[white text on black background] Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that the following video contains images of deceased persons.
[Vietnam veteran Graham Atkinson] I was born the youngest of a family of seven siblings, in the township of Echuca, and it's right on the Murray River. The Yorta Yorta people, who are my ancestors, their name for the Murray River was Dungala.
[white text on black background] in 1967, all Australian men were required to register for national service once they turned 20.
[Graham Atkinson] The way the system worked was that not all 20 year-olds were automatically conscripted. Your name and your birth date just went into a barrel and they just randomly picked them out.
When my number come up, I had a very intense conversation with my mother about this. She was not only against the war but she was against my having to do national service training. But I took the 1967 referendum literally. A recognition by over 90% of the population that Aboriginal people were equal citizens. So I had no qualms, I saw that as an opportunity to do my duty.
[white text on black background] Graham trained as an armament fitter and was posted to Vietnam in 1969.
[Graham Atkinson] The first thing that I noticed was the searing heat. It was a bit like when you first go to Darwin, and that heat sort of takes your breath away a bit.
In my unit at the time, I think I probably was the only Indigenous recruit. We had an open air cinema and that was our sort of entertainment and they used to have some really good films they'd bring across and show us.
But if there was any film that had black people, or even Aboriginal people, all the racist and prejudice remarks would come out. “Oh, look at the big coon.” You know, and if it was an African American guy, and the word ‘nigger’, all of this stuff was flung about very freely.
You know, people knew about my identity, but there'd be a pretty raw conversation happening, about Aboriginal people, you know, drunks, lazy, all these negatives stereotypes would be bandied around. That used to piss me off.
And look, there were a few mates that would call them out. As well as I'd call people out. But I also disliked the attitude towards the local Vietnamese. They really looked down their nose at the locals. Whatever term was applied, it was always a negative that suggested that the Vietnamese were inferior in some way.
That, in a way, really reinforced my thinking about how they viewed Aboriginal people.
I saw how the war had impacted on the communities in South Vietnam. I wondered, you know, whether we were playing a positive role.
[white text on black background] Graham returned home to Echuca in August 1971.
[Graham Atkinson] When I returned, there was a period where I just didn't feel like talking about it. And people would really have to drag it out of me if they wanted to hear stories about my experience.
But I had changed. I think the experience politicised my thoughts about discrimination and racism and the treatment of the other. And it motivated me to start showing more of an interest in, you know, what other ways can be used to resolve conflict rather than going to war.
[White text on black background] Graham returned to education to complete a Bachelor of Social Work and later an MBA.
He continues to be an outspoken voice on Aboriginal land rights in Victoria.
‘End of transcript’.
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