What do you think?
Rate this book
Well Done, Those Men: Memoirs of a Vietnam Veteran
Examining the effects of the Vietnam War on both the author and an entire generation of Australian war veterans, this autobiography tells the story of life before, during, and after Vietnam. From inadequate basic training to the horrors of the war itself, as well as the guilt, anxiety, and alienation felt upon returning home, the account documents the psychology, trauma, and ultimate redemption of one veteran of a lost war.
304 pages, Paperback
First published September 28, 2005
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
November 3, 2020
This book is an incredible first-hand account of life as a Vietnam veteran. It was very informative, containing a view that we weren't shown in history class. I constantly found myself wondering how I would have fared in the author's shoes as a young male conscript being sent to basic training and then Vietnam. As much as there is a focus on his deployment, the novel also explores the origin and symptoms of the PTSD he experienced years later in harrowing detail. The writing style is humorous at times and altogether respectable for an author who failed Year 12 English twice. Overall, I believe this book should be read by all Australians, especially young men.
July 21, 2011
Should be read by all students, & all those people who remember the Vietnam war. A must read.
April 24, 2022
I had to be persuaded to read a book about a Vietnam war veteran. I reckon, from a distant memory, that it should be rated about 9.5/10. It was excellent. It covered the life of a bloke who ended up being sent to fight in the war - before and after.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 22, 2012
This is an intensely moving account of the horrors of war and the author's eventual acceptance of the profound effect his experiences have had on himself and on others. Written primarily as a way of understanding his feelings and the long-term effects on his personality, Barry exposes the reader to the Vietnam conflict, and confronts us with the results of war for those directly and indirectly involved.
September 2, 2012
This is a wonderful book! I never knew what terrible things our Vietnam Vets went through whilst fighting in the jungles of Vietnam. Barry Heard gives a deeply personal account of his life before Vietnam, during his time there and afterwards. It is a book that is humorous in parts and most of all profoundly moving. A real learning curve for me.
July 29, 2012
A very valuable story that explains the journey of an Aussie soldier during Vietnam - and most importantly what happened at home. I feel I learnt so much. Thanks Barry
December 29, 2019
Absolutely brilliant book. As a former soldier, I could well relate to many of the stories in the book. I have also known many Vietnam veterans and the descriptions the Barry Heard gives of their feelings and characters are so true.
Australia was pulled out of Vietnam in December 1972, three months after I joined the Army. Given the stories in this book, I am so glad that I escaped such deprivation and mind numbing experiences.
Australia was pulled out of Vietnam in December 1972, three months after I joined the Army. Given the stories in this book, I am so glad that I escaped such deprivation and mind numbing experiences.
November 15, 2017
I listened to the Audio book and couldn't stop. Written by an amazing man that has been to hell and back. The book doesn't focus a lot on the war, but rather the effect it had on him and the population and what Barry Heard endured when he tried to return to civilisation. Thoroughly recommend this book. My husband also enjoyed it and hes not a reader. You'll need tissues.
December 5, 2017
For a book written by a PTSD riddle war survivor about their journey, this is a great first insight in what it was like for those that served when they first returned home to the battles with PTSD and a system that struggles to acknowledge the damage done by sending men to war and not providing appropriate care upon their return.
September 12, 2024
Well written and from the heart
As an Aussie veteran of a later conflict, I could relate to some if nit all of what Barry has written. Well Done That Man for having the courage to write down what he went through and probably is still going through to this day. Good on ya Baz.
I could not put this book down!
As an Aussie veteran of a later conflict, I could relate to some if nit all of what Barry has written. Well Done That Man for having the courage to write down what he went through and probably is still going through to this day. Good on ya Baz.
I could not put this book down!
January 23, 2018
It was a very interesting novel which I hadn’t heard about until meeting the author but the book is a must read for all students or really anyone I definitely recommend.
January 28, 2018
Brilliant
May 7, 2016
I found this a very affecting book.
It tells the first-hand story of a Vietnam Vet, from his conscription into the army, through his training, his time in Vietnam, his return to Australia and finally his break-down and recovery (of sorts).
