Flashback
Echoes from a Hard War
| By | Peter Haran and Robert Kearney |
|---|---|
| Format | Paperback / softback |
| Page Extent | 240 |
| Book Size | 207 x 135 x 19 mm (H x W x D) |
| Imprint | New Holland Publishers |
| Release Date | 1 Apr 2003 |
| Subject Classification | True stories / True war & combat stories |
Seven young Australian soldiers find themselves caught up in the madness and brutality of the Vietnam War. one dies, six survive after being wounded - only to find there are worse things than dying on the battlefield. Covering the events during their tours of duty between 1966 and 1972, Flashback vividly portrays the ordeals these men encountered while each man's story is also a journey through the affects of post-traumatic stress and the dislocation of post-war service.
Robert Kearney
Robert Kearney joined the Army in 1963 and was a member of Airborne Platoon with 1st Battalion before his first tour of Vietnam with 5th Battalion, where he was a section commander with Reconnaissance Platoon. His second tour of duty was with 3rd Battalion as rifle company platoon sergeant. Bob went on to serve as an instructor at the Army’s Jungle Training Centre, 2 Commando Company, and was later a training officer at Officer Cadet School, Portsea Victoria. After his full-time military service, Bob joined the Correctional Services Department and later became a prison manager. He was awarded the Correctional Services Exemplary Conduct Medal for courage and leadership as a hostage negotiator during a 1996 prison riot. He has been a training consultant, working with the South Australian Country Fire Service volunteers.
Peter Haran
Peter Haran (1948-2025) joined the army in 1966 and first served in Vietnam during 1967-68 with 2nd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, attached to a combat tracking team. As one of the first Australian dog handlers, he wrote of his experiences with tracking dog Caesar in the highly successful book Trackers: The Untold Story of the Australian Dogs of War (New Holland, 2000) and later co-wrote Crossfire: An Australian Reconnaissance Unit in Vietnam with colleague Robert Kearney. After two years as a dog trainer with the Army’s Tracking Unit in Sydney, Peter served a second tour in Vietnam as an infantry section commander with 3rd Battalion in 1971. He left the Army in 1972 and became a journalist with the Adelaide Sunday Mail.
