kerry

Kerry Keating 7 RAR - 12 December 1967 to 30 May 1968, and later in 1 RAR (Text selected from interview - August 1997)

That's where I am, I'm 29 years ahead of where I should have come to a

screaming halt. My leg was basically knocked off, I was hit by an AK47,

five slugs through my lower left leg, and two in my right leg, there was only a strip of skin holding the foot on, and one, I should have bled to death, two, I should have died from shock and I didn't. I didn't get my morphine till I was basically in an area of safety, which was only just 30 feet from where I was.

After, I went to see Barry the platoon Medico, who was a nervous wreck when I saw him, he had a real rough time, it was years later, after I'd been shot, he said, ''did you know you died''? ''What'', I said, ''no, I bloody didn't know that mate'', I said. ''You did mate''. About the fourth or fifth day out of the bush, I got what they called secondary shock, and he said, ''how do you think you got the marks on your chest''?