SAS in The Vietnam War | Australian Vietnam Veteran Interview! Charles Stewart
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- RIP Charles Stewart - Interview conducted in 2004
Discover the extraordinary story of Charles Stewart, a decorated Australian SAS soldier who served in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. Born on 8 December 1946 in Lilydale, Victoria, Charles served with distinction in the Royal Australian Infantry Corps. From the jungles of New Guinea to the harrowing missions of Vietnam, his story exemplifies the courage and resilience of Australia’s elite SAS soldiers.
Charles Stewart is a life member of the Australian Special Air Service Association (ASASA) and has been honoured with multiple awards, including the Australian Active Service Medal with Clasp Vietnam and the Vietnam Medal. Learn about his remarkable service and his lasting legacy in this captivating account.
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I was a U.S.Marine from 1990-96. I believe in 1992?🤔 we went to Perth Australia. Every port we went to we were NOT to wear our uniforms. In Perth we were ordered to wear our uniforms because it was a “friendly” port.
The locals were so good to us. They had a huge welcoming party at a function center near the pier. They were very patriotic and it was explained that the population was thankful for the Marines actions against the Japanese in WW2. I was very humbled by that. I have NEVER heard anything but great things about the Aussies and the SAS in particular. We were there for Anzac’s day?? I think it’s what they called it. Anyway we were all bummed out when we had to get back on ship and sail away. It was a great port and a great time. Australians are great people and this guy seems like one of the best.
Every port in Aus will welcome Americans, but Brisbane will remind you of the riots of Battle of Brisbane and tell you you are welcome but do not over step like you tried back then lol..
Perth was most safest area in WW2. more patriotic in the areas where Japanese bombed..
We are thankful what Marines did but more thankful that the Aussies saved Australia in Papua New Guinea. Solomon's did nothing really for Australia safety in WW2. 2000 kilometres from Australia.
Then when Aussies learned Marines left 40,000 Japs to run and live freely in Bougainville and the Aussies had to go hunt them all down as USA geared up for Iowa etc.
Yhen we will never forget MacArthur and his lies about Australia troops involevement.. you probably still think Aussies only did mopping up when did most in South Pacific as ground troops....
Anzac Day is the AUS and NZ equivalent of Veterans Day. April 25.
The efforts and sacrifice of the USMC 80 x yrs ago in the Pacific are unmeasurable. 🇦🇺❤️🇺🇲 (Note - this applies to all of the services) We salute all of you
I love the considered answers to questions about operations. As an Englishman I see the same with SAS members from Hereford. They don’t give away intricate details. Calm relaxed. Charles is a man you want on your side in a pub scrap!
BS the Brits are so egotistical they brag like crazy, always say they are the most elite and no other is as good.. amount of SAS and Navy seal books and movies is crazy.
Famous MACV SOG brag like crazy but barely any know SASR taught Navy seals and MACV SOG and were members of it and not one will do a interiew on it....
RIP legend another true humble Aussie hero no bullshit tells how it was love it
Our NewZealand SAS who served in Malaya,Borneo ,Vietnam were champion men who gave all and more.Warriors such as Ben Ngapo,Bill Lillicrap,Albie kiwi ,Warwick McCallion,Fred Barclay ,Bill Moffatt ,Bro Terry ,Dave Heywood were part of our NewZealand SAS in Vietnam
My CO, 1986-7, 1st Bn Royal Hampshire Regiment, was 22 SAS, he’d served in Vietnam with Aussie SAS. I served 1978-90. His tenure led to our being assigned, when back in Tidworth, UK, to 16 Air Assault Bde in a support or QRF role (to be clear we weren’t Paras). By that time he had introduced ‘milling’ (compulsory CO’s fitness) and static line (though not RAF Para School) jumps into our regular training, then part of Berlin Infantry Bde. As a JNCO I had a lot of close dealings with the Boss (Lt. Col. A. Freemantle). Remarkable man. I owed him everything. Difficult to overstate that. The Regiment was never in finer hands. He retired as a Brig. Why are we so poor at retention of excellence?
Yea bet British SAS took a lot of Aussies SASR tactics of jungle warfare back with them and put it in to SAS..
Is a good interiew with Nay seal who went on a 10 day mission with SASR and said his whole carrier through 1980's no other had the trade craft the Aussies did....
@@nedkelly9688after the initial beasting, (hills phase) for SAS selection, the next is the jungle phase, which I don’t think has anything to do with SASR training.
Quite a straight forward overview from the beginning to end. Stay well mate.
Charlie sadly passed away recently.
fantastic interview &thank you charles for your service
Cheers mate, thanks for watching!
Hi,thankyou for uploading this incredible content,awesomeness & respect &loads of love to the Australian&new Zealand regiments,Absolute heroism in face of adversities,God bless all Anzacs,cheers from the UK, have a pint on me,later,J.G
Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed it!
9pm - I'll just start this, pause, have my shower and come back.
12am - I best have that shower!
Fantastic, engaging and informative. It takes someone pretty special to be only 20 and wondering the jungles of Vietnam. Courage, drive, ticker and maturity in spades.