It is a heart breaking story, partly because of the futility of the war, partly because of the way Vietnam vets were treated by society and partly due to the lack of assistance given to the returning soldiers.
Heard describes the mateship that developed amongst the men in a platoon and the way they interact with each other; relying on each others presence but only ever expressing any real emotion while drunk; the army supplied endless amounts of beer, which the servicemen used to make themselves numb.
He also talks of how on their return to Australia many men were only comfortable in each others company, as they understood each other without the need for words. Anger seemed to be the only emotion easily vented.
On their return to Australia, according to Heard and his platoon buddies, men either became workaholics or alcoholics – Heard was the former. He suffered hair loss, stomach cramps, flashbacks and black dreams for years and every anniversary of an ill-fated mission (in which his company suffered death and serious injury) he had a mini-break down – his behaviour became erratic, he had panic attacks and chest pains – all the while denying anything was wrong. He eventually had a complete break-down (25 years after the events), didn’t leave the house for 6 months or the boundaries of his property for 12 months, suffered bowel incontinence, cried daily, had the shakes, couldn’t stand company, had to take several medications – an army buddy didn’t cry when his own father died but cried when he saw the shell of a person Barry had become. He ended up in a psychiatric hospital and with other vets was able to make enough of a recovery to return to some semblance of a normal life; some of the descriptions of how the vets behaved would be really funny, if they weren’t so sad.
He was consumed by guilt for those who had died and been injured, he was distraught at what he saw as his terror, his inability to cope & his failure, as were others in his company. Heard describes a current solider in the hospital as a “sad old young man petrified of the world out there, ashamed at his passive role in witnessing appalling carnage” (he was a young husband and father, who had witnessed dozens of babies being slaughtered) – who could cope with that?
Most of the men were 21 at the time and not emotionally prepared for what happened to them – who would be? So many lives destroyed; some in the emotional aftermath and some through suicide or alcoholism; it is confronting to read but worthwhile, in part because it reminded me how lucky my generation is.
The last few chapters of the book had me in tears, the emotion is restrained through the writing but the way in which events and relationships are described makes the emotional content clear. He talks of the most significant noise in their lives being the “thumpa, thumpa, thumpa” of the Huey helicopter, a positive noise for them as it was these that took the wounded to be treated, took the men from the jungle, as well as supplying firearms support. Prior to reading this I wouldn’t have intuitively understood that the noise would be a positive one and would probably have guessed it to be the opposite, as it would be a reminder of the terrors. But having read the account, I understand why it is what it is to them.
Significantly, even though Heard has written this very honest & open account (he says he has found a link between his heart and his pen), he still hasn’t spoken about the events; (other than in therapy – when talking left with him with a hollow feeling, which was a gift, as it indicated the absence of pain – and his first non-drug induced sleep in decades), or said the names of those who were killed in action (he didn’t even use their real names in the book), as it is just too painful and is not something he can contemplate doing. Apparently many vets are the same and have handed the book to relatives saying read this, it is my story too.
Favourite line – “I realised now that being there was the only experience that tells the truth”
It tells the first-hand story of a Vietnam Vet, from his conscription into the army, through his training, his time in Vietnam, his return to Australia and finally his break-down and recovery (of sorts).
It is a heart breaking story, partly because of the futility of the war, partly because of the way Vietnam vets were treated by society and partly due to the lack of assistance given to the returning soldiers.
Heard describes the mateship that developed amongst the men in a platoon and the way they interact with each other; relying on each others presence but only ever expressing any real emotion while drunk; the army supplied endless amounts of beer, which the servicemen used to make themselves numb.
He also talks of how on their return to Australia many men were only comfortable in each others company, as they understood each other without the need for words. Anger seemed to be the only emotion easily vented.
