The Cost of Duty: A family’s reflection on the 9th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment’s service in Vietnam, 1968 - 1969, and of the impact that tour had on their lives.

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From the time people first began to live in groups, successful societies have relied on the individual sense of duty as a means of creating and maintaining a moral, and law-abiding society. The performance of a duty is a deliberate, voluntary moral action undertaken by a person for the perceived benefit of others. However, this undoubtedly positive social concept is invariably undertaken at a cost to the person performing the duty, and during times of war and other forms of emergency, that cost is often high.

As a founding member of the 9th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, Mick Bawden deployed with that Battalion for its 1968 -1969 operational tour of duty in Vietnam. A professional army officer, Mick’s training had instilled in him a strong sense of duty, and he was keen to test his training in combat. However, like many other veterans of that war and other conflicts involving Australians, the experience had a prolonged impact on his life and the life of his wife and family.

This book seeks to remind the wider community of the physical and mental issues faced by servicemen and women, and indeed by all first responders, in carrying out their duty. In pursuit of this aim, the cost of duty is explored through the life experiences of Vietnam veteran Mick Bawden, and his wife and stalwart supporter Mardi.