Beryl Gant as the mother of Kenneth Gant D Coy 6 RAR interviewed by Greg Swanborough for 'The sharp end'

Mother of Kenneth Howard Gant (b.1945), sn 1730941, D Coy 6RAR. Killed in action 18 August 1966, battle of Long Tan. Scene 5, Take 1: Did not like conscription especially with so many regular soldiers. Ken didn’t like the idea of being conscripted but he wasn’t a coward. No-one knew where they were going and they had never heard of Vietnam, didn’t know where it was. He wrote home once a week and told of different things like shooting a Vietnamese woman by mistake but then they thought she could have been a spy - he didn’t like that. He described the enemy tunnels under the villages and that they were ordered to burn the villages. He didn’t like Vietnam and they were camped on a beach near Nui Dat so everything, even the food, was full of sand. Only the family and Ken’s mates knew he was in Vietnam. Kenny was killed on the 18th but the news of his death didn’t come until the 20th August. Beryl was pleased because she was home alone on the weekend looking after the grandchildren and wouldn’t have known what to do if she’d received the news then. She describes knowing there was something wrong when the army car and the padre arrived – her husband went out to meet them. Felt numb and couldn’t cry for 3 weeks. Scene 20, Take 1: The newspapers reported 17 Australians killed in Vietnam and listed their names. Beryl thought they had the names mixed up. He brother, Kenny’s uncle, was able to view the body that came home in a lead coffin. Scene 20, Take 2: The funeral for Kenny was at Mount Cravat cemetery. There was a big crowd from Belmont area and other places. Not bitter but felt sorry for the mothers who had lost an only child – she had others. Every 18th August the family goes to St John Cathedral for the memorial service – and thinks he should be home.