For a period of eight months, Horton saw some horrific scenes when he served in the Vietnam War.

“Vietnam to me was a posting,” he said.

“They said to us ‘you’re with the helicopter squadron and you’re going to Vietnam’ so I thought thanks very much.”

Even though his memory was cloudy, Horton remembered snippets of his time as a helicopter door gunner – a crewman tasked with firing and maintaining manually directed armament aboard the helicopter.

“I don’t remember much from my time over in Vietnam, just flying helicopters 2000 feet up and hanging out of the side to see if we were all clear,” he said.

“I was over there for eight months and then they pulled us out.”

Before he headed to Vietnam, Horton had to undergo a gruelling training camp.

“I didn’t like the jungle training camp we had to do – I thought I was fit until I went up there before three weeks,” he said.

Horton admitted Anzac Day was a time to reflect on what servicemen and women had done to give the freedom we see today.

“I get emotional over it because I lost a few friends over in Vietnam, but I’m paying respects to those that didn’t return,” he said.

“It does give me pride in the country and the sacrifices people made; Anzac Day is to get together with friends and mates and relive comradeship.”

He felt the Anzac spirit would continue on with the younger generation becoming more aware of the importance of the day every year.

“School kids appreciate it more and more over the years,” he said.

“We have Vietnam Vets going out to the schools and explaining about Anzac Day and they get right into it.

“Anzac Day is about having pride in serving your country."

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