YOU WERE IN THE WAR SITUATION. KO RU RATOU KO RUNUKU, RURANGI, RUPAPA, RUTAKE, RUKEREKERE. KO TE KAHUI ERA, KO RUUAUMOKO. KEI AKU NUI, KEI AKU RAHI. E POWHIRITIA ANA KOUTOU KI TE HUI. KO MIHINGARANGI TENEI E MIHI ATU NEI. NAU MAI, HOKI MAI RA. WELCOME TO THE HUI, MAORI CURRENT AFFAIR FOR ALL NEW ZEALANDERS. COMING UP THIS MORNING ` 37 NZ TROOPS LOST THEIR LIVES IN VIETNAM. RUKA HUDSON LOST HIS LEGS. YOU WERE IN THE WAR SITUATION. THERE ARE NO ACCIDENTS IN WAR. THEY PUT THOSE THINGS DOWN THERE FOR ANYBODY TO TRAMPLE ON AND GET BLOWN UP THAT'S NOT AN ACCIDENT. FOR THE FIRST TIME, RUKA AND HIS WHANAU RETURN TO VIETNAM. IT'S A VERY PERSONAL STORY ABOUT LOVE, LOSS AND MAKING PIECE WITH THE PAST. I DON'T THINK IT'S ABOUT HAVING TO TRY AND EXPLAIN OR UNDERSTAND WHY, BUT I THINK IT JUST IS` YEAH. > AND IT'S THE TEARS, THAT WEE GIRL SAYING 'DAD'. (SOBS) COPYRIGHT ABLE 2016. KARAHUIHUI MAI. MORE THAN 300 NZ SOLDIERS SERVED IN THE VIETNAM WAR. A THIRD OF THOSE WERE MAORI, SOME OF OUR BEST AND BRAVEST MEN SENT TO A WAR THAT WASN'T THEIR OWN. AND WHILE MANY PAID THE ULTIMATE PRICE, OTHERS LIVED WITH THE SCARS OF WAR LONG AFTER THE LAST SHOTS WERE FIRED. RUKA HUDSON IS ONE OF THOSE MEN. THIS IS HIS STORY. EVERY SMALL TOWN IN AOTEAROA HAS ITS SHARE OF LOCAL HEROES. PEOPLE WHO KNOW ABOUT SACRIFICE, ADVERSITY AND TRIUMPH. AND IN THE SMALL BAY OF PLENTY SETTLEMENT OF OPOTIKI,... ARA. KA KITE ANO ANEI PAPER PLUS. AE. RUKA HUDSON IS ONE OF THOSE RELUCTANT HEROES. HE'S ALSO MY DAD. KIA ORA, DAD. KIA ORA. KIA ORA. HOW ARE YOU? I'M GOOD, AND YOU? GOOD. WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO? OH, NOT A HECK OF A LOT. JUST FISHING. YEAH. YEAH. HAVE YOU HAD ANY LUCK? NO. WHILE DAD IS BEST KNOWN AROUND HOME FOR IS LOVE OF THE MOANA AND HIS WORKS OF ART, LIVING LIFE WITHOUT LEGS IS WHAT ALWAYS MADE HIM STAND OUT. BEFORE I WAS BORN, BEFORE HE MARRIED MY MUM, DAD LOST HIS LEGS IN THE VIETNAM WAR WHEN HE STOOD ON A LAND MINE. HE WAS JUST 26. WHEN I GOT BLOWN UP, THE FIST THING THAT CAME OUT OF MY MOUTH WAS, 'LORD, IF I'M GOING TO DIE, 'FIRST LET ME GO HOME AND SEE MY PARENTS.' GROWING UP, LIKE A LOT OF OTHER WHANAU WHOSE FATHERS WENT TO WAR, DAD DIDN'T SAY MUCH ABOUT HIS TIME IN VIETNAM. NO, I DIDN'T. I DIDN'T AT ALL COS YOU WILL FIND THAT MANY OF THE SOLDIERS, WHEN THEY COME BACK, THE ONLY PEOPLE THEY TALK TO ARE THE GUYS THEY ARE WITH. THEY DON'T TALK TO THEIR WIVES. THEY DON'T TALK TO THEIR PARENTS ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES. MM. IT'S TOO HARROWING. DO YOU HAVE ANY