The Jungle Dark

The Jungle Dark
ISBN: 9781742612270
Publication Date: 1 May 2015

The powerful true story behind the classic Aussie song I Was Only Nineteen.

On 21 July 1969, the soldiers of 3 Platoon crouched in the scrubby Vietnamese landscape listening to the news on the radio: Neil Armstrong had just stepped onto the moon.

Moments later, Platoon Commander Lieutenant Peter Hines stepped on a mine and the platoon was engulfed in a maelstrom of dirt, smoke and blood.

This is the true story of Frank 'Frankie' Hunt and the other soldiers of 3 Platoon, A Company, 6 Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment who became the inspiration for Redgum's 1983 hit song I Was Only Nineteen - the anthem for the veterans of the Vietnam War.

The Jungle Dark traverses the deep unhealed wounds of Vietnam soldiers and the song that finally brought them home.

About the Author

Steve Strevens emigrated from England in 1959, and joined the Navy two weeks after his 16th birthday. He served in Vietnam, Malay and Borneo and then became a freelance writer. He was a regular contributor to The Age and has been published in many major newspapers and magazines, both here and overseas. He is an award-winning journalist and has edited two regional newspapers. Steve's eight books include Slow River and the critically acclaimed biography of Bob Rose.

He lives on the far south coast of NSW with his partner and their two ageing, loveable, but quite mad, dogs.