Kyle Ivory I Was Only Nineteen 23/03/2010

10R [Final Copy] Mr Norrish

The song I Was Only Nineteen was first released in March 1983 by
the artists Redgum, the album hit number one in Australia and was
in the top forty for four months. The reason the song was so
popular among Australians was that it showed the true side of the
Vietnam War.

The song was written by John Schumann who is the lead vocalist,
he wrote it about his brother-in-law’s (Mick Storen) experience in the Vietnam War and
Frankie Hunt or “Frankie”, who was one of Micks mates

“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, Shoalwater before we left.”

This paragraph is to show that the author of the song was young. By him saying mum and
dad and Denny (who is presumably his brother) this showed that he was still young. It was a
long march from cadets. Means to show that he had only just came out of the “army cadets”
and wasn’t that well trained for armed conflict such as the Vietnam War. The sixth battalion
or Sixth Royal Australian Regiment was going to Vietnam and he being a part of it had to go
along. The next line explains when he went to Canungra, Shoalwater in Queensland for 6
months training at each before he 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 my slouch hat with my SLR and greens.

God help me, I was only nineteen.”

Townsville is a city in Queensland, by saying Townsville lined the footpaths he is talking

about all the people that came to watch them parade before leaving to go to Vietnam.
Obviously being a big event it was in the paper and Mick Storen is looking back at the article.
In the photo he is wearing a slouch hat. This is the standard military head dress whilst
parading the SLR is a self-loading- rifle which was used by Australia in the Vietnam War.
Greens refer to the uniform that the Australians wore in Vietnam, they were called greens
because of their distinct green colour and they were used to blend in before the DPCU

1
Kyle Ivory I Was Only Nineteen 23/03/2010
10R [Final Copy] Mr Norrish

uniform came out in the late 1970’s. The next line God help me, I was only nineteen is the
main factor of the song that he was nineteen and saw things that a nineteen year old should
not have seen at that age and that he was young and stupid and does not know what he knows
today.

“From Vung Tau, riding Chinooks, to the dust at Nui Dat

I'd been in and out of choppers now for months.

But we made our tents a home, VB and pinups on the lockers

And an Asian orange sunset through the scrub.”

Vung Tau and Nui Dat are cities in Vietnam and a Chinook is a military helicopter used for
transport of troops and supplies. The author is trying to display his message that he has been
moving around a lot but hasn’t done much. The soldiers have come to Vietnam and are trying
to adapt to the new climate by making it like home with posters and VB (Victorian Bitter)
Beer. The sun is no different but hypothetically it feels different for them, so they call it an
Asian sunset.

“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 M16?

And what's this rash that comes and goes; can you tell me what it means?

God help me, I was only nineteen.”

This is the chorus of the song. It is put as if Mick Storen is asking a doctor why he can’t go to
sleep, this is probably a Post Traumatic Stress related issue over what he saw and experienced
in Vietnam and that he has repouring dreams of when he was in Vietnam and that’s why he
can still here the M16’s (an assault rifle) whilst he is asleep. The only explanation of the rash
is a disease that he picked up whilst in service such as the effects of Agent Orange, an
herbicide used by the U.S. or any bacteria that is prone to growing in tropical areas. It states
again that he was only nineteen and should not have gone through all the trauma of it.

“A four week operation when each step could 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 close your eyes and thought about something else.”

They were out in the bush for four weeks in a hostile area known for having mines scattered
everywhere and if you triggered one you would have your leg blown off. The fact that you

2
Kyle Ivory I Was Only Nineteen 23/03/2010
10R [Final Copy] Mr Norrish

know that people get gruesomely killed by mines, the enemy and nature, and that you may
have seen it happen to your friends and/or comrades, would put major physiological stress on
an individual. The only thing that kept you going was trying to look good in front of your
friends. The only way through it all was to close your eyes and pray and pretend none of it is
happening.

“Then someone yelled out "Contact!" and the bloke behind me swore

We hooked in there for hours, then a God almighty roar

Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moon,

God help me, he was going home in June.”

When ‘Contact’ is yelled it means that someone from your section has seen an enemy and
you have to go to ground. My interpretation of “and the bloke behind me swore” is that there
was a Vietnam solider creeping up behind Mick Storen and he could have been killed if his
comrade had not spotted him. It was the 21st of July1969 and “Frankie” triggered a landmine.
This day coincided with Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon. Mick Storen found it
saddening that “Frankie” was nearing the end of his career and would be home the next
month.

“I can still see Frankie, drinking 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.”

Mick Storen reflects on how he can still remember drinking beer at the local pub with his
mate who is now screaming in the jungle. Morphine is a clinical medicine regarded as the
gold standard of pain relief and suffering, it acts directly on the Central Nervous System, it
has a high rate for addiction, and the main side affect of morphine is an increased heart rate.
If in too much stress or having massive internal or external injuries the effects of morphine
lead to death by heart attack, blood clot, blood loss or stroke.

“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 nineteen.”

