Muddy claims
in his "story" that, he;
Spent lots
of time in choppers.
Spent lots
of time in the bush
Remembers
too many contacts
Was 300
metres down a tunnel when his light went out
Still
trembles when the lights go out.
Set off a
trip wire and was wounded in action with a "gut
full of scrap"
We are
reliably advised that at a recent Department of
Veterans Affairs (DVA) Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder course Waugh related to others on the
course that:
He served
Fourteen months in South Vietnam.
Was an M60
Machine Gunner for Six months
Stepped on
a 500lb bomb booby trap and lived to tell the
tale.
Another
veteran told us that Waugh had told him:
"He'd been
down tunnels and was blind in one eye from
shrapnel, he also stated that he had served in D
Company of the 8th Battalion"
"He said
he was awarded a Military Medal whilst
serving with 8RAR, when asked for details about
this he said, sorry I don't like to talk about
it"
Waugh recently
went on a "return to Vietnam" tour with the
Taree VVA. In a hotel in Saigon in June 2007 he
again claimed to a group of veterans that
"He had gone down tunnels".
There are too
many lies listed to refute one by one, so let's
just be kind and say that most of Waugh's
utterings are "fantasy". Waugh said in his Taree
VVA article. "Brief recollections of
most which according to my
Psych (sic) I have buried somewhere in my head"
These recollections are not buried,
they are just not there - never having happened.
We hope that Waugh hasn't told his "Psych" all
of these stories in his bid to gain the benefits
from the Department of Veterans Affairs, that he
currently enjoys, because that would be fraud.
We have
acquired Waugh's service file from the National
Australia Archives through Freedom of
Information Legislation. His service was typical
of many thousands of National Servicemen from
the Vietnam era.
He was
enlisted into the Army as a National Serviceman
on the 1 Oct 1969. After recruit and further
training he
was allocated to the Royal Australian
Infantry Corps and posted to the 1st Army
Reinforcement Unit (1ARU) in Vietnam on the
15th Jul 1970, where he stayed until 13th August
1970. He was then posted to 8th Battalion Royal
Australian Regiment (8 RAR) on the 14th August
1970, where he remained until the 4th October
1970 - a total of fifty two days
with the Battalion. He then returned to 1 ARU
where he spent half of his time on Field
Punishment and in Detention. On 14th January
1971 he was posted to 1st Australian Logistic
Support Group (1ALSG) until his return to
Australia on 8 July 1971.
What were
his duties at each unit?
1st
Australian Reinforcement Unit (1 ARU) at Nui Dat.
Infantry
reinforcements from Australia were posted to 1 ARU.
Waugh spent about a month doing assimilation and
training in preparation for posting to 8th
Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.
8th
Battalion Royal Australian Regiment.
He was with 8th Battalion for only fifty two days.
During this time, he worked with both C Company and
Administration Company. We are reliably advised that
most of his time with the Battalion was spent
running the Company Bar and he also painted the bar
with the Ettamogah Pub motif (as shown in the Taree
booklet).
1ARU.
Ordinarily he
would have been reallocated to the incoming
Battalion, however, 8RAR was not replaced so he
spent one hundred days at 1 ARU of which Forty Nine
were spent under punishment.
HQ 1ALSG.
He did not return to
a Battalion but was posted to HQ 1ALSG
. Located at Vung Tau, it was the Logistic
Support Headquarters for Australian Forces in
Vietnam.
Apart from his
forty nine days of field punishment and detention,
Waugh served honourably and usefully in Vietnam and
should be enjoying the honest company of his good
friends, however he has been deserted because those
who served with him know that he has lied about his
service.
Following the
story in The Manning River Times, numerous protests
were lodged to the newspaper, resulting in a meeting
between the Editor, aggrieved veterans and members
of the Taree VVA
The meeting
resolved nothing, Taree VVA executives strongly
defending Waugh.
The President
of the Taree VVA,
Mr Richard A Albert
, who is a genuine Vietnam veteran,
claims to have been unable to detect that Waugh
was lying and followed up the meeting by
placing the following rebuttal in the local
newspaper, we suggest he had help from their
well known legal adviser.
An
Infantry veteran sent a letter to the Editor of
The Manning River Times in response to Richard
Albert's rebuttal, below is what he said.
The 8 RAR
Association were not amused about Waugh's
version of his service history with 8 RAR in
Vietnam and wrote him the letter shown below:
Waugh had no
need to exaggerate his war service and it seems
that until he joined the nefarious Taree VVA he
was never in trouble. We don't know why Muddy
developed the need to lie about his Vietnam
service, there could be many reasons, among
which is the creation of "stories" to convince
his "Psych" and The Department of Veterans
Affairs that he has Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD). Who knows?
Waugh may not have
been brought to account for his damn lies, had he
ceased
telling them and apologised at an
early stage and got on with life, however, he
insists that everything he has said are "true blue"
war stories.
Although Waugh is
a genuine veteran who spent a year in Vietnam his
recollection of his personal history in Vietnam,
which he freely published, are just damn lies.
Veterans who did the hard yards with 8RAR and
other combat units, especially those who served as
Tunnel Rats will not allow veteran wannabes like
Waugh to get away with deceitful self aggrandisement.
Did not spend lots of time in choppers.
Did not spend lots of time in the bush .
Cannot remember too many contacts, because he
was not involved.
Was never 300 metres down a tunnel when his
light went out.
Is
lying when he says he trembles when the lights
go out (In relation to going down tunnels.)
Did not set off a trip wire and was wounded in
action with a "gut full of scrap".
Never served fourteen months in South Vietnam.
Was not an M60 Machine Gunner for
Six months
Never stepped on a 500lb bomb booby
trap and lived to tell the tale.
Was not blinded in one eye from shrapnel.
Was
never awarded a Military Medal whilst
serving with 8RAR.
Waugh published and
has stated false recollections for the purpose of
self adulation and perhaps to support claims
for benefits from the
Department of Veterans Affairs.
At ANZMI it is
part of our charter to make sure that personal
histories are honest and respectful of their fellow
veterans and the units they served in.
Footnotes
- Warning 1:
Veterans who have told lies to gain the Special Rate
of compensation (TPI) and DVA investigate them,
could finish up in court, just as other wannabes
have. The maximum penalty for this criminal act
includes gaol. Even if it is a lessor penalty, the
veteran will be convicted of a crime and that means
a permanent criminal record. Who wants one of
these? This should ring alarm bells for those who
have already obtained DVA benefits via false
reports and sound a warning to those who are
contemplating such actions. Who could face their
families after being convicted in court on criminal
charges that would reveal the lies the families
heard and believed over the years? Imagine the
shame.
Warning 2.
Again the Taree Vietnam Veterans Association
has come under scrutiny because of dishonesty by
a member. There are people involved with that
organisation who are proven frauds and liars. We
would suggest to honest veterans that in the
interest of retaining their integrity they avoid
involvement in the Taree VVA.
This is published in the
public interest, particularly that of the Vietnam
Veteran Community. All information presented here is
fact and the truth. Reports from private citizens are
supported by statements of fact and statutory
declarations. |
WAUGH Peter Ross "Muddy"
