ON August 18, people across Australia will commemorate Vietnam Veterans Day.
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The event, hosted on the anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan in Vietnam, is an opportunity for people to reflect on the sacrifices of those who served.
One such person was Private G.J. “Mossy” Moss – the only one from Muswellbrook to fall in the war.
Private G.J. “Mossy” Moss died of wounds inflicted in Bien Hoa Province on August 5, 1986.
In a tribute to his “great mate”, fellow platoon member Private Robert S. Foot recalled the following.
“I was in 1RAR’s 5th Platoon, B-Coy between 1967 to 1969 as a rifleman and radio operator,” he wrote.
“Mossy was a member of the same platoon, a regular soldier who regarded the Battalion as his home.
“He was 19 years old and was often referred to as the ‘Boy Soldier’.
“Mossy was a forward scout and everyone knew that if the little bloke was up the front; you had a good man there.
“I was the platoon signaller in 5 Platoon and took the job because Mossy thought it would suit me and he taught me voice procedure and how to decipher code.”
After their mate Peter ‘Ollie’ Orlinski went to Vietnam with the Platoon advance party, Privates Moss and Foot remained on HMAS Sydney.
But, they weren’t particularly pleased with their hot sleeping quarters, made additionally uncomfortable by the smell of diesel.
“Mossy did a recce’ patrol and found an uncrowded open area at the ‘sharp end’ of the ship – the forecastle – and we got permission to sleep there,” Mr Foot wrote.
“Our daily beer ration was one 26 ounce can but luckily, Mossy had many mates and some of them were non-drinkers, so in the forecastle we were always well supplied.
“We threw the empty cans down the anchor chain hole but once, in a heavy sea, they came cascading out in a wash and littered the deck.
“I remember the last time I spoke to Mossy when I ‘roasted’ him for his carelessness in not having his grenades taped per Standing Orders.
“I said, ‘It’s bad enough with the VC [Viet Cong] trying to kill us without you trying as well!’
“In typical fashion he laughed at me saying, ‘Don’t worry about it Bobbykins!’
“Later that day I was medivaced out with malaria and we never spoke again.”
This month, it will be 49 years since Private Moss was killed.
His section, with him as forward scout, led an assault on a Viet Cong bunker where he walked into a command-detonated mine.
“Mossy was a mass of wounds from the claymore with small holes in his legs, chest and shoulders – he was in shock,” Mr Foot wrote, adding he received morphine while the 4 Platoon helped.
“The wounded were then taken out by choppers, a job that was completed by about two hours after the contact and by that time, the morphine had taken affect and Mossy was laughing and joking about being back soon.”
Following the news, the Muswellbrook Chronicle published a notice about his death.
It read:
“Killed in action.
“Word was received this morning that Pte. Graham Moss, a former resident of Muswellbrook, has been killed in action in Vietnam.
“The young soldier, a former pupil of Muswellbrook High School was the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Jack Moss, of Muswellbrook.
“He was 20 years of age.”