I got to meet the man who saved my uncle during the Vietnam War
Trooper copeman was deployed to nui dat in Vietnam. On january 1967 russ was on a 4 man patrol and copeman was bring up the rear (tail end Charlie). There was contact with the enemy and russell was wounded in the abdomen and upper arm. Trooper john matten ( juvy) noticed that there was a man missing and under heavy fire from the enemy went back to rescue russell. Russell wanted juvy to leave him but juvy engaged the enemy throwing a white phosphorus grenade twords the enemy and striped copeman of his equipment and puting copeman on his shoulders and the patrol called in a radioed in a call for a choper for a hot evac With a badly wounded copeman was wrinched up first and then the rest of the patrol.
Juvy was the last one on the choper when he saw two enemy soldiers sprinting out of the jungle towards the helicopter where again he engaged the enemy and firing his m16 at the enemy and took out one and the other to flee
The choper picked the patrol up and droped off the 3 man at nui dat and copeman was taken to 2 feild ambulance at vong tau. He was visited by his mum and dad pearl copeman and james copeman in vong tau. A medevac flw copeman back to Australia to
3 field military camp hospital for forther treatment.
Sadly Russell payed the ultimate sacrifice and passed away of his wounds on the 10th of April 1967 he was the first and only Australian SAS soldier to die from enemy action.
Juvy was never awarded for his bravery and actions or recognised by the Australian government