On their return to Australia, according to Heard and his platoon buddies, men either became workaholics or alcoholics – Heard was the former. He suffered hair loss, stomach cramps, flashbacks and black dreams for years and every anniversary of an ill-fated mission (in which his company suffered death and serious injury) he had a mini-break down – his behaviour became erratic, he had panic attacks and chest pains – all the while denying anything was wrong. He eventually had a complete break-down (25 years after the events), didn’t leave the house for 6 months or the boundaries of his property for 12 months, suffered bowel incontinence, cried daily, had the shakes, couldn’t stand company, had to take several medications – an army buddy didn’t cry when his own father died but cried when he saw the shell of a person Barry had become. He ended up in a psychiatric hospital and with other vets was able to make enough of a recovery to return to some semblance of a normal life; some of the descriptions of how the vets behaved would be really funny, if they weren’t so sad.
He was consumed by guilt for those who had died and been injured, he was distraught at what he saw as his terror, his inability to cope & his failure, as were others in his company. Heard describes a current solider in the hospital as a “sad old young man petrified of the world out there, ashamed at his passive role in witnessing appalling carnage” (he was a young husband and father, who had witnessed dozens of babies being slaughtered) – who could cope with that?
Most of the men were 21 at the time and not emotionally prepared for what happened to them – who would be? So many lives destroyed; some in the emotional aftermath and some through suicide or alcoholism; it is confronting to read but worthwhile, in part because it reminded me how lucky my generation is.
The last few chapters of the book had me in tears, the emotion is restrained through the writing but the way in which events and relationships are described makes the emotional content clear. He talks of the most significant noise in their lives being the “thumpa, thumpa, thumpa” of the Huey helicopter, a positive noise for them as it was these that took the wounded to be treated, took the men from the jungle, as well as supplying firearms support. Prior to reading this I wouldn’t have intuitively understood that the noise would be a positive one and would probably have guessed it to be the opposite, as it would be a reminder of the terrors. But having read the account, I understand why it is what it is to them.
Significantly, even though Heard has written this very honest & open account (he says he has found a link between his heart and his pen), he still hasn’t spoken about the events; (other than in therapy – when talking left with him with a hollow feeling, which was a gift, as it indicated the absence of pain – and his first non-drug induced sleep in decades), or said the names of those who were killed in action (he didn’t even use their real names in the book), as it is just too painful and is not something he can contemplate doing. Apparently many vets are the same and have handed the book to relatives saying read this, it is my story too.
Favourite line – “I realised now that being there was the only experience that tells the truth”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2014
As a Vietnam veteran, this book gave expression to a lot of the confusion and pain that was kind of swirling away right down inside. In some ways it really focussed my attention, not only on what was happening to me but what was happeneing to other vets I had seen in hospitals over a period of many years, coping with the same problems. It shook me into realising that in a very real sense I was beyond the help of those who were trying to helpme and often the places I ended up in just helped cement the difficulties into place.I needed to take responsibility for my physical, mental and spiritual condition now, not for the idiocies of our political masters 40 years ago. Enough!
My own journey has taken me into Buddhist thinking and practice, I can honestly say that this path has done for me what no psychiatrist, no pill, no counselor was ever able to do. It has begun to unravel that locked in sense of myself as "my story" which of course included all the evnts I participated in while serving as a soldier in Vietnam in 1970-71 and in Cambodia and Laos in 1972. It isn't personal any longer, it is just a series of events that happened.
While I still have nightmares they lack the terrible intensity they once had. They are no longer capable of crippling me for days and exhausting my very limited supply of compassion for myself and others as they used to.
There is a way out of the nightmare, this path has been my guide and I say to any veteran who still suffer, what the Buddha said to us all "Come and see, for yourself.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
I have just finished this book for the second time. I first read it in 2007 when the current part of my journey had just begun. The review I wrote then is above. I was as touched by this account this time as I was the last. The difference is that the wounds are no longer so raw. My practice continues as does the unraveling of the pain. If this account is one man's it also belongs to all who served there in one way or another. The Vietnam experience still reaches into the present in the lives of those who served and in a much wider circle. There are the families, wives and children, parents, siblings and lovers, they all carry their own version of the wounds. They too are part of that section of a generation that was psychologically crippled by the deceit, the futility and the barbarity of that war. Though they live as evidence of what evil ego driven, self righteous politicians can wreak, nothing has been learned. Vietnam veterans everywhere, must weep as I do when I see the same idiocy being perpetrated today and the same blithe political faces rallying the masses around the flag with the fable of Anzac in ways that neither we nor our forefathers would willingly countenance. To top it off they quietly strip those who serve today of the support that has saved so many of our generation, if there is everlasting shame it has a permanent home hanging over Parliament House in Canberra
My own journey has taken me into Buddhist thinking and practice, I can honestly say that this path has done for me what no psychiatrist, no pill, no counselor was ever able to do. It has begun to unravel that locked in sense of myself as "my story" which of course included all the evnts I participated in while serving as a soldier in Vietnam in 1970-71 and in Cambodia and Laos in 1972. It isn't personal any longer, it is just a series of events that happened.