REGRETS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED OVER THERE? NO, I DON'T. I HAVE FIVE BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN, AND THEY'VE BEEN THE GREATEST BLESSING I'VE HAD. I HAVE 13 MOKOS. WHO WOULD NOT BE THANKFUL FOR THAT? SOMBRE MUSIC NOW, AFTER 46 YEARS, DAD HAS FINALLY DECIDED TO RETURN TO VIETNAM WITH A COUPLE OF HIS FELLOW VETERANS. HIS FIRST TIME BACK SINCE HE LOST HIS LEGS. WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO GO BACK NOW? BECAUSE YOU FELLAS WANT TO GO. (LAUGHS) (LAUGHS) FOR ME AND TWO OF MY SIBLINGS, IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY WE WERE NEVER GOING TO MISS. SO, DAD, YOU REMEMBER THE HEAT OVER THERE? HOW HOT IT WAS? YEAH. THESE'LL BE TOO HOT. WILL THEY? (LAUGHS) WHY ARE YOU PACKING THEM? (LAUGHS) WILL YOU BE LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING US COME WITH YOU? YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. THE KIDS. I WOULDN'T GO OTHERWISE. EVEN MY MATES, THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S INVOLVED WITH BEING IN A WHEELCHAIR. THEY THINK THAT YOU CAN JUST GO ANYWHERE. BUT, UH, I CAN'T. BECAUSE YOU FELLAS UNDERSTAND ME, I'M YOUR DAD, YOU GREW UP WITH ME LIKE THIS, YOU KNOW WHAT'S INVOLVED. OR YOU SHOULD KNOW. FUNKY MUSIC MY ELDEST BROTHER MAUI AND OLDER SISTER NAUMAI ARE BOTH BRINGING ONE OF THEIR CHILDREN ALONG FOR THE TRIP, AND WHILE DAD IS STILL A BIT BLAISE ABOUT HIS RETURN, THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS EXPERIENCE ISN'T LOST ON MY BROTHER AND SISTER. I THINK THIS SI PROBABLY A ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY, AND THE CHANCE TO GO WITH HIM AND OTHER VIETNAM VETERANS WAS JUST TOO GOOD OF A CHANCE TO MISS. I'M TAKING MY OLDEST SON WITH ME, KOARE, AND PART OF THAT IS SO THAT, REALLY THAT GENERATION CAN CONNECT WITH OUR DAD'S EXPERIENCE. IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT I DIDN'T WANNA REGRET NOT DOING IT. IT'S PRETTY SPECIAL AND IT'LL BE A GOOD EXPERIENCE, AND HEAR LOTS OF STORIES, MAYBE SOME SORTIES WE HAVEN'T HEARD MUCH OR HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT. I DON'T REMEMBER DAD SAYING MUCH ABOUT VIETNAM, YOU KNOW, AS A KID. HE NEVER REALLY SAID MUCH AND I EVEN THINK THAT, UM, THE STORY I HAVE OF HOW HE GOT INJURED, I THINK IT'S BEEN WRONG ALL THOSE YEARS. (LAUGHS) IT'S JUST` I'M NOT SURE WHERE I GOT IT FROM, BUT` (LAUGHS) YEAH, I'M QUITE KEEN TO HEAR A BIT MORE. OUT TOUR OF VIETNAM BEGINS HERE IN SAIGON, NOW KNOWN AS HO CHI MINH CITY. IT WAS JUST OUTSIDE OF HERE 51 YEARS AGO WHERE NZ TROOPS FIRST FIRED UPON