🦘️ I WAS ONLY NINETEEN - REDGUM

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NEIL DIAMOND CENTRAL WEBSITE - http://www.neildiamondcentral.com/
A TRIBUTE TO THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR ALL AND THEN SOME...

“19 is an anthem… [and] I think the fundamental power of the song is that it’s true. - John Schumann

"I Was Only 19" was released in March 1983 when discussion of the Vietnam War, which had so fiercely divided public opinion a decade earlier, was generally avoided in polite conversation. A generation of veterans had been left feeling isolated and with a belief they had been forgotten by their country. "I Was Only 19" provided a fresh perspective, presenting a compelling sympathetic account of an Australian soldier’s experience of the war and its aftermath. Concentrating on the toll paid by those who took part rather than debating the merits of the war itself, it became the quintessential song of the Australian Vietnam War veteran.

John Schumann ­– who was the lead singer of Redgum at the time the song was written – based the lyrics on the experiences of his brother-in-law Mick Storen, who served with 3 Platoon,
A Company, 6 Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR) in Vietnam in 1969.

The song’s alternative title, “A Walk In The Light Green”, refers to patrolling in a patch of jungle known by troops as “the light green”, due to its colour on topographical maps, indicating lightly wooded areas presenting little cover and a high likelihood of land mines. The song refers to events that occurred during Operation Mundingburra, a search and destroy operation conducted between 14 July and 18 August 1969, during which Mick Storen’s platoon patrolled in the light green to the east of the Long Hai hills.

All told, some 60,000 Australians served in Vietnam between 1962 and 1973. 521 died and over 3,000 were wounded. Controversially, 15,381 of these troops were conscripted national servicemen, of whom 202 were killed and 1,279 wounded.

The poppy, particularly the red Flanders poppy, is used for ANZAC Day as a symbol of remembrance and commemoration of those who died or suffered in wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations. Its association with ANZAC Day stems from the First World War, where poppies were among the first plants to bloom in the devastated battlefields of northern France and Belgium. The vivid red of the poppies, according to folklore, was thought to be from the blood of fallen soldiers.

Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the tactical uses of Rainbow Herbicides. It was used by the U.S. military. Exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War has been linked to various health problems in veterans, including certain cancers, heart conditions, and birth defects- https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/24689-agent-orange-effects

The U.S. government has never officially accepted responsibility for Agent Orange.

Mick Storen & John Schumann, "I Was Only Nineteen" -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqwnbA_OwzQ&t=6s

I WAS ONLY 19 (A Walk In the Light Green) - 1983
JOHN SCHUMANN (Age: 30)

Mum and Dad and Denny saw the passing out parade at Puckapunyal
It was a long march from cadets
The sixth battalion was the next to tour and it was me who drew the card
We did Canungra and Shoalwater before we left

And Townsville lined the footpaths as we marched down to the quay
This clipping from the paper shows us young and strong and clean
And there's me in me slouch hat with me SLR and greens
God help me - I was only nineteen

From Vung Tau riding Chinooks to the dust at Nui Dat
I'd been in and out of choppers now for months
And we made our tents a home, V.B. and pinups on the lockers
And an Asian orange sunset through the scrub

And can you tell me, doctor, why I still can't get to sleep?
And night time's just a jungle dark and a barking M.16?
And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
God help me - I was only nineteen
A four week operation, when each step can mean your last one on two legs
It was a war within yourself
But you wouldn't let your mates down 'til they had you dusted off
So you closed your eyes and thought about somethin' else

And then someone yelled out "Contact", and the bloke behind me swore
We hooked in there for hours, then a God almighty roar
And Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moon
God help me - he was goin' home in June

And I can still see Frankie, drinkin' tinnies in the Grand Hotel
On a thirty-six hour rec. leave in Vung Tau
And I can still hear Frankie, lying screaming in the jungle
'Til the morphine came and killed the bloody row

And the Anzac legends didn't mention mud and blood and tears
And the stories that my father told me never seemed quite real
I caught some pieces in my back that I didn't even feel
God help me, I was only 19

And can you tell me, doctor, why I still can't get to sleep?
Any why the Channel Seven chopper chills me to my feet?
And what's this rash that comes and goes; can you tell me what it means?
God help me... I was only 19