Full Circle for Mick

SYNOPSIS OF FULL CIRCLE

In the late eighteen hundreds, a German Engineer went to China and built the first railways there from Shanghai towards the border of southern China and Vietnam. With the money paid to him by the German Colonial Organisations, he was again in their employ and was sent to the then German colony of German South West Africa, now known as Namibia. His son was born in Africa and after the family left for Germany, in due course he with his family settled in Australia. Things were difficult in the new country and some members of the family were subjected to understandable racism due to the fact that it was just after WW2 that the family arrived in Australia.

The Grandson of the German engineer lied about his age in order to serve with the Australian Army in the Vietnam War. In doing so, he also altered the date shown on his Australian Naturalisation papers from 01/03/1947 to 01/03/1946 by using a black pen to alter the seven in1947 to a six.

This resulted in him being put into the Australian Army and serving in the Vietnam War with his unit being 1RAR. He met a Buddhist monk while there, who spoke excellent English and who told him about his Grandfather. Mick then promised him that he would return to Vietnam as a qualified Engineer with the aim of helping to rebuild the country that he had helped the Americans destroy.

When he applied for an Australian Passport, the Dept. Of Immigration not only refused to give him one but it cancelled his Australian Citizenship on the grounds that he had lied about his age and also altered an official document in so doing.

It then took another three years for him to get his citizenship back.

Copyright © 2012 Author Name

All rights reserved.

ISBN:

ISBN-13: 978-15355460729

Copyright © 2016 Michael Kramer

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

The information, views, opinions and visuals expressed in this publication are solely those of the author(s) and do not reflect those of the publisher. The publisher disclaims any liabilities or responsibilities whatsoever for any damages, libel or liabilities arising directly or indirectly from the contents of this publication

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Preface

I dedicate this book to the past and present members of the First Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment or 1RAR.

This is a work of fiction, but is based on a true story. All characters are imaginary and no such people exist or have existed, either living or dead. The inclusion of the name of any real person, either living or dead is entirely accidental and is a matter of coincidence.

The major events presented here did in fact occur and I have tried to be as exact as possible in describing these. I refer to such things as the names and dates of operations against the enemy by 1RAR during its second tour of duty in Vietnam. As far as I can both recall and research, the names of the operations against the enemy and the dates that these occurred as well as the results obtained are correct, and are a matter of record.

All other things presented in this novel including individual actions against the enemy, are a work of fiction and should not be represented as factual.

Readers in countries outside of Australia, e.g. USA, are re­minded that this novel is written in Australian English and that all spelling is correct in that language. A glossary of terms is at the rear of this book.

Signed: Michael Kramer

Table of Contents

The Beginning: Friedrich Lampman and Swakopmund

First of March, 1947, Cologne West Germany15

Migration Agreement with Australian Government20

Heyfield 26

Mount Burr33                 

Nangwarry36

The School Bus40

Millicent49

Northern Territory53               

Australian Army57

Training Schedule for 9Pl, C Coy. 1RAR64

JTC Canungra70

The French Takeover74

Trooping of the Colours Parade80         

Andy’s Bakery83

Vietnam85

The Enemy87                     

Operation Pegasus91

Religion93

Some Weapons used by enemy forces in Vietnam95   

Operation Blaxland111

Operation Toan Thang One112

Operation Toan Thang Two122

Operation Elwood123

The Buddhist Monk125

Operation Platypus128

Operation Nowra130

Operation Windsor131

Operation Capital133

Operation Goodwood One134

Australian Field Hospital Vung Tau137

Coming Home139

Back in Australia144

The Marriage147

Back in Australia and First Signs of PTSD150

Colonel Campbell of Army Intelligence  154

The First Darwin Posting  157

Third Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR)162

Second Darwin Posting167

Diagnosis of PTSD170

Study of Engineering Honours Degree176

Boat People181

Discharged!191

Walla Bloody Walla194

Insurance Consultants203

The Nam Bus206

Graduation209

Australian Dept. Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC)215

The Australian Citizenship Fiasco218

Support from Other People231

DIAC Meeting 23/Sep/2013240

Citizenship Regained and Passport Issued246

Glossary of Terms248

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Introduction

My name is Jim Clark. I am a Defence writer for News Limited. In August 2013, an article written by me appeared in the newspapers. The story was about the plight of an Australian Vietnam Veteran who was originally a German immigrant. In 1967, he volunteered to serve with the Australian Army in Vietnam. He was only twenty years old, and this posed a dilemma. He was told that, being under the age of twenty one, he would need the signatures of his parents in order to join the army. These not being available, he simply altered his date of birth shown on the rear of his Australian Naturalisation Certificate from 01/March/1947 to 01/March/1946, allowing him to be admitted into the Australian Army and become an officer in the infantry forces. During his service, he was both decorated and wounded in action.

