Thirty years in the Australian Army taught Juniper Hayloft resident Malcolm Stone many things. But it is what he saw it cost others that shapes how he thinks about ANZAC Day, a day he says is about recognising those who came home carrying wounds that aren’t always visible.
“It’s about recognising people that have been in really bad situations,” he says. “Even now their lives are quite stuffed up, some of them physically injured, and for some it’s all mental.”
Malcolm’s path to the Army began on a drive around Rockingham when he was just 16 years old. “My friend and I always used to drive around Rockingham, and we went for a drive one day, I was only 16 and he was 18,” he says. “I saw skydivers down there and that’s where I saw what I wanted to do. I walked into the office and said I want to jump out of a parachute.” He had wanted to go skydiving for years, having heard about it on the radio. He was told he needed his parents to sign. He went straight home, got their permission, and was back the same day.
“I jumped out of a parachute on my first day,” he says. “It roughed me up a little bit, I had a few scratches on me, but I was alright.”
At the skydiving club, Malcolm came under the guidance of Patty Fleming, a veteran of the Second World War who became both a trainer and a hero to young Malcolm.
“I couldn’t believe it because he was so good,” Malcolm says. “He offered me a job and started training me, taking me for different jumps. I was so excited because I was being trained by a professional.” It was through skydiving that his ambition formed. Malcolm decided he was joining the Army, and he wanted to go to Vietnam.
He began his initial training in Wagga Wagga, where the conditions were deliberately punishing.
“We used to jump off into the river with all of our gear on, squads of about 20, jumping over everything and climbing,” he says. “The place was set up with machine guns, they were firing at us with real ammunition.” Malcolm worked hard and impressed his superiors, spending time at the barracks in Swanbourne before the day came to leave. “They thanked everyone for everything, and sent us off,” he says. “Sailing us off to Vietnam.”
In Vietnam, Malcolm served as a forward scout, one of the most exposed roles in the field, moving ahead of the patrol to identify the enemy before they were seen. “I was a forward scout, out looking for people,” he says. “We would go out on patrols, checking around looking for the enemy.”
It was dangerous, relentless work, and not everyone came home. “Everyone that I knew did good jobs,” he says. “But we did lose a few people. It affects people, we had many people that had tough problems with mental health.”
Malcolm served a total of 30 years in the Army. He says the experience shaped him, though he is acutely aware that for others the cost was far greater.
“It’s been good for me,” he says. “For some people it’s given them mental problems. But we all help each other.”
This ANZAC Day, Malcolm will be joined by his daughters at the ANZAC ceremony where he will wear his medals. “I will certainly go down with my daughters on ANZAC Day and I will organise my medals to wear, to be part of it,” he says. “We always try to go down to the marches.”
When asked why ANZAC Day is so important to him, Malcolm puts it plainly. “It’s about recognising people that have been in really bad situations,” he says. “And making sure they know they are not forgotten.”
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