WHO ARE THE ACTIVE EIGHT?

The Active Eight was formed not long after the Welcome Home Parade Sydney in 1987 by a small group of dedicated ex 8 Field Ambulance members.

Our mission was to find as many ex-unit members as we possibly could and over the years our ranks have now swollen to over 90, including many doctors that served at the hospital at Vung Tau and the forward attachment at Nui Dat, also our former pharmacist, adjutant, quartermaster, 4 of the original 5 nurses, Red Cross officer, medics, cooks and drivers. We keep in contact with each other via our quarterly newsletter and e-mail loop. Reunions are conducted every year and have been held in every state excluding the Northern Territory.

Although our membership is mainly made up of members from 1967/68, we do have many that served with 8 Fd right through to 1972, also we have medical personal who served with other units in our group.

Our reunions have now become very family orientated with not only our wives and partners attending, we are now seeing many of the member’s children and grand children also attending, it has become a very large extended family with many new friends that we all look forward to catching up with every year.

The Active Eight is a group of Veterans that nurture friendship amongst its members, support each other in times of crises and enjoy the camaraderie that was forged out of war.

In October 1966 a convoy of 8 Fd Amb vehicles departed Puckapunyal for Rockhampton to attend “Exercise Barrawinga”. Convoy was made up of 10 Landrovers with trailers and 10 Mk 3 trucks with trailers. This trip took around 7 days to complete staying over night at Show Grounds in small country towns along the way.

A medic by the name of Ray (Flo) Boddenberg who was a passenger in one of the trucks, coined the nick name “Active Eight” after we stopped for fuel at a Golden Fleece” service station, just as a then television personality called Stanley, was there opening the new state of the Art in “1966”, Golden Fleece Truck Stop. There was a huge banner that read, Active 8 is Great Mate, referring to the fuel, and in a sudden moment of “Brilliance” Ray said, this is it, our new slogan for the unit. So the name stuck and for a better word, we become the Active Eight.

Golden Fleece Petrol now long gone, thought up the slogan, and we adopted it.

BECOME A MEMBER

The Active Eight is opened to all past members of 8 Field Ambulance who served in South Vietnam from 1967 until 1972. Also any member of the RAAMC who may have been attached or served with other medical units in SVN. Associated membership is open to those who served with 8 Field Ambulance prior to the unit’s deployment to SVN.

For further information contact, The Secretary at; activeeight@bigpond.com