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Memories of war Vietnam veteran Stan Jaruga has waited almost 50 years to get his wings Full story, plus list of Anzac Day services, pages 32-33

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V1 - GATE01Z01MA 32 SATURDAY APRIL 23 2016 GEELONGADVERTISER.COM.AU weekend extra Flying without wings

Stan Jaruga survived the horrors of war. Almost 50 years later, the Vietnam veteran has finally received his gunner’s wings, writes DANNY LANNEN

ANZAC DAY SERVICE GUIDE

GEELONG AREA Geelong RSL, 9am: Sparks roads, concluding at Norlane Drysdale Primary, 10am: wreath-laying ceremony, 9.45am Boer War Memorial, 6.30am: Wreath-laying service, Barwon RSL. Wreath-laying service, 9.50am Service concluding with a march Portarlington RSL, 11am: Dawn and wreath-laying ceremony, Heads Rd St Mary of the Angels from outside CFA, finishing at the March to the Cenotaph, Cannon corner Kilgour St and La Trobe Terrace Johnstone Park, 4.15am: Basilica, 9am: Cenotaph, Princess St Park, followed by commemorative Pre-dawn and wreath-laying Commemorative Anzac Day mass Ocean Grove, 6.15am: and wreath-laying service Central Geelong, 11am: ceremony, Geelong Peace Memorial Dawn service at the Cenotaph, Point Lonsdale, 8.30am: From corner of Malop and Yarra Lara Cenotaph, 6am: BELLARINE PENINSULA Ocean Grove Park, The Avenue. March from shops, service at streets, along Malop St before Service held by Lara RSL, 2 Rennie St Barwon Heads, 8.45am: March and wreath-laying ceremony Cenotaph, 9am concluding in Johnstone Park. Norlane RSL, 9.30am: March along Hitchcock Ave to beginning at The Terrace, ending Queenscliff, 5.45am: Commemorative and wreath-laying March and commemorative service Barwon Heads community hall, at the Cenotaph, followed Dawn service at Ocean View car service, 11.30am beginning corner Melbourne and followed by wreath-laying ceremony by commemorative and park, Hesse St; march assembly

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PRIDE RENEWED: Stan Jaruga with his gunner’s wings for his service during the Vietnam War. Picture: GLENN FERGUSON LEFT: Private Stan Jaruga during his service in Vietnam.

