This is the second ‘memoir type’ work by Biff Ward we have read and we all felt that it was an unusual book. Many of us probably would not have read it without the impetus of book club but glad that we have done so. It is a tricky book to compartmentalise as it is part memoir and appreciation of Vietnam and her people, part travelogue and part homage to Australian and Vietnamese men and women and their courage during the war.
This work of non-fiction was ‘gathered’ from many people who served as soldiers in Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s. Ms Ward interviewed these men in various locations around Australia and in various states of mental stress during the years 1997-2002. There are some men in particular such as her cousin Hugh and friends Graham and Bob who she felt a real connection with and their stories are more in depth than others. Another notable person is Ray Fulton who was particularly affected by his experiences fighting in this war. Ms Ward dedicates the book to him and a Vietnamese friend. She adores Vietnam. She is also extremely open and honest about her emotional attachments despite her earlier attitudes against the war and all wars.
First impressions
- It was a good read, very sad and brought back memories of hearing about the war. It also reminded me of how ghastly war is for all involved. As a doctor, I still meet Veterans who suffer and I see the effects upon their families.
- I really enjoyed it as this book took us on a journey. I found the structure interesting and seeing how the deployment to Vietnam by these guys has affected their lives. I wondered about the perceived feeling at the time (1960s) that Communism in Vietnam would lead to a domino strategy and Australia would be threatened. What did it mean?
- The book has lots of history. The author shows lots of courage in interviewing these men. Her openness exposes herself and she shows strong ideals.
- I didn’t realise how much I didn’t know about this war. The structure seemed strange but was revealed later. She writes beautifully with lovely expressions. At times the writer acts as a counsellor. Incidentally, I met Ms Ward and Graham Walker some years ago.
- It is an impressive book. I liked it and found it moving. She is a very genuine person.
- The writing is incredible.
- There is great passion in her writing. I visited Vietnam about 5 years ago and went to Saigon and visited the Museum she recounts visiting. I was struck by the Vietnamese being so forgiving of Australians and Americans who had invaded all those years ago. I was shocked by all the harrowing war crimes that happened. Does it have something to do with their Buddhist beliefs that they absolve the invaders? I am presently reading Ed Ayres’ tale of life in Kabul (Danger Music) and the awful events that had occurred there, then and now.
- This book was talking about my generation! It seemed very familiar as I lived through it. I enjoyed it.
- This book is both beautifully written but also very present. It is not all about her but she looks at herself objectively. Is this the wisdom of age? I loved how she brought the two sides together. She doesn’t provide answers.
- I thought this book combined reportage non-fiction and creative non-fiction, which uses fictional techniques. These fictional technique included weaving Ray’s story through the book. It drew us readers into the book and the mystery of what had made Ray so traumatised. How can we be so simple about ideas as protestors with little understanding of the effects upon the veterans? Ms Ward draws the complexities out really well.
- I agree with all that has been said but I also felt that this book was a tribute to Ray and Hugh and Graham and Bob. It was a way of saying sorry for not understanding them and their dilemma when she was young and protesting against them.
Discussion
What are the conclusions? Should protesters be more thoughtful of the effects upon veterans?
We spent the majority of the time discussing our own experiences of this time. Some of us were old enough to have participated in anti-war demonstrations and some of us were still at school and went anyway. Some of us were told not to go by parents and did not go. Or some had a reluctance to go because we feared crowds and their behaviour.
This so-called ‘Vietnam war’, or the ‘American war’ from the Vietnamese point of view, was a special instance where many soldiers went off to fight believing they were fighting for Australia. However, that opinion quickly changed in Australia from early on in the conflict so many young people in particular who were not involved had a very poor opinion of the soldiers when they returned. There were many points of view and some felt that the fight was justified and some did not. The protesters were considered nasty and righteous by some veterans and their families and there were different levels of protest. It was also thought that the men who were called up in the conscription debate should not be badly treated for having gone. Some soldiers who did go thought they were there to save Australia and that they were blameless.
The Vietnam war was the only Australian war in the twentieth century where conscripts were sent and the politics proved invalid. Invalid arguments occurred again in 2003 when soldiers were sent to invade Iraq.
