The biggest Viet Cong offensive in the Vietnam War was just beginning as Ken Baker landed in hot, humid Saigon at 5pm on January 29, 1968.
Initially he and other soldiers thought they were hearing celebrations from the Vietnamese Tet holiday marking the Lunar New Year.
But as the noise built into “a crescendo” they realised something was wrong, the Marshall veteran told the Independent.
“It became quite obvious that it was more than that because of the type of explosions – you could see flashes in the distance,” he said.
“I was pretty scared because we hadn’t been issued with any weapons yet – we’d just come off the Qantas flight.
“Just after midnight the word had got out that we were in the middle of something.”
In early hours of January 30, the Tet Offensive had begun with Viet Cong forces simultaneously attacking hundreds of cities and towns in southern Vietnam.
The next day Baker, a 21-year-old medic, flew out to his unit and began triaging soldiers wounded by landmines, rockets and bullets.
“We would get them ready and determine who was first to go into surgery,” he said.
“When you see the damage a landmine can do, it’s pretty horrific. The sight of the damage or missing limbs – it does sort of give you flashbacks at times.”
“It sort of takes the joy out of life when you’ve been through that. But of course, life goes on doesn’t it?
“After they had been treated, they were looking a lot better.”
The Australians also sent out medical and dental teams to nearby villages to win “the hearts and minds” of locals, he said.
Mr Baker also prepared records of the dead to be sent to Australia, and remembered seeing his good friend Lindsay Brown on that list.
Lindsay had died in the Battle of Coral-Balmoral (May 12 to June 6) following a head injury.
“He was in my hut at Puckapunyal for rookie training,” he said.
“I saw his name and it blew me apart – it really was quite devastating.”
As a national serviceman Mr Baker had no choice when he was drafted in 1967, despite being too young to vote at the time.
“I suppose you accepted the fact that your number got drawn and you had to be committed to do it,” he said.
“We took it as part of being a responsible citizen.”
He wrote as often as he could to girlfriend Robyn, who he would marry after returning to Australia in December.
“There was a pretty good cheer when we took off [from Vietnam],” he said.
With Anzac Day services cancelled due to COVID-19, Mr Baker will join veterans across Australia standing in their driveways tomorrow to remember those, like Lindsay, who made the ultimate sacrifice.
