As the world prepares for Remembrance Day on Monday, November 11, former infantryman Colonel David Mead (retired) reflects on his service during the Vietnam War and his later conservation efforts in Cambodia. Veterans and civilians alike will gather to honor sacrifices made in conflicts across generations.
By age 22, Col. Mead was leading a platoon in Vietnam’s Fifth Battalion, where his team consisted of both regular soldiers and conscripts around his age. His first tour ended tragically on July 4, 1969, when landmines claimed the lives of three men and injured many others, including Mead himself. “It is the only night of my 30 years’ service I would like to take back,” he told News of the Area.
After recovering from his injuries, Mead became an instructor at the Jungle Training Centre before returning to Vietnam to train officers and NCOs in the South Vietnamese Army. His military career then took him across the globe, from the British Army in Germany to leading the 6th Battalion in exercises from northern Australia to California. In the 1990s, as the Director of Infantry at Singleton, he volunteered to serve as Defence Attaché to Cambodia, where he oversaw programs aimed at professionalizing the Cambodian Armed Forces. However, his tenure ended abruptly amid the political turmoil of late 1997, after which he returned to Australia to address PTSD and fatigue.
Mead returned to Cambodia as a civilian soon after, dedicating his time to protecting the country’s forests and wildlife in the Cardamom Mountains, which remain safeguarded today. Collaborating with Conservation International, he established an NGO and assisted various organizations, including those supporting the Blind Association and Buddhism for the Environment. His efforts to protect Cambodia’s forests, threatened by illegal logging and powerful financial interests, led to his portrayal in the 2004 SBS documentary, Conservation Colonel, which followed his conservation efforts along the Thai border. “They chop trees down to nothing, even the mother-trees, destroying the biodiversity of the area,” he said.
As Cambodia’s forests face ongoing threats, Mead found a creative outlet for his experiences in poetry. Writing has allowed him to process his memories and express complex emotions, resulting in his book of photos and poems, The Churning: Portrait of a People Tormented, produced with support from The Phnom Penh Post. “The Churning” draws inspiration from a Hindu creation myth, exploring themes of conflict and loss.
Now based in the Tea Gardens-Hawks Nest area, where he looks forward to spending time with family, fishing, and golfing, Col. Mead continues to write poetry. On Monday, he will join fellow veterans at Tea Gardens ANZAC Park for the Remembrance Day service.
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