Gary McKay - Bullets, Beans & Bandages

Viet Nam was Australia's longest war. What was it really like for the 50,000 Australians who served between 1962 and 1972? Bullets, Beans and Bandages is a unique collection of impressions, reactions, feelings and fears - the often spellbinding personal experiences of Australians who saw active service in the Viet Nam War.

Gary McKay conducted extensive interviews with over a hundred veterans and their families in order to build up a picture of their war. He spoke to nurses and doctors, Qantas cabin crew and pilots, men who had served with the Army, Navy and Air Force in helicopters, armoured units, maintenance division, destroyers on the gun lines, units attached to American forces and ships carrying troops.

Bullets, Beans and Bandages goes beyond the combat and into the many units and organisations that fought with and supported the 'grunts' - the infantrymen. This story has long needed to be told; it gives recognition to those who made the infantryman's job - and his survival - possible.