My name is Mick Cassidy, this is my story....
I was born in Brisbane on the 13th June 1949, A “Baby Boomer” by definition, I lived in the inner city suburbs of Brisbane, the youngest of three and the only son. My father was a Tramway driver and my mother worked many different jobs during my youth. I was an average youth from an average family, growing up without a care or worry in the world. I went to a Catholic school for my first four years of education, but the discipline by the Nuns was a bit too much for me to bear, so the remaining years of my education was done in the State School System. Not being a great scholar I opted to quit school at the ripe old age of 13, having failed two attempts at Grade 7 I figured I would enter the workforce. I tried my hand at a number of things, from a truckie’s offsider to an apprentice painter until I found my calling as a junior storeman with the State Government.
At age 17 I met my future wife, it was her father, a former career soldier, who suggested I join the military so I took his advice, in a manner of speaking and joined the C.M.F, so in April 1967 I enlisted, at the 1st Base Vehicle Depot at Gaythorne, Brisbane. During this time I married, and three months later my wife gave birth to our first child. With a family to support and still being so young, I was still not considered an adult at that time, I was struggling to support them, so I made a decision that would probably change my life forever.
In February 1969 I joined the Australian Regular Army (ARA), I chose as my Corps selection, Ordnance (RAAOC), as it was Ordnance that I was with in the C.M.F. so I decided to stay with what I knew. I was sent to 1 RTB, Kapooka, for the mandatory 12 weeks of recruit training and then to Bonegilla to complete my Corps training. In September 1969 I was posted to the 1st Base Ordnance Depot in Brisbane, as a Storeman Technical. About the middle of 1970 I volunteered for Vietnam, and within a couple of months of volunteering I was sent to the Jungle Training Centre at Canungra to do my tactical training. Almost every Australian seviceman who went to Vietnam went through the rigors of two or three weeks training at Canungra, it was here that you were taught everything you had to know about jungle warfare, and survival. In the latter part of 1970 I received my warning order telling me that I was being posted to 2 AOD, Vung Tau, South Vietnam, not exactly what I had in mind but never the less I was going and that was that. In February 1971 I was sent on pre-em leave, where I spent some quality time with my young family before departing for the Eastern Command Personnell Depot in Sydney, to await my departure for Sth. Vietnam. Up until that time, in my relatively short life, I had never experienced anything as hard and emotionally upsetting, as saying goodbye to my wife and son, knowing that I would not be seeing them for at least the next 12 months, with the exception of R & R, if I took it in Australia.