Forty-five years after he signed up to go to war for Australia, this Vietnam Veteran was in trouble. That is when I came to know him. In August 2012, the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) cancelled his Australian Citizenship Papers for Altering an Official Document

When I first met Michael Lampman, he appeared dis­tressed about the situation. The New South Wales Gov­ernment was about to take away his driver’s licence, because in NSW, it is not legal for someone to have a Driver’s licence unless that person is either an Australian Citizen or has an official document granting him/her evidence of Approved Residency Status in Australia – and Michael now had neither one.

I thought that just one interview would give me the background for his story. It was enough to get the newspa­per article written, but I found myself wanting to know a lot more. When the article was published, both readers and colleagues were astounded by the story. When I discussed the case and its background, a number of my colleagues suggested that a book would be needed to tell the whole story.

I have since been in contact with Michael, and he tells me that the citizenship problem that brought us together has finally been resolved. This is the story of one man’s battle and final victory against official disinterest, rampant bureaucracy, and even racism. It is also the story of how he battled Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), entered into mature-age studies, qualified as an engineer, and finally achieved his dream of starting an architectural and engineering drafting business.

The beginning: Friedrich Lampman and Swakopmund

To tell this story satisfactorily, we must begin with Friedrich Lampman (his surname anglicised from the German ‘Lampmann’). Friedrich, commonly nicknamed Fritz was a German engineer who worked in the Shanghai area of China in the late eighteen hundreds. He built some of the first railroads in China, including one from the Shanghai district towards the border with Vietnam and Southern China. With the monies paid to him by the German Colonial Organisations active in China, he travelled to the colony of German South-West Africa, now called Namibia.

Upon arrival in German South-West Africa, Friedrich began work building the infrastructure of Swakopmund (the port city of Namibia), including the jetty, railways and street layout as well as some buildings. He went on to open a salt mine and two diamond mines.

In 1917, a son was born to Friedrich and Anna Lamp-man. He was christened Friedrich Wilhelm Paul Lampman. The family lived in Swakopmund, in a home that Friedrich Senior designed and built. The local population named the home ‘Lampmannsdorf’ (Lampmann’s Village). This name was also applied to the machine shop and foundry estab­lished by Friedrich Lampman Senior, when some houses were erected around these industrial buildings. In time, Lampmannsdorf became a suburb of Swakopmund in its own right.

As World War One was approaching, a number of people said, We will beat British Forces and they will not come here. This was not the case, with the victorious British in fact taking over German South-West Africa. Friedrich lost his diamond mines to a well-known interna­tional diamond company.

First of March 1947, Cologne, West

Germany

With the wind blowing hard, in the middle of a fierce storm, Edeltraut Zimmerman began her journey from her home to 1054 Olpenner Strasse in Cologne, West Germa­ny. Edeltraut was a respected and well experienced midwife, and she was on her way to assist with a child­birth. The expectant mother was Hildegard Lampman (née Koch). This was a home birth, as the address at Olpenner Strasse was one of very few buildings in Cologne to not be extensively damaged by Allied bombing during the war – which at this point had only been finished for a little over eighteen months. As such, the home was highly prized. For a short time, it had even been used as a headquarters by occupying Allied Forces.

Edeltraut slowly drove her much-loved Volkswagen Beetle car to the given address at Olpenner Strasse, wishing all the way that the wind would die down and not push her little car around so much, as it was becoming difficult to control. She finally arrived safely at the Lampman residence and made her way to the front door of the two-level home, ringing the doorbell. The door was opened by Anna Lampman, who received her warmly and ushered her inside to where Hildegard was in labour. Anna was Hildegard’s mother-in-law – the mother of Friedrich Wilhelm Paul Lampman. Hildegard had been in labour for four hours now and was looking forward to the birth so that the pain would finally end and she would have her child.