HELICOPTER door gunner Stan sign up for nine years of CMF service. flew flat-chat, bringing in After his airborne assignment, Jaruga described the tense fear. After arrival in Vietnam at Nui Dat reinforcements as the first insertion Stan returned to the jungle and Night flying, one flak jacket over he spent six months on patrol had been ambushed by at least shipped out of Vietnam in early his lap, another over his torso, operations before joining the air a battalion of Viet Cong. May, 1968, aboard HMAS Sydney. wearing a helmet wired to his pilot, gunner “Slicks” at the US military “We had to fly through the Unlike many returning from with no safety harness to anchor him Danny base Blackhorse. incoming artillery fire. service in Vietnam, he disembarked and brandishing his M60 machine “When Robbie and I arrived at “Flying at night-time the red and to a welcome, including a march in gun, there he would be at the open LANNEN Blackhorse, the Tet offensive had green tracers and the explosions are Brisbane, and then returned to door of the Iroquois scanning the started, so the whips were cracking. spectacular but knowing that there is Chilwell and “said g’day to the folks”. Vietnamese jungle. [email protected] “We did mostly combat assaults death below takes the shine off it.” In following years he worked Below and around him the tracers with the 9th US divisions in the Stan said there was one time all he at a few jobs, including smelters from bullets fired by the Viet Cong his sense of pride renewed 48 years Mekong Delta.” could muster was to close his eyes in Geelong and beyond, and glowed in green curtains and those on, and having finally and formally He described helicopter gunships and shoot, and some other missions measured impacts of post-traumatic of the US forces glowed red. received his gunner’s wings. leading the way on missions. ached more than most, picking up stress disorder. “Stomach in a knot, sweating,” Along with B Company mates “Then us Slicks would go in and if US soldiers killed in action. “About a year after I got back Stan said. “Looking furtively left to Carmichael, Bill Werne and Bob it’s a hot LZ — landing zone — we’d “We took their bodies to Bien Hoa I just felt sort of empty,” Stan said. right, thinking, ‘Jesus Christ, this isn’t Devers, he was feted by Royal shoot at tree lines and where grave registration, Long Binh,” he “I didn’t know what to say to happening is it?’ But it was.” Australian Navy chiefs during a scattered brush was,” he said. said. anyone so I didn’t say anything.” That was Private Stan Jaruga’s ceremony at HMAS Cerberus. “Just about as we were ready to “And then we’d head back out He joined the Vietnam veterans’ brief for 80.9 hours during a “He displayed a high order of air flare — land gently — we’d all stop to Blackhorse and get the buckets “magnificent, unbelievable” secondment flying US Army 135th discipline and acted in accordance firing and the Yanks would get off, of water to sluice off all of the blood Welcome Home parade in Sydney in Assault Helicopter Company with the best traditions of military and we’d fly off and go and get and fluids ...” 1987, and has welcomed this year’s missions over hostile territory service,” his citation said. some more.” After having recalled the grim salute allowing Vietnam veterans during the war in Vietnam. “By his professionalism and Peril packed the three short, long task this week, Stan paused to collect to lead Anzac Day marches across Already in combat on the ground devotion to duty he has brought great weeks of his deployment. his composure. the country in acknowledgment with the 2 Royal Australian credit upon himself, and the “Both day and night we regularly He loved being a soldier, and of the 50th anniversary of the Battle Regiment, Stan, mate Robbie Australian Army.” came under enemy fire,” he said. particularly the training, but despised of Long Tan. Carmichael and seven others jumped Stan grew up in Barwon Heads “Rob and my ‘cherries’ were elements of the Vietnam Stan denied having been at the opportunity when the chiefs and Chilwell, the son of Polish busted on February 8, 1968, when environment. particularly brave in service. called for volunteers in January 1968. migrants John and Lena. taking 9 Division troops into an LZ “I hated the heat, the monsoons, “Don’t make it out I was It meant three weeks off jungle His father knew epic war in the Delta. the snakes, the spiders, the scorpions, something special,” he said. bashing, but flying combat and supply experience of his own. A machine “We flew into a shitstorm of the foot-long centipedes, the noisy “Just one of the boys.” sorties was a far different game. gunner taken prisoner during incoming. The lead chopper was hit monkeys,” he said. But he recalled a conversation “It’s just different being in a big German invasion of his country he and crashed, killing all four crews. “We never had dry clothes.” with his mate Robbie Carmichael target,” Stan said. “On the ground escaped in the depths of a European “Rob later found that his chopper Though being a Slick brought elite when he asked whether they should you always had a tree or something winter and tramped 600km through took numerous AK-47 hits, including measure to his service, it also tell their mates about their to hide behind.” snow back to his family home. one to his M60. profoundly affected the way he experiences. He survived where others did not. Stan was called up from Geelong’s “Another 9th Division mission saw the war and its battles. Robbie thought not. Now 70 and living in Bell Park, citizens’ military force, opting for involved an emergency night “What it brought home to us was “He said, ‘Because they’ll never Stan is approaching Anzac Day with drafting rather than obligation to insertion. We loaded the troops and the waste of lives,” he said. believe us’,” Stan said.

at post office, 10.15am; Fort march from corner of Moore St Winchelsea, 10am: March to monument for wreath- Rokewood, 6am: Queenscliff service, 11am and Great Ocean Road, 10.30am Service at Eastern Reserve laying, service and Anzac address, Dawn service in Corindhap, followed Lorne, 7am: followed by morning tea at public by campfire breakfast SURF COAST Dawn service, Epitaph Reserve; GOLDEN PLAINS hall. Memorial service at Inverleigh Shelford monument, 7.45am: Anglesea, 9am: morning service at senior Bannockburn Shire Hall, 6am: sports ground at 12.15pm before Service and wreath-laying March from corner of Noble St and citizens centre, Mountjoy Dawn service, followed by breakfast football-netball matches between ceremony, followed by breakfast Great Ocean Road, followed by Parade, 11am; Anzac Day at Presbyterian church hall Inverleigh and Bannockburn at Shelford memorial hall service at RSL, Murray St march, noon Haddon Avenue of Honour, 11am: Meredith Memorial Hall, 9.45am: Smythdale bus shelter, 9am: Apollo Bay, 5.45am: Torquay, 5.45am: Service, followed tea and biscuits Assemble for 10am march and Dedication service Dawn service at war memorial, Point Danger dawn service, followed at Haddon community house service, with wreath-laying followed Teesdale monument, 7am: followed by gunfire breakfast, by gunfire breakfast Inverleigh RSL, 9.15am: by morning tea Service and wreath-laying

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