Australian Surgical Teams in South Vietnam

Time is flying and it's true what they say, the older you get the faster time flies. Last night I had dinner with Barbara Sutherland who was a civilian radiographer who worked in the Long Xuyen hospital. Barbara was part of the old South East Asia Treaty Organization's effort to help Vietnamese civilians in the early stages of the war in Vietnam.

Barbara arrived in Long Xuyen in October 1966 and returned home to Australia in April 1967. She revisited Long Xuyen in 2005 and again in May 2007. She said the hospital in Long Xuyen was immaculate in 2005 but has since has not been so well kept. Barbara showed us lots of photograph of Long Xuyen as it was in May 2007.

Beryl McLachlan was another member of a SEATO surgical team present at the dinner, which was an informal one. Beryl lived in Long Xuyen from September 1967 until September 1968. She was there during the Communist Tet Offensive that began at the end of February 1968. In those days she was known by her maiden name of Beryl Nichols. During the Tet Offensive Beryl and other members of the team were moved to Vung Tau and Bien Hoa although there was no uprising in Long Xuyen itself. Beryl was a medical scientist and worked in haematology and biochemistry.

The Australian War Memorial has made an audio CD of an interview that Barbara Sutherland gave of her experiences in South Vietnam.