While I still have nightmares they lack the terrible intensity they once had. They are no longer capable of crippling me for days and exhausting my very limited supply of compassion for myself and others as they used to.
There is a way out of the nightmare, this path has been my guide and I say to any veteran who still suffer, what the Buddha said to us all "Come and see, for yourself.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
I have just finished this book for the second time. I first read it in 2007 when the current part of my journey had just begun. The review I wrote then is above. I was as touched by this account this time as I was the last. The difference is that the wounds are no longer so raw. My practice continues as does the unraveling of the pain. If this account is one man's it also belongs to all who served there in one way or another. The Vietnam experience still reaches into the present in the lives of those who served and in a much wider circle. There are the families, wives and children, parents, siblings and lovers, they all carry their own version of the wounds. They too are part of that section of a generation that was psychologically crippled by the deceit, the futility and the barbarity of that war. Though they live as evidence of what evil ego driven, self righteous politicians can wreak, nothing has been learned. Vietnam veterans everywhere, must weep as I do when I see the same idiocy being perpetrated today and the same blithe political faces rallying the masses around the flag with the fable of Anzac in ways that neither we nor our forefathers would willingly countenance. To top it off they quietly strip those who serve today of the support that has saved so many of our generation, if there is everlasting shame it has a permanent home hanging over Parliament House in Canberra
June 6, 2014
A very well written and moving book that highlights the mental battles faced by Vietnam Veterans both during the war and most importantly, after the war when they were treated like criminals and lepers by our politicions and protesters alike. Being the son of a veteran i have heard many "war stories" told to me by my dad, but they were never with the raw emotion described in this novel. It made me instantly love my Dad even more and appreciate the horrors all of our men and women experience during war times. The protesters who took their political and anti-war ideology out on soldiers should be ashamed of themselves - stick to protesting against the politicions that send our people to war, not the soldiers who are forced to go. The author recounts how the only thing keeping him and his mates sane were letters from home only to have that taken away from them when dock workers stopped the letters from getting accross to our boys in protest again the war. For anyone that is the son or daughter of a Vietnam Veteran - I cant stress how important it is for you to read this book, it will shine a light on your Father and might help you to understand the way he has acted and behaved the way he has ever since he came back
January 28, 2025
Well done Barry Heard.
Well done for having the courage to put pen to paper, well done for writing with a level of honesty not always seen in autobiographies and well done for making the decision to turn the writing into a book.
Well Done These Men is the story of Barry Heards life. It starts with a quick fire analysis of the first twenty years of his life as he recounts the simply joys of being a farm hand, living out in country Victoria and enjoying a simple life.
The story takes a dramatic turn when his number was drawn out of the barrel and he was on his way to Vietnam.
The fact that Heard only started writing as a way of letting go of his thoughts, and had no previous publishing experience makes the book what it is.
It describes the horrors of war better than anything I have read and I am not even talking about the chapters set in Vietnam. It is what happens after his return that really reflects how nasty war can be. I have never quite understood what a nervous breakdown looked like until I read this book.
Well done for having the courage to put pen to paper, well done for writing with a level of honesty not always seen in autobiographies and well done for making the decision to turn the writing into a book.
Well Done These Men is the story of Barry Heards life. It starts with a quick fire analysis of the first twenty years of his life as he recounts the simply joys of being a farm hand, living out in country Victoria and enjoying a simple life.
