The odor of rotting human bodies laying on the ground of a 1968 Vietnam battlefield was the last scent of the outside world for Ararat born soldier Daryl Christie.
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“I had to lay down dead bodies onto the tanks to be taken away, we were dragging the bodies by their arms and legs,” he said.
“I scrubbed my arms and hands for a week, but I could smell death all over me.”
Mr Christie lost his sense of smell shortly after, and 49 years on has not regained it.
“A psychiatrist told me my brain had taken over and turned off my sense of smell,” he said.
“It was terrible and perhaps my brain couldn’t deal with it anymore.”
Mr Christie played over 150 games of football with Ararat and was then drafted to Carlton before being conscripted into the Australian Army and participating in a life-changing battle.
He served in the Battle of Fire Support Base Coral during the Vietnam war in 1968.
Australians were deployed to establish the fire support base, but intelligence assessments overlooked the presence of a massive enemy force in the area.
They were on the ground a few hours when enemy attacks began.
Up to 26 Australians died and another 109 wounded.
These memories were relived when Mr Christie attended an annual reunion of the battle in Hobart recently.
“There were good times at the camp, but there were many bad moments on the battlefield,” he said.
He recalled the moment he lost a friend during battle and was trapped in a war bunker, awaiting rescue.
He also recalled being spat on and labelled a “baby killer” once he had returned to Australia.
Mr Christie was eventually diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
“Vietnam was a very unpopular war,” he said.
“What happens in war does catch up with you later on in life.
“I experienced symptoms for a while, but now my condition has thankfully improved.
“Document everything that happens to you while you are overseas and that can help you make sense of everything in Australia.”