For being young uni students(I'm guessing) the interviewers did well.
At peace and enjoying a nice scotch with your mother I bet. RIP Charles.
RIP Charlie, a good man always missed
Fantastic interview.
Glad you enjoyed it!
The water discipline discussion was interesting....i was taught this and as such i am able to get though a few days on the water i carry. These days soldiers expect to see Jerry Cans of water every couple of hours.
This was one of the most eye opening parts of the interview for me. I live in SE Asia and with moderate exercise I will easily lose 500ml per hour in this climate - and dehydration with lack of electrolytes sends me downhill very quickly.
Loved this man’s account of his service in Vietnam
The history of the Australian SAS is a good read.
Cheers mate, I'll see if I can find a copy
Title and author, please?
Superb interview!
Only a certified hard bastard can start a sentence with ''And the next helicopter crash i was in...'' completely deadpan like he was talking about what he had for lunch last Monday. ANZACS and the Gurkhas consistently punched well above their weight and seem to be universally respected by allies and feared by the enemy. Thanks for sharing your story Charles.
A family friend, Ray Scutts was an original member of the SASR Served until 1978 and left as a Warrant Officer to join the Australian Federal Police and help organise security for the 1980 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane. He did a few tours of Vietnam. He inspired me to join the Australian Army in 1982. However going through basic training at Kapooka I decided that joining the Infantry and maybe SASR and parachuting into Bass Straight at night and swimming several kilometers to an oil rig might be beyond my idea of a good night out out and I decided to join the Royal Australian Engineers. As Clint Eastwood said "A man has to know his limitations"
The SASR and our Australian Special Forces have come into the spotlight in the last few years. Sometimes very unfairly.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
Thank you for your service Charles, you look good for 78 yo mate :)
Says he was interviewed in 2004 so twenty years ago, I suspect he is sadly not with us any more.
@@veridian79 Oh yes, I just googled him & he sadly passed away in Jan 2023. He still looked good in old age.
he was 58 at the time of this interview u goose
@@jasoncaisley5071 yes I was made aware of this last week....keep up buddy :D
John (Bugs) Delgado was an instructor on my basics course at Northam in the 1980's. I met him again a few years later in the Pilbara where we both worked in the mining industry. He was later in an incident where a chopper ditched on the way to an oil platform off the Kimberley Coast and everyone on board survived the incident. I put it down to Johns presence and experience . Also worked with Ken Bowen who was the patrol commander of a team that had one of the team members come in the wrong way and became a fatality. I believe he was a Fijian trooper attached to the patrol from NZ SAS and there was an element of unfamiliarity that led to him being identified as a hostile.
It's a book I want to read that hasn't been written yet.
You and me both
@@WarWhispersYTVery good film though. *The Odd Angry Shot*
Lots of little details they get right.
Really enjoyed the calm and articulate delivery of this man. He has a certain charisma about him.
@ I agree!
Great interview, thanks for uploading.
Cheers mate, glad you enjoyed it!
Great stuff 😎
He should Have been a Prime minister for Australia. A incredibly switched on digger. This guy makes me proud to be a Australian
Bloody oath!
That was very interesting , thank you
Glad you enjoyed it
Wow thanks for sharing. From New Zealand 👍👍👍
Cheers from down under, glad you enjoyed it!
ONYA Charles, cheers Fess! 😊😊😊
Love the insight with how he loaded or sas loaded tracers
He looks bloody good for his age, Legend 🤟
RIP Charly ☘
Excellent interviewers
My apologies, I now just saw date of interview. still looks great for his age at that time.
Dick kluzniak , Oka i knew very well 66 . Stanley billsbrough , got some of his art . RIP guys
Theres a couple of countries that have been pretty tough to invade throughout history. Afghanistan, Russia and Vietnam! RIP to the Aussies from all our towns across Australia🇦🇺😎🙏💯
You should lead with the fact that this man has passed and that this interview was from 2004
You should have asked him what they thought of the movie The Odd Angry Shot 😂
The Kiwi NZSAS were there as well with the Auzzie SAS 🔥
Charles is now dead, R.I.P Charlie Stewart, gone this week.
Poor blokes how did they survive with the beer they had to drink
I didn’t think that Vietnam was a declearEd war but a “Police Action” 🔥
Korea was a police action under the auspices of the UN. Vietnam was very much a declared war and continuation of the indo french war preceding the american involvment. Australia was involved in the Malayan Emergency and operation Claret in Borneo and the SASR was rotating between these conflicts and in the mid 60's into Vietnam. The Australian SAS was raised to fight in Malaya.
So is he 77yrs old if he was 20yrs old during 1967? wow.
Watch the film 'the odd angry shot' ,best Aussie war film.
"Right,.......you are all on charge"??
Three guys accidently.killed
One isnt safe anywhere
One was killed mistaken for the enemy returning from a
Observation.point according
To reports!
cheers Charley, a great individual and teams that did an amazing job in country. Sadly, an awful interviewer however. Charley and his teams invovlement was well worth listening too. cheers digger.
Generation separation - the young ones grew up in a softer world. They sound lost.
RIP dig.