Extract from interview with Pip Oldham, 9 May 2009
Reproduced with permission of Jack Hayes
4 Troop Commander Jack Hayes recalls coping with 'water discipline' during SAS operations in Vietnam.
We were constantly under water discipline. I used to have a stone in my mouth all day, I used to walk all day with a stone in my mouth and I would sip, not drink. We’d have a good drink at night before we’d go to bed. I drank tea a lot, I’d drink black tea with sugar but I’d have a good mug of tea before I went to bed at night and then in the morning I might have a half cup of tea for breakfast. And then I’d sip during the day, but not a lot of water. Because we were great believers in everybody's independence. If someone wanted to carry a lot of water, and drink a lot of water, that was their problem. They had to carry it. We weren't going to carry it for them.
Vietnam War Oral History Project, Manatu Taonga Ministry for Culture & Heritage
