Col  joined the Navy in 1965 at 16 , went to HMAS Leuwin in Perth for a years training.
He then left to go to sea. Col spent a small amount of time on HMAS Sydney before it was used as a troop carrier. He was called to join HMAS Hobartt, they were short crew. He was only 17, and the youngest on board.

They were part of the American 7 th fleet and came under their command. They were the first combat unit in the Australian Navy to be sent into action in Vietnam.  Most of their time was spent in the gulf of Tonkin, they had to disrupt North Vietnam supply lines to the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army.  They would send out all their equipment, arms etc in barges and boats we had to stop them.  Destroy them.  We came under fire weekly as we went into action and got closer we got the heavier it was, we came under fire the closest to that came to us.  It  was about 10 foot of the port bow,  his job was AALookout, exposed personel.   He watched as they were attacked and his job was to report their gun positions to the bridge.  Col was 17 years old when he spent his 18th birthday in rescue operations when the USS Forrestal blew up killing 134 men it was on his 18th birthday, 29th July 1967.  That night after we assisted in the rescue we went back into action.  After Vietnam, when he was 19, on board HMAS Stewart they were in the rescue squad When the USS Frankie Evans was cut in half by the Melbourne.  74 men died that morning.  Col was there and they went to assist.  

Col spent seven years in the Navy. His last year of the Navy was as a recruit school instructor at HMAS Cerberus, he then took his discharge.

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