For more than 50 years Don Tate, of Albion Park Rail, hadn't seen the Super 8mm colour movie camera he took with him to the Vietnam War in 1968.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But this ANZAC Day it will take pride of place when Mr Tate marks the occasion a little different than he has in other years.
The day will start with him standing in the driveway in silence at 6am. And then he will reflect on his time in Vietnam and how he documented many events on film.
Mr Tate purchased the movie camera as a 16-year old boy to take movies of his family. And when he volunteered for Vietnam as an infantry reinforcement, he saw no reason not to take it with him.
"Sacrificing a day's rations each week to carry it, was worth the effort. I was only trying to capture images of my own service as a record for my family if I didn't come home. I never envisaged that those images would become such a valuable historical document," he said.
Valued at more than $90,000 by the Valuer-General's Department, Mr Tate donated the originals to the Australian War Memorial in 1996. One valuer declared that the movies he shot were the equal of official photographer Damien Parer's work in World War II. Mr Tate took that as a huge compliment.
He said it was considered valuable because most footage from the war was in black and white, and there is very little taken by men on combat situations and environments.
Mr Tate was wounded in action in a Viet Cong bunker complex in July 1969. He was disabled by machine-gun fire and hospitalised for two years in Brisbane, including one year in a full-body plaster. Mr Tate gave the camera to a cousin who visited him in hospital - and was delighted when they recently offered it back.
"It was amazing to see it again. It is such an antiquated thing, but an important relic of the war. I have to decide whether to keep it for my family as an heirloom, or donate it to one of the War Memorials.
Mr Tate said in Vietnam he was able to capture images of men he fought alongside. He also made a recording of his own war experiences, including footage taken by a fellow veteran with his camera the day after he was wounded. He was in the field hospital at that time.
Some excerpts of film Mr Tate took in Vietnam are posted on Youtube, under the title, 'Don Tate, Vietnam'.
Read more:
Our COVID-19 news articles relating to public health and safety are free for anyone to access. However, we depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.
Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
