Recently I had a phone call from an aquaintance who asked me to find out why a certain person placed on this ANZMI site who had held an official position within an RSL branch (and had embellished via unentitled medals his record of service) could he not be forgiven for this' because of a lifetime of dedicated service, performed for this same, he also felt that it was the Vietnam Vets who were the driving force behind his friend being outed'.

Up until now I was not aware of the ANZMI site. So after perusing this site I rang the Ed of the 5th Batt Web Site T Harrison, and we spoke at length about the philosophy, purpose and justification behind the establishment of this particular site.

One case in particular on this site enraged me' and that was the case where a soldier (and I use the word lightly!)claimed he had beyoneted to death two "babies" during a patrol while serving with the RAR and had told/ was telling numerous people the details of this in WA (refer to the site).

It all reminded me of an invitation to a formal dinner at a private residence by a mate in Sydney around 1995 where his brother (of the host) an so called 'Vietnam Vet' was going to attend. Could I come and talk to him? I accepted only because of this friends'invitation.

On the night after several beers this fellow who had been seated next to me, started to gain the ear of all in attendance around the table with his stories of Vietnam War mayhem. I became uncomfortable within a very short time, as he was making certain statements that did not equate to my own experiences, nor did they accord with any Australian Army tactics that I was familiar with.It was soon obvious that he had not ideed (in my opinion) served in any Army. Then he made a major faux pas. He made the statement that 'he and his mates when on patrol often stopped when they met a Viet Cong patrol and sat down for "Smoko"!'---- together?!!

Being a guest of the host' I felt it would be too much to do what I felt should be done, and that is... immediately stand'- and call him "an unadulterated LIAR!"

In the event I said after standing, that I found I had forgotten a prior engagement, gave my apologies to the host and left.I feel now I should have followed my first impulse and called him for the liar he was, and hang' the unpleasantness.

This stuff must stop, for it besmirches us all, and the RAR that we are all' so proud of itself.
.We are all of us judged by those who are believed by these fools. Next time you hear someone make such a statement it is your duty to ask those questions YOU! know he cannot answer, don't just let it go any more ....I know I won't! Bob C

I fully understand the anger and frustration experienced by Bob as I have also personally encountered a 'Wannabe' spruiking garbage and making outragous statements about 'his service'. But I would like to make it quite clear thet I am not in any way connected to ANZMI and that I neither endorse or censure their website and its contents. The discussion with Bob about the ANZMI website was soley as an individual.

G'day Bob,
It is regrettable that some low lives need to impersonate a returned serviceman for whatever reason. Personally I find it upsetting when I hear of these cretins impressing the ignorant of their 'derring do'. To those veterans who might think it's not that important, need to realise the damage these idiots do to a lot of veterans.

An article from a Melbourne newspaper THE AGE dated 21st April 2007 Says if far better than I can.

The article goes on to state (inter alia)

"If some boys dream of becoming soldiers, some ageing men regret they never did. As the 18th-century English essayist Samuel Johnson put it: "Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier

Dr Hornsey, the psychologist, says impostors are wrong if they think theirs is a victimless crime.

"Battlefields are strange places; veterans can struggle for their entire lives to make sense of what they did or didn't do during wartime," Dr Hornsey said.

"And in making sense of that it's so important to surround yourself with people who were there, who can understand, who were under the same pressures you were under. Imagine finding out that one of those people was not actually there, that they were pretending to be something they were not."

"The sense of betrayal and damage must be enormous. Many impostors defend themselves by saying their crimes are victimless. They're kidding themselves. To trample over people's sense of self and to interfere with their process of healing — they don't realise how much damage they're doing."

The complete article can be read here.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/the-anzac-
heroes-who-werent/2007/04/21/1176697155246.html?page=3

Regrettable, yes, look at the ANZMI site and you'll see Andrews,William who had gained membership of this very 5 RAR association.I just got another one put on ANZMI, he told me he was in SAS,stepped on a mine(couldnt even see a bayonet mark)SENT TO GERMANY,then sent to Vung Tau to finish his tour. The only truth was he did get to VT as a steward,Catering Corps HQ 1ALSG!!!!
They make us look like idiots.Report them.
Regards, Geoff Allen.