. I lasted for 3 days before taking a job at Bisley. I worked in a factory where they made mattresses..
It was from there, some 6 months later that I joined the Army. I had heard about Menzies and Vietnam, but it never occurred to me that Vietnam was going to become part of my long term future..
My most vivid memory of joining the Army was the failure to properly research recruit training in Wagga Wagga in Winter. It was incredibly cold, and I often thought that some planning on my part would not have gone astray. I don't believe that 16-year-old boys plan anything much..
The Army in 1965 was a very different job.. It was rough and showed no mercy to young diggers. In hindsight, I thought the training harboured on abuse and bastardy. We lived in Corrugated huts that had gaps in the timber floor. The wind would howl through the place, there was no heating.. Early mornings, late nights and no weekends off. Beds thrown about if not made properly and punishment handed out for the slightest of mistakes or oversights.. Kitchen duties included dixie bashing (washing pots and pans) attending to the mess Hall, cleaning tables, floors, filling salt and pepper shakers and scrubbing the kitchen clean and there was the endless drill lessons and maintaining our uniforms and rifles during the day..
By the time the 3 months of recruit training was over you were fit and part of a team. Unbeknown to me, the training was preparation for Vietnam. I was now 17 and still mostly unconscious about the world around me or even planning for tomorrow.. I guess that is what young men are like.

Laurens Wildeboer is a Vietnam War veteran who served with the 1st Armoured Regiment of the Australian Army from January 1968 to May 1969. Born in The Hague, Netherlands, on November 12, 1947, he immigrated to Australia and later joined the military, seeing action in Vietnam during a particularly tumultuous period of the conflict.

One notable aspect of Wildeboer's service is his involvement in the retrieval and eventual return of personal items belonging to a Vietnamese soldier named Phan Van Ban. During a mission in 1969, Wildeboer came across Ban's poetry, a personal notebook, and a scarf. These items left a significant impact on him, as they humanized the enemy and added complexity to his view of the war​ (AusSoldiersMemorialHist)​​ (Journeyman TV)​​ (Vietnam Swans)​.

For over four decades, Wildeboer kept these items, feeling a deep connection and sense of responsibility towards them. Eventually, he decided to return to Vietnam to deliver the items to Ban's family, a gesture aimed at finding personal peace and reconciliation. This emotional journey, which took place during ANZAC month, involved meeting Ban's mother and returning the poetry and other personal belongings, an act that received considerable attention in Vietnam and was seen as a significant step towards healing the wounds of war​ (Journeyman TV)​​ (Vietnam Swans)​.

Wildeboer's story highlights the long-lasting effects of war on veterans and the power of personal items to connect people across time and conflict. His efforts to return these items underscore a deep respect for humanity and the desire to find closure and peace after the traumas of war​ (Australia`s Vietnam War)​​ (Australia`s Vietnam War)​.