3
Kyle Ivory I Was Only Nineteen 23/03/2010
10R [Final Copy] Mr Norrish

The legends of the Anzacs were created to lift morale and to promote them back at home but
it was always a story about some high class solider doing heroic, patriotic work. Never about
the pain and suffering around him and all the inhumane things that the “heroic” solider has
done. Mick had been told of the many tales of WW2 by his father and how bad they were but
Mick never believed them until he saw them with his own eyes

Pre- War, in 1961 the Australian armed forces had been scaled down from 57, 243 at the time
of the Korean War (1950) to 46, 774. During the period between 1962 and 1968 Australia's
main contributions to the Vietnam War were alongside America, they fought as an Anti-
communism group to prevent communism spreading out to Europe and Asia. In 1962
Australia sent its first task force of 30 military advisers to South Vietnam and requested
assistance
from the
South
Vietnamese
president,
Ngo Dinh
Diem. Over
time the
numbers of
Australians
in Vietnam
increased
and by
1964 there
were 100
advisers.
Prime
Minister
Robert
Menzies
reintroduced
the
conscription.
This put
Australia’s commitment in the War a much more important one. Conscripts were chosen in
1965 and were sent on training courses for a year before they left as a battalion (roughly 1000
men) in 1966.

The media was heavily against conscript fighting because, unlike the other Wars before it,
there was television coverage in Vietnam so the people back home got to see what they were
going through and the true side of the War as a violent a bloody battle with the enemy, nature

4
Kyle Ivory I Was Only Nineteen 23/03/2010
10R [Final Copy] Mr Norrish

and yourself, not as some romantic act of bravery like it was portrayed in WW2. So as a
result of this in late 1970 Australia slowed down it’s military effort in Vietnam and by 1971
troops were being pulled out.

The song I Was Only Nineteen was released and is believed to be only one of many songs
written about War and the experiences at that time. Many protests had occurred around the
time that John Schumann wrote the song. The song’s popularity led to many knowing the
effects of the Vietnam War, and the Vietnam veterans played the song when they were
together. Being a national hit the song lasted a long time and was sung by several different
artists with added lyrics or changed beat to it. I Was Only Nineteen remained on the top of the
charts for most of the 1980’s.

The Vietnam War helped the Australian people and government understand what the effects
of War had on a country and it is better to avoid War where possible. It made the government
understand that the people will always be strongly against conscription and there will be a lot
of rioting had the rule been brought back in to stay. The involvement in the Vietnam War by
both the Australian soldiers and public was a reminder of the long term and short term effects
of War, politically. The War caused a lot of conflict between the society and the government.
This caused many irrational government decisions and led to Robert Menzies being voted out
and Gough Whitlam being elected in 1972.

One of the important bonds formed with Australia, was that of the America. With the threat
of communism growing and the “domino theory” causing fear among many Australians.
Australia felt the need of a powerful ally. Joining the War was also part of the ANZUS
(Australian New Zealand United States) pact, and was one of the main countries to respond in
America’s call for help in irradiating communism.

In World War 2, the

British frowned on
Australia’s decision
to help Indonesia
become an
independent country.
It may be due to the
Fall of Singapore that
Australia chose to
look to USA rather
than the UK for help.
Australia’s
participation in
helping Americans in
the Vietnam War was
seen as “payback” for their help in World War 2 by the Australian society.

5
Kyle Ivory I Was Only Nineteen 23/03/2010
10R [Final Copy] Mr Norrish

There were great amounts of social activity in Australia during the Vietnam War. Australia
was mostly for the Vietnam War up until 1969. The years after resulted in many protest
groups gathering across Australia. Conscription became a big issue from the public’s point of
view, because at the point it did not seem that there was any chance of Australia winning the
war. Many of the protests ended up violent. The Save Our Sons group had become
increasingly powerful. Many members were arrested for protesting and handing out anti-
conscription pamphlets on government property. The anger of the protesters was taken out on
US president Lyndon Johnson, including several protesters paint bombing his car. The NSW
Premier received a large amount of media coverage after protestors lay in front of his car, and
after being asked by the driver what to do, he reportedly said “Run over the bastards.”

After Australia put in a big effort in the first half of the war the dramatic turnaround caused
politics to be favoured for what they offered. The election was between Robert Menzies and
Gough Whitlam. Robert Menzies was the one who brought out conscription and was the one
who said that we should start the war. Gough Whitlam was promising to bring the troops
home and to end conscription. Gough Whitlam won the election in 1972.

Australia’s economy was not doing well in the late it had the same unemployment rate as we
do now in the economic crisis of 3.2%. One of the main concerns to Australia was Brittan’s
application to join the European Economic Community, because it would have effected
Australia’s trade agreements.

The writer’s objective in the lyrics was to help us recognise how young and unfamiliar many
of the soldiers were with the War. Many of them were fighting emotional battles within
themselves. The song does not have one clear message but the main objective of it was to
make the listener understand and feel sorry for the soldier’s and conscripts and what they had
to go through. The way it is written points out that the soldiers had no idea about the long
term effects and this song was a warning to all future soldiers of what they are going to face.

The song I Was Only Nineteen changed many opinions of the Vietnam War.