Stawell born soldier Matthew Rahley did not even “remotely” expect to see a fellow soldier from his home region at a Vietnam war reunion in Hobart last week.
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But he did.
Private Rahley was enlisted into the Australian Army in 2013 and was a rifleman in Afghanistan for seven months in 2015.
His duty was to protect Australian advisors while they liaised with the Afghanistan National Army.
Back in Australia, Private Rahley chose to attend a reunion from a battle of the 1968 Vietnam War, the Battle of Fire Support Base Coral.
He met Ararat born soldier Daryl Christie who was involved in the Vietnam conflict.
“Not at all did I expect to meet someone there even remotely close to home, but there he was from Ararat,” Private Rahley said.
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.
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.
“It was really great to meet Matthew on the night, we spoke for a solid two hours,” Mr Christie said.
Private Rahley said they discussed about what it meant to serve in the Australian Army.
“We shared things about work, my involvement in the army and Daryl spoke about his involvement in the Vietnam conflict,” he said.
“We also spoke about how things had evolved.”
Mr Rahley said he enjoyed his experience in the army, but treasured the moments he returned to his hometown.
“It has been all good and I have learned a lot about myself,” he said.
“I live in Townsville, but Stawell is always great. “It is a nice change to get back home, enjoy country life and unwind from it all.”