The story takes a dramatic turn when his number was drawn out of the barrel and he was on his way to Vietnam.
The fact that Heard only started writing as a way of letting go of his thoughts, and had no previous publishing experience makes the book what it is.
It describes the horrors of war better than anything I have read and I am not even talking about the chapters set in Vietnam. It is what happens after his return that really reflects how nasty war can be. I have never quite understood what a nervous breakdown looked like until I read this book.
April 10, 2016
It's tough to write a review about something like veterans returning from Vietnam, because it's just a rather tough subject to handle, especially if you are one of said veterans. Barry Heard was diagnosed with PTSD after serving Australia in the Vietnam war, and as part of his recovery he felt that if he could write about his past, then he might be able to get over more of his PTSD. Throughout these 280 or so pages you'll see three different versions of Barry. There is the naive and young Barry of teenage years and boot camp, the soldier Barry of Vietnam, and the war torn Barry of afterwards. It's a tough read at times, and other times it's a bit awkward the way he writes, but you get over it because you can feel his pain through the words, and you just wish that there weren't people all around the world who feel the same way he did, but at least by reading this you get an understanding of what it feels like to not be comfortable in the place that used to be your home.
March 5, 2011
Barry Heard tells his own story about being a conscript in the Vietnam War. In doing so, and without intending to be a spokesman, he powerfully sketches the experiences of so many Vietnam veterans whose return to civilian life was plagued by the ghosts of bloody, indeed pointless combat. Written as a catharsis in the wake of being diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Heard makes the unspeakable speakable as he recounts and reflects upon his tour of duty and the years of malaise that followed. That he manages to do so without sentimentality and with a good dose of Australian humour is a credit to his writing skills. This book will entertain you, but it will also touch your soul.
May 11, 2010
An important memoir of an Australian's experience in Vietnam. It felt truthful. The early part of the book covers induction into the army, the breaking down of individuality to create a unit. I wonder whether they can still treat people like that in the Australian army these days?
The guilt of survivors of conflicts when others were killed in expressed very clearly, and the breakdown and process of recovery from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is well expressed.
The guilt of survivors of conflicts when others were killed in expressed very clearly, and the breakdown and process of recovery from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is well expressed.
February 27, 2016
This is a memoir of an Australian soldier who served during the Vietnam war. I had never read a first-person account of this conflict, and found this to be very educational. I didn't know the extent of negative feeling the Australian public had towards the returned soldiers - who didn't even have a choice in the matter! Such a heartbreaking story.
May 3, 2014
One of the best books I have ever read on the topic of PTSD & Vietnam, this memoir is story of an ordinary man who went to war and did what he was told. Heard's story isn't an unusual one but his honesty is. Hopefully a valuable resource for sufferers of PTSD both from his generation & our Iraq & Afghanistan servicemen & women.
April 17, 2012
A must read for anyone who wants to understand the experience of going to Vietnam and coming back again to a society that did not understand or welcome those who had been sent. Sometimes funny, sometimes harrowing, always thought-provoking, even for those who are not Aussies.
June 9, 2013
Everyone should read this book. The every day Aussie really has no idea of the effect Vietnam had on our soldiers or the aftermath. Perhaps we should not be so quick to follow America into every conflict and train our politicians to keep their noses out of it. So much wasted life!
May 22, 2014
Well Done, Barry Heard! Because of the brave effort of documenting something so intensely private you may have helped many soldiers to consider normal what you and other Vietnam vets thought was abnormal or something lacking in themselves and thus leading you and them to the psych ward or suicide.
July 13, 2008
Absolutely stunning book. Best read in a long time. Should be stocked in every Australian library.
July 20, 2011
Such a powerful book.
January 27, 2012
Fantastic book
February 17, 2013
Well done, Barry Heard!
April 23, 2013
A very personal account of Australia's role in Vietnam and the effect of conscription on those not ready for war. Very moving.
May 16, 2014
I listened to the audio narrated by the author himself, and found it hard to press pause; so moving and honest.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews