WITHIN a year of joining the Royal Australian Navy, Jim Quick found himself on a troop ship transporting Australian infantry to Vietnam. 

Quick served aboard HMAS Sydney when it delivered the first troops and supplies to Vung Tau in 1965.

“We got the troops off the ship and we got out of there,” said Quick.

“It was dangerous. The Viet Cong had divers that were prone to sticking mines on ships trying to blow us up and sink us, so you didn’t hang around.”

Now a resident of the retirement village Greenway Views, Quick has used the extended lockdown to help create a veterans’ memorial in remembrance of those who have served, and died, in war.

Designed by Quick and other veterans, the memorial – located at the front of the retirement village – has some special features: a sandstone wall, and a granite stone that’s embedded with the emblems of the three military services Navy, Army and Air Force.

Park benches sit either side of the memorial, which is bordered by red roses. An Australian flag flies, and at night the memorial lights up, Quick said. There are also plans for a Lone Pine to be planted.

“One of the veterans who was impressed with the memorial has sourced a Lone Pine for us, which will be growing long after we are gone,” said Quick.

“That’s the point of the memorial, it’s been made to last and will always be here.”

Quick said the idea to build a veterans’ memorial came after the retirement village hosted a small Anzac Day service last year.

“Paul Browne [head of the development company LDK] came down from Queensland for our Anzac Day service and afterwards he said he wanted something built for the veterans to hold their services,” said Quick.

“We’ve got quite a few veterans here, about 25 of us, going back to the Korean War.”

Quick – who was tasked with managing the project – said the memorial was funded by Greenway Views, and had quickly become a place of reflection.

“We wanted it to be more than just for veterans, we wanted it to be a serene area for anyone from the village to sit, contemplate and remember people who have passed,” said Quick.

“We are finding that particularly ladies who have lost their husbands, and their husbands may not have been servicemen, sit there to reflect. It’s a really lovely place.”

Originally from Colac in Victoria, Quick joined the Navy in 1964 when he was 16. Now a 74-year-old, Quick is looking back on his experience as a 17-year-old naval seaman on board HMAS Sydney. 

Dubbed the “Vung Tau Ferry”, HMAS Sydney – a converted aircraft carrier – made 25 voyages to Vietnam between 1965 and 1972.

Quick said troops heading to Vietnam would keep themselves busy aboard the ship practising shooting and staying fit.

“I was part of the cruise that took the first Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR) to Vietnam in 1965,” said Quick.

“We were going about our business operating the ship, but the soldiers were there as passengers, so we had to keep them occupied.

“They did a lot of physical exercise to keep themselves in shape. We would fill balloons with water and drop them off the stern of the ship for the troops to fire at as practice.”

Although he served in the Navy, Quick remembers the less than warm welcome home that those serving in Vietnam received at the conclusion of their tour of duty.

“The army guys did cop it,” Quick said. “I remember in 1987 they had a welcome home march for Vietnam veterans in Sydney, and I don’t think I’ve seen so many grown men cry. 

“That was the welcome home they should have got years before.”

Quick served for two decades in the Navy, reaching the rank of Chief Petty Officer, before leaving the naval service and entering the public service.

In 2018, he was awarded an OAM for services to the veteran community, largely for his work as president of the HMAS Sydney Association in the ACT, a position he has held for 26 years.

Constructed during lockdown, Quick said the memorial got its first outing for Remembrance Day last year, and this year will be the memorial’s maiden Anzac Day ceremony.