Bradford, David Lloyd (Captain, b. 1941)

Collection relates to the Vietnam War service of 2146837 Captain David Lloyd Bradford, Royal Australian Army Medical Corps, Vietnam, May 1967 to April 1968.

Wallet 1 of 4 contains 1 folder with 69 items including letters and a driver’s licence. The letters are dated between May and July 1967. Letters detail his thoughts before leaving for Vietnam, Vietnamese children, treating local people and the difficulties of not speaking Vietnamese, an incident where an army vehicle injured a civilian, sermons and Christianity, hygiene inspections, sending parcels home, playboy magazines, watching a Buddhist funeral, and R&R (rest and recuperation).

Wallet 2 of 4 contains 1 folder with 40 items including letters, newspaper clipping, and conference notes dated between August and October 1967. The letters detail his daily life, ask for more recorded tapes including a recording of his family's evening meal conversation, contact with VC and 7RAR casualties, movie nights, soldiers showering in the rain, being a witness in a trial against an Australian soldier who damaged a local bar, Operation Ainslie, mail problems, religion, receiving parcels, and his sister’s wedding preparations. Letter dated 3 August 1967 mentions the deaths of Peter Shaun McGarry and Richard Mervyn Woolford.

Wallet 3 of 4 contains 1 folder with 38 items including letters, ephemera and pamphlets for a church service and prevention of venereal disease (VD). The letters are dated between November 1967 and January 1968. Letters detail Operation Santa Fe, his birthday, R&R trip to Taipei, missing his sister’s wedding, visiting the US 3rd Field Hospital, listening to tapes from his sister’s wedding, questioning the role of religion in the war, commenting on the number of Christian soldiers, feeling helpless, Harold Holt drowning, Christmas, receiving a piece of his sister’s wedding cake in the mail, getting sick, the postal strike, and his plans for the future. The letter dated 9 November 1967 mentions the death of Barry Tregear. Letter dated 13 December 1967 includes the death of Robert Graham Birse, including having to identify his body and to collect shrapnel for identification.

Wallet 4 of 4 contains 1 folder of 50 items consisting of letters and ephemera including a pay book and a 7RAR Officers’ Mess Farewell invitation. The letters are dated between February and December 1968. Letters detail issues with the post, being in the bush on operation Coburg, casualties and contact with VC, study and training options, anti-war sentiment, communism, the preacher Billy Graham, his return to Australia, his dislike of soft drinks and alcohol, receiving biscuits in the mail, church services, job prospects upon returning to Australia, Easter, and his family holiday plans upon his return.

The letters contained the collection have been incorporated into a book written by Bradford titled The Gunners’ Doctor: Vietnam Letters. The book includes contextual information and reflections after each letter. He details his formative experiences in Vietnam – questioning his faith, the war, celibacy, and communism. Bradford also writes about his life post service including his journey in the medical field, his and his family’s acceptance of his sexuality, and his faith.