After a while, Edeltraut felt around and pronounced that this was going to be a breech birth. This meant that the child was positioned the wrong way and was about to come feet first instead of head first. It was just as well that she was experienced in such more difficult births. As Hilde­gard pushed, she found that things were becoming more painful all the time. As the baby finally emerged, Edeltraut slowly rotated it... and not long afterwards they heard the sound of an infant crying. Edeltraut then cut the umbilical cord, washed the baby, and handed it over to Hildegard, saying, Congratulations, Mrs. Lampman, you have a fine and very healthy son! Hildegard accepted her new boy with great love and relief.

Hildegard was born a Prussian, and she therefore fol­lowed her family’s Prussian tradition of giving the first son four Christian names. She named her son Michael Georg Kaspar Friedrich Lampman. Many years later, this was to prove a problem for Michael – a story that we will cover in greater detail later.

From now on, I’ll refer to Michael by his preferred name of Mick; this was also the name that most people who came into contact with him knew him by. His father, Friedrich Wilhelm Paul Lampman will from now on be simply referred to as Fritz, which was his nickname. His mother, Hildegard Lampman, will be referred to as Hildegard.

Hildegard was industrious and skilled in knitting and sewing. These skills were of particular importance in post­war Germany, in particular 1947-1949, when there was a shortage of many items including clothing and footwear. So, after recovering from the birth, Hildegard began making jumpers and pants for the infant Mick. She consistently worked on new items and in due course, had enough clothing for her son. She then enrolled Mick into a kindergarten and went on to work in the reconstruction effort that was evident throughout Germany.

Due to the huge number of buildings that were little more than the shells of walls – and the fact that these were a constant danger to the public in the form of falling bricks and masonry – many people formed work gangs to demolish the bombed-out buildings. The material recov­ered was then reused for new buildings. This was to mark the beginning of what people later called the economic miracle of West Germany. The Chancellor of West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) at the time was Conrad Adenauer.

On the twenty eighth of November of 1948, Andreas Christopher Lampman was born. We shall refer to him as Andy from now on. He was a healthy baby and his arrival occurred without complications. Again the birth took place in the Lampman Home at 1054 Olpenner Strasse, Cologne. By now, some of the difficulty in obtaining things had eased and Hildegard was able to secure a well-made pram with large wheels.

Hildegard walked into Cologne regularly. On at least one of these trips, she took Mick – who was a toddler and could walk quite well by now. To this day he remembers the then cityscape of Cologne and its central business district. Andy was also present, but in the pram. On the eighteenth of December, 1949, Hildegard, Andy (in the pram) and Mick were en route to the Kinder­garten when an unknown woman approached them and began screaming at Hildegard, You fucking high class arseholes are all alike. You live in a totally undamaged house that is multi-story and could easily be used to accommodate people like me who have to live on the street but you will not do that. I and others must live either in the bombed out ruins or under bridges while you have the luxury of an undamaged home and heating, yet you and other people like you have the hide to look down upon people like me, you high society bitch!

Hildegard, the daughter of a banker, immediately said, Yes, I am high society and in total control of my destiny when compared to the likes of you. Yes, I live in an undamaged home and you cannot come into it. So, instead of bemoaning your fate, get on with your life, you gutter wench, or return to the gutter where you belong and let the hard working people of this city get on with their own lives – you low-grade bitch!

Hildegard’s husband, Fritz, had just returned from the assembly line of the now General Motors car known throughout the world as Opel, where he worked as one of the production supervisors. When Hildegard told him of the encounter with the woman in Cologne city, his reaction to this news was, Well, my dear, I personally think that you have done the correct thing and to hell with the bitch. I also think that you will get a lot more of this sort of thing – people are desperate for good shelter with heating and very envious of people like us who have it. I think that I had better inform my brother Andreaous about this situation because he is a lieutenant in the Cologne Police Force. I also think that we should keep an eye on this situation and if this sort of thing continues, we should consider various alternatives.

Hildegard was thrilled by this response, because she took it as a hint that Fritz was considering leaving Europe. For a long time, she had wanted to leave Europe with its petty international squabbles and the possibility of war because of them. She wanted to be free of the threat of war and she wanted her sons to grow up in a country free of it too. For this reason, she said, Fritz, I have been investigat­ing the possibility of us all leaving Germany and migrating to another country. I have looked at a number of possibili­ties and I have a shortlist of places where we could possibly go to. The first of these is your birthplace of Swakopmund, in German South-West Africa. I have also obtained information about migrating to Canada and Australia. In all cases, I do not have information on possible employment and home availability. So, where do you think we could go?

