Interview with Darrell Ford (Frontline out takes)

Darrell Ford as an Australian Army sergeant cameraman in Vietnam describes the difference in covering a war as to any other story; a certain risk in covering stories in Australia but in a war there is uncertainty; excitement of being the only cameraman to capture a good action; helping comrades if needed - not letting the camera be in total control; adrenalin rush of combat and capturing peoples expressions in those situations; he would go again to a war zone but not Timor; how soldiers will not place full trust in a civilian cameraman or journalist but would in a soldier cameraman; how soldiers combat fear as in the case of stepping on a mine; the story of one soldier who stood frozen on a mine for three quarters of and hour before being rescued; how he was wounded in ambush while on Operation Canberra with 5RAR in the Nui Dinh mountains; comparison of the way Australians and Americans conduct operations; description of the helicopter evacuation; disappointment of being sent home due to his wounds; the high rate of operation and casualties due to sickness amongst the battalion; feeling forgotten and unloved by the people back home; how he and others coped with depression by having wild parties at the sergeant's mess in Nui Dat; how they 'kidnapped' the entertainer Col Joye after a concert and took him back for a drinking session; brief mention of the battle of Long Tan. [camera battery runs out and then interview ends]