THEIR THEN-ENEMIES THE VIETCONG. THEY WERE FIGHTING FOR THEIR COUNTRY AND FOR THE THINGS THEY BELIEVED IN. WHEREAS SOME FELLAS LIKE ME WENT OVER FOR THE ADVENTURE. DAD CAME HERE IN 1970 AS A MEMBER OF VICTOR FIVE COMPANY, WHICH WAS PART OF NZ'S CONTRIBUTION TO STOP THE GROWTH OF COMMUNISM. BUT LIKE OTHERS HE SERVED WITH, DAD WAS OBLIVIOUS TO THE POLITICS. FIVE DECADES LATER, AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VIETNAM AND NZ HAS TRANSFORMED, WITH ITS ECONOMY NOW BOOMING. TRADE BETWEEN VIETNAM AND AOTEAROA IS IN EXCESS OF $1B. FOR ME AND MY WHANAU, VIETNAM IS WHERE MY DAD LOST HIS LEGS. BUT IT DOESN'T TAKE US LONG TO SEE THIS PLACE IS SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT. WHAT'S YOU FIRST IMPRESSION OF BEING BACK IN VIETNAM? UH, IT'S JUST NEW. EVERYTHING'S CHANGED. IT'S NOT AS I REMEMBER. EVERYTHING'S JUST SO NEW AND IT'S VERY PROGRESSIVE HERE. ALONGSIDE DAD THERE ARE TWO OTHER VIETNAM VETERANS ON THE TOUR. JOHN BLUETT, WHO SERVES TWO TOURS HERE, FIRST WITH WHISKEY COMPANY AND THEN WITH MY DAD AS PART OF VICTOR FIVE COMPANY. MAORI RUGBY LEGEND MATT TE POU IS THE OTHER. HE SERVED A YEAR HERE AS PART OF 161 BATTERY. JOHN AND DAD HAVE BEEN CLOSE EVER SINCE THEY SERVED HERE IN 1970. WHEN RUKA SAID HE HAD AN INTEREST IN COMING I SAID, 'OH, WELL, I THINK I'D MAKE A REAL ATTEMPT TO COME BACK.' AND HE SAYS THAT HIS FAMILY WAS COMING, THEN THAT MADE IT BETTER STILL, YOU KNOW? AND I ADMIRE WHAT HE'S DONE IN LIFE, YOU KNOW. I SUPPOSE I'M A REAL FAN OF HIS AND, YOU KNOW` AND BEING THERE ON THE DAY THAT HE GOT HURT, UM, AND BEING HERE, I THINK IS QUITE SPECIAL. THIS IS QUITE SPECIAL. THEY USED A VERY SIMPLE WEAPON. COMING UP AFTER THE BREAK ` WE HEAR MORE ABOUT WHAT DAD FACED HERE IN VIETNAM. WE KNEW THAT THEY WERE CLEVER, BUT WE DIDN'T KNOW HOW CLEVER THEY WERE. THEY WERE BRILLIANT. WE'LL BE BACK AFTER THE BREAK. YOU WERE IN THE WAR SITUATION. FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE HE LOST HIS LEGS TO A LAND MINE, FORMER SOLDIER RUKA HUDSON HAS RETURNED TO VIETNAM. HE'S PART OF A GROUP OF KIWI VETS AND THEIR WHANAU WHO TRAVELLED TO THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC TO VISIT THE SITES WHERE OUR TROOPS SERVED. RUKA'S DAUGHTER, THE HUI'S REWA HARRIMAN, PICKS UP THEIR STORY ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF SAIGON. IT'S EASY TO FALL IN LOVE WITH VIETNAM. THE LANDSCAPE IS PICTURESQUE, AND THE PEOPLE ARE WARM AND WELCOMING. BUT WHAT WE SEE TODAY IS A FAR CRY FROM WHAT MY FATHER AND OTHER VETERANS EXPERIENCED FIVE DECADES AGO. BOMBS