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Fraser was still shouting orders after the blast. Stay back. More mines. Stay back.
Second Lieutenant John Fraser, 23, from Surfers Paradise, was lying in a minefield in the Long Hai Hills with wounds that would kill him. His men were running toward him. He told them to stop.
Hours earlier, on 24 March 1968, Fraser had been leading 9 Platoon, C Company, 3RAR, through the Hon Vung feature.
The jungle ridge was seeded with mines. The Viet Cong had buried M16 bounding mines along every approach. When triggered, the device launched one metre into the air and detonated at waist height, spraying steel in every direction.
Fraser stepped on one. He heard the fuze arm.
Standard doctrine said drop flat. But his men were too close. A bounding blast would cut through them at chest height. Fraser forced both feet together on top of the mine and drove his weight down.
The explosion tore through him. It knocked the men of 9 Platoon off their feet. But the mine never bounced. Fraser's body absorbed the force that was meant to kill at range.
Three soldiers nearby were wounded. All three survived.
Before he was a platoon commander, Johnny Fraser was a Gold Coast kid with a gap-toothed grin. He grew up on the Gold Coast Highway in Surfers Paradise, played First XV rugby at both Nudgee and The Southport School, and was selected for the Combined GPS First XV. He started medicine at the University of Queensland. Lasted one term.
Switched to a cadet role with an agricultural company.
When his birthday was drawn in the national service ballot, Fraser trained at Scheyville. Instructors noted his calm under pressure and natural authority.
His two-year obligation was nearly finished when 3RAR began preparing for Vietnam. He could have gone home. Instead, he applied to extend his service and deploy.
He sailed with the battalion to Vung Tau in December 1967, took command of 9 Platoon, and led his men in the 3RAR ballad, "There Won't be Many Coming Back." Gallows humour from men who knew the odds.
On 24 March, Fraser didn't come back.
He was evacuated by helicopter. He died before it reached Vung Tau. The radio message to battalion headquarters was short. Johnny Fraser was dead.
He is buried at Allambe Memorial Park in Nerang. A park 280 metres from his childhood home carries his name.
At The Southport School, the most respected rugby trophy is not awarded for tries scored. It goes to the best tackler, the player who puts his body on the line for the team. It is called the Lieutenant John Fraser Memorial Trophy.
His name is inscribed on Panel 5 of the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial.
Lest we forget
Rod Hutchings
Director
Virtual War Memorial Australia
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