Baria Catholic Orphanage and Dat Do Farm

 

This place, and the farm they had, were where I spent as many Sundays as I could. It was sort of a haven from the war, and gave myself and others a chance to get just maybe a bit of sanity back into our lives.

To the Nuns, teachers and particularly the kids themselves I owe a great debt of gratitude for showing me unquestioned love and understanding in a strange land that was so different from anything I had ever known, and probably ever will. I'm not a follower of the Catholic religion, but that didn't matter to them. I was just another person who had sought their company and the tranquillity that usually brought with it, and that's how they treated me at all times.

Although I will never meet any of them again, they will be forever in my thoughts, and I wear a cross around my neck and have other items they gave me that bring back many fond memories.

When we made the trip to see them our unit cookhouse was not a safe place to be, because anything we could appropriate we did, quite unashamedly. Our philosophy I guess is that we, generally, had so much and they had so little, so like Robin Hood we chose to redistribute the wealth a bit. Driving past the MP's at the front gate of Nui Dat was quite a sight at times, because those in the back of the vehicle would be sitting with their feet perched high on a tarpaulin that covered whatever was in there. My gratitude to those blokes for only once questioning what we were not so successfully trying to hide, and after that turning a blind eye to everything.

All of the photos shown on this page have captions to go with them, but unfortunately not all have names. It is over 30 years since they were taken, and many things from that era, especially names, now elude me. But thankfully the smiling faces never will.

I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoyed the times when I was taking them.

The Orphanage

 

Kim

Lunch

Is it ready yet?

Teacher by day

Regional defence by night

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ssgt Bruce Stafford Is he still there? Suzie, the pet monkey Older Girls Happy go lucky

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Xuong Victim Xuong

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
         

The Farm and School

Two amigos Bruce Smiley Say cheese Teacher's pet?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caught Hi there! Twosome Ticklish? Harvest

 

 

 

 

 

I'll be right back! Farm family Hard at work Farm family take two Bashful?

 

 

 

 

    Oh come on. Smile!!