BLAST, GUNS WHOOSH SOLEMN PIANO MUSIC THE CONFLICT HERE WAS LONG AND UGLY. AND IT WAS THE FIRST WAR TO PLAY OUT IN THE LIVING ROOMS ON TELEVISION SETS AROUND THE WORLD. AS THE WAR CONTINUED YEAR AFTER YEAR, IT BECAME INCREASINGLY UNPOPULAR, WITH PROTESTS BREAKING OUT ON AUCKLAND'S QUEEN STREET. RETURNED SERVICEMEN WERE TREATED WITH CONTEMPT. EVEN THOUGH THE WAR COST MY DAD, RUKA HUDSON, HIS LEGS, HE WASN'T IMMUNE FROM THE CRITICISM. A COUPLE OF PEOPLE DID APPROACH ME, YEAH, ABOUT THE WAR AT HOME. WHAT DID THEY SAY? UH, WHY DID YOU GO THERE, WHY DID YOU GO THERE? STUFF LIKE THAT. I JUST TOLD THEM, 'GO AWAY. I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU.' BUT THEY WERE A BIT PERSISTENT, SO I HAD TO CHANGE MY LANGUAGE A BIT, COS I HAD A WALKING STICK AT THE TIME, I TOLD THEM I'D USE IT ON THEM. (LAUGHS) WHILE PROTESTS WERE RAGING AT HOME, OUR SOLDIERS WERE ON FOREIGN SOIL, FACING A PEOPLE FIGHTING FOR THEIR WHENUA. THESE ARE PICTURES OF DAD'S COMPANY, VICTOR 5, OUT ON PATROL. MANY OF THESE YOUNG MEN YET TO EXPERIENCE THE REALITY OF WAR. IN HIS 10 WEEKS HERE, MY DAD NEVER FIRED A SHOT. THE VIET CONG GOT TO HIM FIRST. BUT HE'S NEVER BEEN ANGRY AT THOSE HE WAS HERE TO FIGHT AGAINST. IN FACT, HE'S IN AWE OF WHAT THEY'VE HAD TO ENDURE AND HOW HARD THEY'VE FOUGHT TO PROTECT THEIR WHENUA. WE KNEW THAT THEY WERE CLEVER, BUT WE DIDN'T KNOW HOW CLEVER THEY WERE. THEY WERE BRILLIANT. BOOBY TRAP FROM THE BAMBOO. THE CU CHI TUNNELS, WHICH SPAN OVER 250KM, ARE AN EXAMPLE OF THE VC'S INGENUITY. IT IS NOW A POPULAR ATTRACTION, GIVING TOURISTS AND VETERANS ALIKE AN INSIGHT INTO VIETNAMESE LIFE DURING THE WAR. I HOPE HE GETS STUCK. LAUGHTER SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, THE ENEMY'S ON THE TOP. IF THE CHILDREN, VERY YOUNG CHILDREN, ARE CRYING, SCREAMING, AND PUT PEOPLE IN DANGER. AND THAT MEANT IT'S LIKE THE WHOLE VILLAGE IN THE TUNNEL. BRUTAL TRAPS LIKE THESE WERE USED TO CATCH OUT THE LIKES OF MY DAD, WHO WAS LEAD SCOUT FOR HIS PLATOON. THOSE OF US WHO WERE SCOUTS AND TRACKERS, WE HAD SPECIAL TRAINING IN TRYING TO RECOGNIZE THESE PITFALLS AND TRAPS THAT THEY SET UP. IT DIDN'T MAKE IT THAT MUCH EASIER. THEY WERE THAT GOOD AT WHAT THEY WERE DOING. FOR DAD, THIS VISIT TO THE TUNNELS AND BEING BACK IN THE BUSH BRINGS BACK MEMORIES OF HIS TIME AS A SOLDIER. SO THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE THE ENVIRONMENT THAT YOU WERE IN WITH ALL THE TREES? PRETTY MUCH, PRETTY MUCH. DOES IT TAKE YOU BACK? YEAH, IT DOES. IS IT DIFFICULT, DAD? IS IT...? IS IT NOT VERY NICE? BOMBS, GUNFIRE ECHO