LOCAL LIFE
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It took Bruce nearly forty years to go to the local RSL Sub Branch for support from his fellow service men and women , but he ’ s now the President . by Lorna Gordon
The involvement of Australia in the Vietnam War has long been a source of political debate in our country . From the government bringing back conscription through National Service Scheme in 1964 to the invasion of Cambodia , a neutral country with no involvement in the combat , Australian ’ s protested our country ’ s involvement and the deployment of our servicemen and women in the conflict .
The protests and anti-war sentiments of Aussies at home meant that the men who were called up to serve were met with hostility on their return , even though they had done what was asked of them as soldiers .
One of the young men who came back from serving their country to face the hostility from the public is Bruce Shaw . Bruce grew up in Kings Cross , and by his own admission didn ’ t enjoy school , but loved all kinds of sports and played rugby league , cricket , squash and enjoyed boxing .
He was called up in 1968 and went to serve his country as best he could .
“ I went in as a private at 20 years old . Our basic training was three months and we did another three months of core training , which for me was engineering , then jungle training in Queensland to help prepare us , then off to Vietnam .”
He showed me a photo that he had taken of himself in uniform so he could give it to his mother before he left .
“ I wanted her to have a good photo of me in case I didn ’ t make it back .”
When I remarked that he was very handsome in his uniform he chuckled .
“ I was quite the spunk in my younger days !” he replied and after he showed me a few more photos of himself as a young man I had to agree .
As soon as the war was over and they were allowed to return home , Bruce left the army to go back to civilian life .
“ I left the army when I came home , I wasn ’ t a career soldier . I got a job as a liquor sales rep and enjoyed doing a lot of travel with that . I was based in the eastern suburbs , and one week a month I travelled from Cornell down to Eden ; I loved getting out in the country .”
He got married and set up home in Bondi , but moved to Kings Langley forty years ago and then to Acacia Gardens and has lived in the suburb ever since .
While many returned service men and women look to the RSL for comfort and support , the way the service men were treated when they returned from Vietnam made Bruce stay away from it .
“ We were treated badly when
6 ISSUE 32 // NOVEMBER 2023 theindependentmagazine . com . au BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT