I Was Only Nineteen - Lyrics Glossary

Lyrics Glossary

The lyrics include words, terms and place names particular to Australia and Vietnam:

• ANZAC: Australian and New Zealand soldiers who fought in the world wars. Originally the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.
• Canungra: Jungle warfare training centre in the South-East Queensland Gold Coast hinterland, Queensland.
• Channel Seven: Australian television network.
• Chinook: Military helicopter.
• Contact!: Military term indicating contact with the enemy. Will also contain direction of contact either contact left, contact right, contact front or contact rear
• Dustoff: Casualty evacuation by helicopter.
• Greens: Jungle Green Working Dress, the field uniform worn by the Australian Army between the early 1960s and 1989.
• The Grand Hotel: A hotel in Vung Tau that had been converted for Army use.
• Light green: parts on a map which indicated supposedly more dangerous areas for soldiers to patrol as there was little dense foliage and cover and an area which was more likely to be mined.
• Nui Dat: Village in Bà Rịa province in Southern Vietnam, and the main base of 1 Australian Task Force from 1965 to 1972.
• Puckapunyal: Former Army enlisted soldier recruit training centre in Victoria.
• Shoalwater: Military exercise area in Queensland.
• Sixth Battalion: (aka 6RAR) Australian army battalion, whose D Company had been involved in the Battle of Long Tan during a tour three years earlier.
• Slouch hat: Parade head-dress for the Australian army.
• SLR: L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle (FN-FAL), standard 7.62 mm semi-automatic rifle issued to Australian infantrymen during the Vietnam War.
• Tinnies: Cans of beer.
• Townsville: City in Queensland, home of the Australian Army's 3rd Brigade & RAAF Base Townsville.
• VB: Victoria Bitter (beer).
• Vũng Tàu: Coastal city in Southern Vietnam which was both the main Australian logistic base and a rest area for troops based at Nui Dat.