AND, YEAH, IT DID BRING BACK MEMORIES, ESPECIALLY LISTENING TO THE GUARDS AND HOW THEY WERE SPEAKING ABOUT THEIR PEOPLE. I GOT A REAL FEEL FOR THEIR PEOPLE. WE HAVE A LOT OF HOPE FOR THEM. DID IT UPSET YOU TO BE A PART OF WHAT YOU WERE OVER HERE DOING? NOT NECESSARILY. BUT I... BECAUSE OF THE WHOLE WEEK, THEY HAVE SO MUCH HISTORY, AND THEY'VE BEEN BATTERED AND BEATEN AND PUSHED AROUND, AND, YOU KNOW, UM, IT'S KIND OF SAD, YEAH. BUT THEY'RE A VIBRANT PEOPLE. THEY'RE TREMENDOUS. FOR OUR WHANAU, THIS ISN'T JUST A CHANCE TO SEE WHAT IT WAS LIKE. BANG! BANG! BANG! IT'S A CHANCE TO FEEL IT TOO. BANG! MAUI, WHAT'S TODAY BEEN LIKE COMING HERE AND SEEING WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOR DAD? TODAY'S PROBABLY BEEN THE FIRST DAY WHERE YOU GET A BIT MORE OF A SENSE OF WHAT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN LIKE BEING IN THE` I GUESS, IN THE WAR. IT'S BEEN GREAT UP TILL NOW JUST SEEING THE CULTURE AND THE PEOPLE, SOME OF THE HISTORY. BUT TODAY IT'S A BIT MORE THE REALITY OF THE WAR SETTING. I'M KIND OF A LITTLE BIT TORN, REALLY. I GUESS THERE'S THAT PART OF YOU WHERE YOU KNOW THE PEOPLE THAT WERE HERE WERE JUST ALL ABOUT THEIR OWN TINO RANGATIRATANGA, SO THEY WERE DEFENDING THEIR LAND. AND THAT'S WHAT THE GUIDE WAS SAYING. YOU KNOW, HE WAS FROM THIS AREA, AND THAT'S WHAT THEY WERE DOING ` THE GUERRILLAS, WHICH WERE ACTUALLY JUST THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED HERE ` VERSUS THE ONES THAT WERE COMING IN ` THE VC ` AND THEY WERE THE ONES ESSENTIALLY ENGAGING WITH THE AMERICANS, AND BECAUSE WE ARE HELPING THEM, SO YOU KIND OF FEEL KA AROHA FOR THE... OUR SOLDIERS THAT CAME AND WERE A PART OF THAT AND FIGHTING THESE GUYS AND HAVING TO DEAL WITH THE SITUATION, BUT, YEAH, IT WAS LIKE THEY WERE DOING IT ON SOMEONE ELSE'S WHENUA. EVEN WITH THIS SMALL INSIGHT INTO THE WAR, IT'S STILL HARD FOR ME TO PICTURE THE DEVASTATION AND DESTRUCTION THAT THIS WHENUA SUFFERED. LOOKING AT THE COUNTRYSIDE NOW, FIVE DECADES ON FROM SUCH A BRUTAL CONFLICT, I CAN'T HELP BUT FEEL A SENSE OF AWE. AT HOW THE TANGATA WHENUA COPED AND SOMEHOW MANAGED TO MOVE ON. 'THE LAST POST' PLAYS AFTER THE BREAK, WE REMEMBER THOSE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES ON THIS WHENUA, AND MY FATHER COMES FACE TO FACE WITH HIS PAST. KA HOKI MAI MATOU HEI MURI I NGA WHAKATAIRANGA. VIETNAM VETERAN RUKA HUDSON IS ABOUT TO COME, FACE-TO-FACE WITH HIS PAST. IN THE FINAL PART OF OUR STORY, RUKA AND HIS WHANAU RETURN TO THE MOUNTAIN RANGES WHERE HE LOST HIS LEGS AFTER STEPPING ON A MINE WHILE