The answer from Fritz was, If we go to German South-West Africa, it will almost be like returning home. However, we must remember that after World War One, the victorious British have taken over everything there, including the two diamond mines that my father estab­lished. These are now owned and operated by DeBeers. Even though there is a suburb in Swakopmund named after Dad, I suspect that the British authorities will not take kindly to a German returning to Swakopmund, in particular now that the full atrocities of the Nazi Government of Germany during World War Two have become common knowledge. We must be practical. Let’s face it: if we stay here, we have shelter and heating, food, some cloth and clothing. We do not have to learn another language and we can stay among our own people. I have a responsible position here, and there is no guarantee that I could even obtain work in another country so, I favour staying in Germany – even though it will be difficult for the next few years.

This did not suit Hildegard at all, and she said, I want my sons to grow up in a country where there is little likelihood of that country becoming involved in a war. I don’t ever want my children to experience a war, no matter what the circumstances. Fritz, you are very good at languages and I know that you can already speak English, so how about us migrating to Australia?

To this Fritz replied, My love, are you really serious? By simply staying here and riding out the temporary hard times, we are assured of doing well financially. Already, we live in a two-story home that is large enough to accommodate us and my parents. My position at Opel is a responsible one and it pays good money. All we have to do is to keep on going and in time, all will be well. Cologne is already rebuilding and it is just a matter of time before all of this war damage will be just a memory. I am really against us leaving Germany. It will be hard for us in an English-speaking country because of the last war, but if you still feel this way after a year, then perhaps we should consider it. We will need to consider all financial matters, including the likelihood of obtaining work, pay scales and the probable cost of both building and accom­modation. Also, how we will be received by the local people, bearing in mind that it will not take them long to work out that we are German. Germans are not very popular people in both English and French-speaking countries at the moment.

Hildegard became alarmed that the idea of leaving Germany may be shelved, so she said, Fritz, you have a choice, either start doing what is necessary for us to migrate to Australia or Canada, or I will do so and go there on my own with my children. The choice is yours.

Although the idea of migrating to another country seemed totally crazy to Fritz, he contacted the Australian Immigration Department Office in Cologne and found out about assisted passage from Germany to Australia and

what this required of him and his family. Below is the undertaking that Fritz had to make and sign with the Australian Government to receive assisted passage from Germany to Australia:

Migration Agreement with Australian

Government

I, Friedrich Wilhelm Paul Lampman, of 1054 Olpenner Strasse, Cologne in consideration of the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia having agreed to make free grant towards the cost of my passage to Australia pursuant to the migration agreement made between the Governments of the Commonwealth of Australia and the Federal Republic of Germany on the 29th day of August 1952, DO HEREBY CONVENT with the Commonwealth of Australia in manner following –

(1) That I will remain in employment approved by the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia for a period of two years from the date of my arrival.

(2) Should I require for special reasons to depart from the Commonwealth of Australia before the expira­tion of two years from the date of my arrival, I will prior to my departure pay to the Commonwealth of Australia a sum equal to the amount that was grant­ed to me by the Governments of the Common­wealth of Australia and of the Federal Republic of Germany and by any international organisation to­wards the cost of my passage to Australia pursuant to the Migration Agreement herein before referred to.

(3) That while in Australia, I will use every endeavour to learn the English language, and will regularly at­tend the nearest free night class made available by the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia

(4)  for the purpose of providing migrants with instruc­tion in the English language.

(5)  Dated this..19 Jan 1952

(6)  Signed .........Witness......................

It was now that ASIO completed their investigation of Fritz and it was found that de-nazification had not been carried out. However, Fritz was considered to be useful to the Australian intelligence service, so the immigration application was approved.

On a sunny day in June 1953, the family of Hildegard and Fritz Lampman boarded the Australian Ice Breaker Nelly Dan at Bremen Haven. The Nelly Dan was normally in the service of the Australian Antarctic Expedition, but had been temporarily reassigned to the Australian Immigration Department to help in providing passage for migrants to Australia. There were many people seeing off their friends and relatives who were leaving Germany for Australia. Many of the migrants brought rolls of paper streamers which they threw from the deck of the Nelly Dan towards their friends and relatives on the wharf below them. The people on the wharf below caught and held these streamers until the ship moved off from the wharf. The breaking of