Compilation - Memories of Service 3

Out to sea all the guns opened up on us and they were a very flat trajectory. You could see the big shells … they would hit the sea and you would see them in the air and they would go over the top of us.

– Douglas Smith

When we were coming in to Qui Nhon to land, (the pilot) called me up and said ‘If a SAM Missile comes up you’ve got to fire a Very pistol out the door.’ I thought to myself: Yeah right, we’re dead meat mate with one of them coming up.

– Greg Rodgers

Then it all went quiet and they stopped firing and we just lay awake until daylight. And the first time I’ve even seen a white Māori. We were both lying there and we both looked down and there was a hand grenade lying between us that had been thrown at us and hadn’t gone off.

– Wayne Chester