I was only 19

[Lang]

This will probably only be of interest to Australians (and Americans). It is an Australian icon song that arose out of the Vietnam war.

I was reminded of it in a newsletter from the Scheyville Officer Training Unit in which the writing of the song is described.

The song is here:

One of the general myths about this song is it is about a National Serviceman- Nasho -(draftee/conscript) but the draft age was 20 so Frankie, in the song, being 19 must have been regular army as were 2/3 of the Australian soldiers who went to Vietnam. It makes no difference to the message as they all were mixed and indivisible regardless of their enlistment origin.

All the shots of soldiers are Australians. Some of the helicopters are American and some Australian


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfZilfZahcA

For those interested the story is here:

Neil Leckie (3/68) wrote: As a Nasho who did all of his Recruit Training at 2 RTB Puckapunyal before
attending Scheyville, I have always thought that there were a few factual errors in the song ‘I was only
19!’ I asked a good mate, Bill Akell, a Regular Army soldier who was the Admin Coy Net Signaller for D
Company 6 RAR at the Battle of Long Tan what the song was about. Bill said that the song was about
Frankie Hunt, a member of 6 RAR who stood on a mine. Frankie was 19! Bill said: ‘When I went back
to Vietnam in 2016 with (1/65) David Sabben’s tour for the 50th Anniversary of Long Tan we actually
visited the site where Frank stood on the mine. The group gathered around as David gave a brief on the
incident then our Vietnamese guide played the song ‘I was
only 19!’ A few tears especially from the ladies present.’

Redgum's John Schumann was the right age to fight in
Vietnam, but his number didn't come up. He never forgot
how close he came, and when those who did fight
returned, he paid attention to their struggles. "They were
fundamentally altered," he said. "I started to think about
what it would be like to come back from a very unpopular
war and not be welcomed home."
Schumann decided to write a song about Australia's
involvement in Vietnam, but he didn't write fiction.

One night, Schumann's girlfriend Denise, also known as ‘Denny’ (in the song), brought her older brother
Mick Storen to a Redgum performance. "I remember being told that Mick had been to Vietnam (Recruit
Training at 2 RTB Puckapunyal and 6 RAR second Tour 8 May 69 – 12 May 70) and had been involved
in an awful mine incident," Schumann said. "I also knew that he didn't talk about it to his family."
After the gig they went out for a few drinks. "I was probably flying on adrenalin and I just remember
plucking up my courage and asking if he would talk to me about what happened," he said. "To my
surprise, he said that he would."

Schumann and Storen spent a few hours with the veteran's photos, a
tape recorder and a couple of beers. Later, on tour, as his bandmates
used their new ‘Walkmans’ to listen to music, Schumann played the
tapes back. Back at home, he woke up one day, walked into his North
Carlton backyard with a coffee, a pad and a biro, and wrote the words.
"It's as simple and as complicated as that," he said. But Storen had only
agreed to share his Vietnam war experiences on the basis that he could
hear the song first.

The approval: Schumann told Storen the song was ready at a family
function. He pulled out his guitar and started to sing. After the intimate
performance, the room was silent. "He looked at me," Schumann said,
"he didn't say anything. He just stared at me. "By this stage I'm pretty
sure Denny and I were engaged and I'm thinking: this guy's going to be my brother in-law and I've really
trodden in it." But when Storen was finally able to speak, his decision was made. "It was just incredible,"
Schumann said.

Storen's story had made the song real. There was one thing Storen wasn't happy about, though.
In the original lyrics Schumann wrote: "Tommy kicked the mine." The name was made up, and Storen,
who didn't know any ‘Tommy’, thought the line was weak. "I didn't really understand why," said
Schumann. "For me names were immaterial, it was the story. But it was important to Mick."
Who kicked the mine? A real
Australian soldier did step on a mine on
July 20, 1969, though. That soldier was
Storen's skipper, Peter Hines (Lt 6
RAR), who died the day after the
incident. "Peter" suited the rhythm of the
song but Storen didn't want the name
used out of respect for Hines's wife and
child. So they went through the names of
those in Storen's platoon. They hit
"Frank": Frank Hunt had been badly
wounded in the same mine incident.

A few months later Schumann was
passing through Hunt's home town of
Bega on the south coast of NSW. "I have
to say Frank was not all that keen on opening the door to a long-haired, left-wing pinko," said Schumann.
Schumann got out his guitar and Hunt's reaction was the same as Storen's. "He wanted to hear it again and
again until I begged him to allow me to play it into a cassette so I could stop playing it."
After the song's release Hunt helped Schumann promote the song. "Obviously they had some pretty deep
and meaningful conversations, otherwise he would not have come out with a ripper of a song like that,"

Welcome home: On 3 October 1987, 25,000 Vietnam Veterans marched through the streets of Sydney in
a belated ‘Welcome Home Parade’. It was four years after the release of ‘I was only 19’ and 15 years
after Australia's involvement in the Vietnam
war ended. After the march, Schumann played
‘I was only 19’ at a concert in the Domain.
Frank Hunt was beside him, on stage in his
wheelchair. Friends jumped on the stage to hug
Hunt as men in the audience cried and
embraced each other.

"Very few Australian songwriters get to write
anything that's had the lasting effect of ‘I was
only 19’," Schumann said. "But it's a great
responsibility. You know in all the important
ways it's owned by the people about whom I
wrote it. "I have to be very careful and guard its
integrity. It's a hymn