As a former protester, Biff Ward was very upfront about her past behaviour and as she got to know these veterans she showed great compassion for them. She, like many of us, evolved in her opinions from unsophisticated to something more complex. Some of us saw the film Apocalypse now which helped. We all had to learn and drop our naïve notions but it takes time for people to change.
Women were involved in the protests and were censored from Anzac Day at the time and soon after. Ms Ward was not frightened by the size of the crowds but at one of the protests, she recounts an out-of body experience which still haunts her.
The truth about the war was not allowed to be told in Australia, so soldiers went off knowing very little of the facts. There was also the cultural legacy from WW2 that you did your duty to your country facing an enemy. There was also mention of the burning of national flags and the impact upon some people – good and bad. Ms Ward loved her flag but she had to make an impact. She recounts how Ray stomped on the flag. This lead to a discussion on standing for the national anthem at the time which was ‘God save the Queen’. Some did and some did not.
Ray’s memoir about his experiences in Vietnam proved to be the unifying feature for the book and permission was obtained after Ray’s death from their mutual friend Graham. Biff Ward relates how transcribing his words onto her computer made her feel :
they sometimes spiralled off and pranced around the room like leering pixies. (page 278)
The trauma of killing someone could not be overcome by Ray and this discussion raised moral issues of what ‘killing someone’ does to a person and how it causes moral injury. Ray was so damaged and mentally unwell even many years later that he got to a point where he rejected Biff Ward, with whom he’d been very open. She shows great insight into Ray but she wasn’t exploitative. We all felt that Biff Ward was a very emotional writer.
Ms Ward also relates her meeting Jack in Saigon who invited her to join him on a street corner for a few beers. We loved her writing style:
My teetotal life was slithering down the walls with the humidity. (page 225)
One member remembered a seminar she had attended about the differences in the writing about war by men and women and their points of view.
Ray was not suitably treated for his trauma/PTSD and like many treated himself with drugs. Unfortunately, at the time, many veterans self-treated with drugs as the Army was not compassionate.
It was interesting how some of Ms Ward’s feminist friends questioned her about her obsession with the Vietnam war and felt that the men could fix themselves. (This viewpoint might have changed by 2022 I hope.) Also, it was sad to hear about the repercussions of the trauma on the lives of the partners of these veterans with domestic violence etc. One friend Graham who helped Ms Ward, told her that immediately post-war he’d fell ill from his traumas and went to a health farm to recover. He told her
‘Medieval knights … used to go into a monastery after being on a crusade. It was well known that war took years to recover from…A veteran has to be careful; you don’t squander your energy’. (page 17)
Ex-soldiers often didn’t identify themselves with their colleagues either at work or at play until many years later she was told. This accounts for the 95% banter and 5% real chat enjoyed by many men of this generation. They had been indoctrinated by the army not to talk about their life and that was so entrenched that they obeyed it even after leaving the services many years ago. They were also too traumatised by the experience, and fearful of what others might say, to open themselves to talking about their role.
The humble generosity of the Vietnamese was likened to First Nations generosity here in Australia. Ms Ward was the recipient of much goodwill in her many visits to their country. She found that Vietnamese responses to the way were often spiritual, not political, that is, they they cared more about who treated them best than about the politics. It shows how human beings can treat one another despite the difficulties of the times. We likened this war to the present desperate situation in the Ukraine fighting the Russians in 2022.
Many of us felt that the title was excellent. The description of how veterans feel is explained by the analogy of placing 2 then 3 chopsticks on a bowl equidistant from each other, with the Vets occupying the separate parallel space between the second and third chopstick. It is explained by Ray at their first meeting.
‘The secret is for the veteran to work out how to be here in his own stuff and at the same time, how to join in…’ (page 15)
We tried to analyse why Ms Ward is so enamoured of Vietnam and the people. Maybe it has something to do with her childhood growing up with a father who was a Communist. Maybe it was her love of the country and her ‘need’ to help in some small way after the Australian and American disastrous invasion and destruction of so much there. It reminded one reader of the amazing song by Arlo Guthrie called ‘Alice’s restaurant’.
This book, which was completed recently although written over many years, was self-published through MoshPit publishing, as the author couldn’t find a publisher, the reason being that they could not locate a satisfactory marketing strategy for it.
Present: 11 members
Minerva Reads ACT 