IN PURSUIT OF THE TENACIOUS VIET CONG. HAUNTING MUSIC GUNFIRE RATTLES JUST AFTER I GOT BACK, I WAS DREAMING ALL THE TIME. EVERY TIME I DREAMT ABOUT SOMETHING, IT WAS AS IF I WAS HERE AND ON PATROL. THERE'D BE A HELL OF A BLAST, AND I'VE GONE DOWN. THESE GUYS IN THE VC ARE STANDING OVER THE TOP OF ME, YOU KNOW, ALL OVER TOP OF ME WITH THEIR RIFLES POINTING DOWN AT ME. AND I SEE FLAMES COMING OUT OF THE RIFLE, LIKE THEY'RE FIRING THE RIFLE. AND I'M WAITING FOR IT TO START, AND I WAKE UP. I WAITING FOR THE SOUND, THE THUD INTO MY CHEST, AND STUFF LIKE THAT. AND I JUST WAKE UP,AND I'M SWEATING AND TOSSING AND TURNING. PEOPLE SAY TO ME, 'OH YOU WERE IN VIETNAM 50 YEARS AGO. GET OVER IT.' BUT I'M IN VIETNAM EVERY WEEK SOMETIMES. SOMETIMES TWICE A WEEK. TRADITIONAL VIETNAMESE MUSIC THE LONGER WE'RE IN VIETNAM, THE MORE I THINK ABOUT WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE FOR MY DAD AND HIS FELLOW SOLDIERS HERE, NOT ONLY TRYING TO SURVIVE SUCH A BRUTAL WAR, BUT LIVING WITH THE EFFECTS OF AGENT ORANGE AND POST-TRAUMA. AND I FEEL FOR THE OTHER VETS, LIKE MY FATHER, WHO HAVE LOST LIMBS. DAD AND THE OTHER VETERANS ON OUR TOUR HAVE ALSO BEEN THINKING ABOUT THEIR OLD MATES, ESPECIALLY THE 37 WHO NEVER MADE IT HOME, SO THEY'VE DECIDED TO HOLD A SMALL MEMORIAL SERVICE IN THEIR HONOUR. THEY WENT WITH SONGS TO THE BATTLE. THEY WERE YOUNG. THEY WERE STAUNCH TO THE END AGAINST ODDS UNCOUNTED. THEY FELL WITH THEIR FACES TO THE FOE. WITH THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN AND IN THE MORNING, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM. ALL: WE WILL REMEMBER THEM. TRADITIONAL VIETNAMESE MUSIC CONTINUES THERE ARE ONLY TWO OFFICIAL MEMORIAL SITES IN VIETNAM DEDICATED TO FOREIGN SOLDIERS, THIS ONE HERE AT LONG TAN IS DEDICATED TO THE ANZACS WHO SERVED HERE. IT'S ALSO THE SITE OF ONE OF THE ANZAC'S MOST BRUTAL BATTLES. THIS SITE HERE IS THE AREA WHERE THE BATTLE OF LONG TAN WAS FOUGHT. I GUESS YOU CAN SAY FOR THE VIETNAM VETERANS, THIS IS OUR GALLIPOLI. THIS BATTLE WAS FOUGHT IN 1966. THE ORIGINAL CROSS WAS CUT DOWN WHEN THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT FELL, BUT OVER THE YEARS AS YOU CAN SEE THINGS HAVE MOVED ON, AND WE'VE BEEN GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A CHURCH SERVICE HERE. PVT H PIRENE, CPL G HOIRARA, PVT D WRIGHT, PVT J WILLIAMS, SAPPER BARRETT. KI A TAU, KI A TATOU KATOA TE ATAWHAI I TO TATOU, ARIKI AI... MOURNFUL VIOLIN MUSIC JUST A FEW KILOMETRES FROM THE MEMORIAL IS THE SITE WHERE JOHN, MATT AND DAD WERE BASED WHEN THEY WERE HERE. THIS