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Edited by Len Findlay____________ Horrific injuries ended war heroics in Vietnam UGO DE LONGIS · Born: Avellino, Italy. August 1946 · Died: Perth, September 2006 A forward scout is a very special soldier. "The loneliest and most daunting job of any member of the infantry," in the words of Alan Price, a former sectional commander in the Royal Australian Regiment (4IRARINZ). · Ugo De L.ongis was a forward scout with the 4th Battalion until the day a Viet Gong Claymore mine was detonated beside him and took away half of his stomach, forcing him back to Australia and almost eight months in hospital. "But it would have killed any of the rest of us," said his fellow forward scout, Freddie Bartholomew, of the 4th Battalion Some 38 years after it happened, Freddie still cannot keep the admiration from his voice. "And do you know what?" he said. "When he was demobbed, he told me he thought he had let people down. He never let anyone down." Alan Price described the job of the forward scout. "The forward scout is the only member of a unit who has no protection or covering fire in front of him or to the side. He is normally the one that the baddies shoot at first. "He has the task of attempting to keep alive the of his mates behind them, to get them from point A to point B, to sight the enemy first and to kill him; and all the while attempting to understand the sometimes-confusing silent signals sent up to him by the section commander. "At the same time that he is doing this, an equally smart and just as professional forward scout on the other side is attempting to find him. It took an exceptional soldier to be a forward scout in Vietnam. Ugo was an exceptional soldier and an exceptional scout, one of the best to serve in Vietnam." The road to Vietnam was a roundabout one for Ugo De Longis. He was born in Avellino, north of Naples, one of four boys and two girls born to Ernesto and Antinesca. Ugo's father was a boilermaker and in 1953, with his oldest son, Vincent, emigrated to WA, ending up in Toodyay. Ugo, his mother and other siblings followed in 1955.
Ugo was a cyclist of some note, his usual training run was along the Northam Toodyay road. He was also a member of the Toodyay Bush Fire Brigade and was one of the representatives of his station to go to Kalgoorlie for the State Fire Brigade Games. He worked with his father and brother on the land but almost lost a hand when chopping wood. Aged 20, he was called up for the army - and Vietnam. He trained at Karrakatta where he met Freddie Bartholomew. The pair were then sent to Puckapunyal, Victoria, for further training, then Singleton, in NSW Having been assigned to the 4th Battalion, the trainees were given home leave before embarkation. Ugo almost failed to make it home. It was towards Christmas 1967 and the train trip from NSW to Perth was to take four days. The troops had a couple of beers and were bored so Ugo decided that the carriage next-door was worth a visit. Unfortunately, the door between the carriages was locked. "I'm going for it outside," he shouted to Freddie Bartholomew, who then watched in horror as Ugo grabbed the vertical handles outside of both carriages and swung over - but he could not open the door of the next carriage and he could not get back to Freddie. "He was as strong as a bull," said Freddie, "but he was slipping. `I'm going,' he yelled and slid down till his feet were hitting the ground. So he was running alongside the train until he let go and fell on his face." Freddie stopped the train but a search failed to find Ugo. He arrived home two days after the train, having hitched a lift."After I hit the ground," he said later, "I checked my arms and legs were OK, then ran off and hid. I didn't want the MPs maybe stopping my leave." After leave, it was off to Vietnam, where US freelance war correspondent Joe Maggio saw "The Fighting Fourth" in action. There were 600,000 US troops in Vietnam but Maggio wrote: " . . . the 8000 Australian Task Force ... will accomplish the mission far better and with greater military proficiency and professionalism than any unit in the US field forces." It was just six weeks in to his tour of duty when Ugo was hit by the mine, a vile weapon made with scrap metal and glass and detonated remotely. Following his months in hospital-the surgeons told him he had been "touch and go" - he joined the Department of Works, on light duties, driving Lt-Col Frank Statham around and acting as a courier. It was there he met Pamela Thompson and the pair married in December 1979. They had two children, Ben and Rebecca. Ben has maintained his father's legacy as a member of the Army Reserve. Ugo bought a northern suburbs hardware store in 1986 and loved nothing better than a chat with customers and giving advice. "I think he liked that more than actually selling things," said Para, "He was in his element helping people solve problems." In 1990 Ugo suffered his first heart attack, followed, four months later by another. He then had two more attacks which would have killed him had he not been in hospital when they hit. "But we got an extra 16 years," said Pam. "He lived a quiet life and we loved getting away in the caravan and family outings to places like Toodyay." Next week the family will toast him with his favourite Strega liquor at the Toodyay Show. Ugo died of a heart attack on September 6. Freddie Bartholomew summed up: "He might have been of Italian extraction - but, mate, he was True Blue." Courtesy "The West Australian" |
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