Yesterday we had a very inspirational man come in and his name is Barry Heard. He came and talked about his life when he was in the Vietnam War. He has had such a hard life but yet he still keeps his head up high and talks to many schools about his life in the war and what happened after he returned. It was really sad to hear what happened to the people they shot but yet at the same time it was understood why they had to do it. Barry never wanted to be an author; the way his book came together was unintentional. It started by him being in a mental institution writing a letter to his wife about his past. Even though he didn’t want to have his name on any of his books, his publisher put them on them and his book called “Well Done, Those Men” was the only book in Victoria to be voted the best-selling book. He sold 3,000 books and got over 6,000 letters. All the money from his books being sold goes to a charity to feed kids in other countries. Barry Heard’s story moved us all in a way that none of us could really explain, it made us realise that our lives really aren’t that bad. It made us appreciate the life that we have now compared to what it could have been like.

Lachie - Chaffey Secondary College and Shannon - Echuca College