Anthony W. Pahl, OAM
“Aussie Bard” or “Bushranger”
Anthony enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in December 1967 as an Airfield Defence Guard and was posted to Vietnam in June 1969, originally with No 1 Operational Support Unit at Vung Tau where he was mainly tasked with airfield security, perimeter patrols and perimeter maintenance. Included in this period was an attachment to No 1 Australian Reinforcement Unit with the Australian Army in Nui Dat. In August 1969 he applied for and was accepted as a helicopter gunner with No. 9 Squadron RAAF based out of Vung Tau and working out of Nui Dat. In the succeeding 10 months, until repatriation in June 1970, he few a total of 650 hours on “Slicks” and “Gunships”.
During his 20 years service, Anthony was stationed on many Australian bases including Richmond, Edinburgh, Hobart, Laverton, Point Cook, Amberley, and Support Command in Melbourne. He also spent 3 years in Butterworth, Malaysia from 1973 to 1976. He remained in the RAAF until January 1988 but is now retired through ill health.
Since creating the IWVPA website in January 2001, its development and maintenance has been his means of remaining an active participant in society. On Australia Day, January 26, 2006, fellow Australians honoured Anthony with the Medal of the Order of Australia “for service to veterans through the International War Veterans Poetry Archives”
Index of Writings
- A Different Eleven Thousand Days
- A Question of Being Me
- A Question of Evil
- A Soldier’s Hands
- A Thousand Yards Ago
- Agony’s Breath
- Allies
- Altar of War (A Response)
- An Ode for “Mother”
- Answer!
- ANZAC
- Anzac Day, 2002
- Anzac Day, 2004
- Arena of Warriors
- Australia Remembers (A Tribute)
- Autumn Fall
- Ceremony of Death
- Charge of the Night Brigade
- Cherry Tree Walk
- Christmas: An Aussie Vietnam Veteran’s Perspective
- Closure
- Combat…
- Confirmation…
- Cross of Freedom
- Damn Rain…
- Dare to Mourn
- Dawn Parade
- Days End at Day’s End
- Dead Right
- Dearest Robin,
- Death of a P.O.W.
- Death of Innocence
- Distorted Memories
- Do You Remember?
- Do You See…?
- Double Tap
- Doug ‘n’ Me
- Dust Off
- Dyin’ to Get Home
- Dyin’ to Stay Home
- Fire Eaters
- Fire Watch
- Flavour of Freedom
- Forty-Five Minutes
- Freedom’s Fleet
- Freedom’s War
- From the Sky…
- Future Ambushed
- Future Assured
- Last Night
- Laterite and Leaves
- Legacy
- Legacy of a Veteran
- Letter to Sunshine
- Life on the Murray
- Listen! Hear the Silence?
- Lofty
- Look What’s Happened to Me…
- Love and Death
- Odyssey Gained
- Offering
- Oh My God!
- On “The Man in the Doorway”
- On the Wind
- On Wings of Angels
- Our Australia
- Papa Tango Sierra Delta
- Peace or Freedom?
- Perseverance…
- Persevere
- Perspectives About Thoughts in the Night
- Pilgrimage
- Post War Cynicism
- POW/MIA (Pretense of Will/Memory in Abeyance)
- Private Fisher: M.I.A.
- Racism and Rejection (Reminiscences… and Reminders)
- Rainbow
- Ralph
- Reality (A History…)
- Reason to Pretend
- Red and Green Christmas
- Reflections
- Remembrance Parade
- Reminders
- Response to a Friend
- Responsibility!
- Reunion
- Sea of Tears
- See You at the Bridge
- Sentry
- Silent Chat
- Silent Sentinal
- Solitude
- Son to Dad
- Sound of Memory
- Spirits of Freedom
- Stained Snow
- Stand To
- Stranger
- Survivor
- Taciturn Veteran
- Talking of Wire…
- Team Ralph
- The Bow of Peace
- The Bridge from Then to Now
- The Dark Side of Tomorrow
- The Flag
- The Grand Parade
- The Language of the Rotor Blade
- The Last Christmas
- The Memorial
- The Moon Saw Me Home
- The Nek
- The Pewter Race
- The Photograph
- The Shrine
- The Stone
- The Stripper
- The Trade
- The Vietnam Roar
- The Warrior’s Question
- The Young Have Gone
- True Blue
- Twilight (Part 9)