IS WHAT'S LEFT OF THE MILITARY CAMP AT NUI DAT. IN ITS HEY-DAY IT WAS HOME TO HUNDREDS OF NZ SOLDIERS WHO SERVED IN THIS REGION. MORE THAN 4000 AUSTRALIAN AND KIWI TROOPS WERE HERE AT ANY ONE TIME. EVEN THOUGH IT WAS VIETNAM, ALL OF US IN THERE WERE KIWI. IT WAS A BIT LIKE BEING IN WAIURU OR SOMEWHERE. KIWI LAUGHTER? KIWI SONGS, KIWI LAUGHTER. THE VICTOR 5 COMPANY MOTTO WAS KIA KOTAHI TATOU ` 'WE ARE ONE,' WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT DAD STILL HOLDS TRUE TO THIS DAY. IT WAS A GOOD ONE TO HAVE THAT MADE PEOPLE STAND UP AND FEEL LIKE THEY'RE KIWI. THAT'S A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE. IT'S NOT ENGLISH. IT'S MAORI IT'S KIWI. DOES THIS BRING BACK MEMORIES? IS THIS AROUND THE SPOT WHERE YOU GUYS... MY DAD, THEIR COMPANY MOTTO WAS NEVER MORE REAL THAN THE DAY HE LOST HIS LEGS, AND THIS IS WHERE IT HAPPENED. DAD, JOHN AND OTHERS IN VICTOR 5 HAD BEEN CALLED IN TO HELP OUT ANOTHER PLATOON WHO HAD BEEN IN CONTACT WITH THE VIET CONG. THE TRAIL LED THEM HERE, UP THE NUI THI VAI MOUNTAIN RANGE. THE VIET CONG BEGAN LOBBING GRENADES FROM BEHIND THE LARGE BOULDERS, THE KIWI'S TAKING CASUALTIES. THE ORDER WAS TO STAY ON THE ROCKS AND DON'T STEP ON THE GROUND. I CAME TO A PLACE WHERE I WAS ON HIS ROCK, AND JUST IN FRONT OF ME WAS ANOTHER ROCK, BUT BETWEEN ME AND THAT ROCK WAS A LOW BRANCH GOING ACROSS. I HAD MY RIFLE AND MY GEAR ON, AND I THOUGHT, 'FAR OUT, I CAN'T JUMP ACROSS THERE.' SO I STEPPED DOWN. BOOM. YEAH, THAT WAS IT. I THINK THEY WERE QUITE, CLEVER, EH, HOW THEY PLACED THE MINES AND THEY'D WORK OUT, PEOPLE WOULD STEP THERE; PEOPLE WOULD STEP THERE. WE'D GO AROUND THIS AND THAT AND PLACE THEM APPROPRIATELY. VERY CLEVER. JOHN RECALLS 10 MEN BEING INJURED IN JUST ONE DAY DURING THE ATTACK. THREE, INCLUDING MY DAD, LOST LIMBS. THEN I COULD SMELL THE STENCH OF BURNING FLESH. MY LEGS, YEAH. MEN FROM VICTOR 5 RISKED THEIR LIVES TO GET DAD TO SAFETY. THEY PUT ME IN THE STRETCHER THING, AND THEY STARTED TAKING ME UP. I WAS LOOKING DOWN AND I WAS SMILING DOWN AT THE GUYS AND WHETHER THEY SAW ME OR NOT, BUT I WAS SMILING DOWN AT THEM JUST TO TRY TO GIVE THEM SOME INDICATION THAT I WAS OK. PRETTY QUIET, LONELY TRIP DOWN THAT HILL. MY BROTHER, SISTER AND I, HEARING THIS STORY HERE WHERE IT ALL HAPPENED IS VERY SURREAL, IT'S PROBABLY THE MOST THROUGH RECORD I'VE HEARD OF IT FROM DAD, AND ALSO JOHN TELLING LOTS OF IT. I'VE ONLY HEARD LITTLE BITS BEFORE AND MOSTLY JUST THE BIT WHERE HE WAS` I KNEW HE WAS GOING BETWEEN ROCKS AND I THOUGHT HE HAD SAID HE WAS A BIT LAZY, AND SO HE