Return To Nui Dat. Poem by Mike Berriman

Back I trek after so many years
Will I laugh or will there be tears
My wife is with me this time around
When I land on foreign ground.

I am at the Dat, it smells the same
The dust is red, it sure needs rain
I catch my breath and start to sneeze
Surrounding me are rubber trees.

The Dat has changed, with areas cleared
Missing also our rock revered
Artillery red on top over blue
The mess has gone the boozer too!

Over there a house, just a shack
Do they realise a soldier is back?
Ordinary people living on the edge
Raising chickens plus a square of veg.

The bush has gone, just piles of rock
I recognise little and i'm in shock
I stand so still with eyes closed tight
My wife says softly 'are you all right'.

Many nights we sat under this star
Enjoying movies from places far
That reel to reel it broke in places
Bringing laughter to boyish faces.

RTA ex the Dat, I let off steam
Ill never return, I'll never wear green
Thirty years has changed all that
Welcome back Gunner to Nui Dat.

MB 2002