STEPPED DOWN AND THAT WAS BOOM, SO, YEAH, IT'S QUITE NICE TO HEAR A BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT WENT ON AND TO SEE THE PLACE, AND NOW I'M HERE, I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW I FEEL. NAH, I DON'T THINK IT'S ABOUT HAVING TO TRY AND EXPLAIN OR UNDERSTAND WHY, BUT I THINK IT JUST IS, AND IT'S THE TEARS THAT... (CRYING DISTORTS SPEECH) (SOBS) AS WE GO TO LEAVE, DAD COMES ACROSS THIS VIETNAMESE MAN. HE LOST HIS LEG AFTER STANDING ON A MINE UP THE SAME MOUNTAIN RANGE AS MY FATHER AFTER THE WAR HAD ENDED. I DON'T DOUBT THERE ARE OTHERS AROUND WHO HAVE LOST A LIMB OR TWO. BECAUSE THERE ARE MINES OUT THERE STILL. PEOPLE DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY ARE, 40 YEARS LATER. GENTLE GUITAR MUSIC SOMBRE MUSIC BEFORE THIS TRIP, THE IDEA OF VIETNAM HASN'T ALWAYS BEEN PLEASANT. BUT AFTER ALL WE'VE EXPERIENCED AS A WHANAU, THERE'S NOW THERE'S A SENSE OF PEACE. IT'S A SPECIAL TRIP FOR ME WITH ALL OF YOU HERE WITH ME. ALL I KNOW IS THERE'S A STRONGER BOND BETWEEN US. YEAH. I JUST FEEL IT. I REALLY ENJOYED IT HERE. I'M GLAD I CAME BACK. NA REWA HARRIMAN TERA PURONGO. AND IT WAS PRODUCED BY ADRIAN STEVANON. HE MIHI NUI TENEI KI A RUKA ME TE WHANAU HUDSON. COMING UP NEXT WEEK ON THE HUI ` SOFT PIANO MUSIC THEY'RE SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL ABUSE AND BREAKING THEIR SILENCE. I JUST REALLY WANTED TO NOT FEEL ASHAMED ANY LONGER AND LET PEOPLE MAKE ME ASHAMED ANY LONGER. I DON'T WANNA CARRY ON FEELING LIKE IT'S SOMETHING THAT I HAVE TO HIDE. NO LONGER HIS VICTIMS, CELESTE AND TEANA SMITH STOOD UP TO THE MAN WHO STOLE THEIR INNOCENCE AND WAIVED THEIR RIGHT TO NAME SUPPRESSION. AND I FEEL A LOT OF PEOPLE SEE IT AS A SHAME OF THE FAMILY, BUT IT'S NOT. THERE'S ONLY ONE PERSON TO BLAME WITH ANY SEXUAL ABUSE. COURAGE WAS THE KEY THAT SET THESE SISTERS FREE. I THINK ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS THAT CAN COME FROM THIS IS HAVING PEOPLE FEEL MORE EMPOWERED ABOUT SPEAKING OUT. IT'S THIS AMAZING YOU FEELING YOU GET AFTER SPEAKING OUT, BUT ALSO THE FACT THAT THE MORE PEOPLE DO IT, THE LESS LIKELY IT COULD HAPPEN. THANKS FOR JOINING US TODAY HUI HOPPERS. BEFORE WE GO, WE'D LIKE TO SEND OUR AROHA TO ALL WHANAU WHO'VE BEEN AFFECTED BY THE EARTHQUAKES. AKU MIHI PUKUAROHA KI A KOUTOU KATOA KUA RARUA E TE KAHUI O RUAUMOKO. KUA HIKINA TE HUI. HEI KONA MAI RA. CAPTIONS BY ABLE WWW.ABLE.CO.NZ CAPTIONS WERE MADE POSSIBLE WITH FUNDING FROM NZ ON AIR. COPYRIGHT ABLE 2016 THE HUI WAS MADE WITH FUNDING FROM THE NZ ON AIR PLATINUM FUND.