If you've travelled on the Princes Highway between Moruya and Tuross Head during the past six months, you might have seen a spritely man donning a bright yellow shirt, energetically pounding the pavement (or in this case, the highway).
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
That man is 75-year-old Rick McCarthy OAM, former national serviceman and Vietnam War veteran.
Since December 2022, Mr McCarthy has spent every morning walking from his Tuross Head home with little more than the odd cow in a neighbouring paddock and some cars whizzing past to keep him company.
His first walk was a quick 10-kilometre loop from his house to the Princes Highway intersection which later progressed to 15 kilometres. By June, Mr McCarthy was clocking 36 kilometres a day, walking into either Moruya or Bodalla and returning home in the early afternoon.
"People don't realize the amount that they can walk," he said, "Your body will just keep walking".
"And some of those sunrises were just magnificent."
He said the people who waved and recognised his efforts were what kept him powering on.
READ MORE:
"I was recognising cars and people every day. My wife would say to me on the colder mornings, 'You're not going out today', but I told her people were waiting for me to wave."
His daily treks have prepared him for what will undoubtedly be the longest walk of his life when he covers 1100 kilometres on August 17 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War.
The goal is to walk 40 kilometres per day, starting from the Enoggera (Gallipoli) Barracks in Brisbane and ending in Bowral in the Southern Highlands. He hopes to encourage communities along the way to join his cause in remembering the sacrifices made by Australian veterans.
One year of service and a lifetime of memories
In 1968, after a few months of training, 20-year-old Mr McCarthy was flown into Vietnam as part of the 6th Battalion. For 12 months, he served alongside young Australian men he now considers family.
He said despite retaining traumatic memories of his time in Vietnam, the memory that sticks out for him the most is those spent building friendships and comradery with fellow servicemen.
"There were a number of incidences that happened over there that never leave you," he said.
"But most of my memories are of the good times."
When asked about his experience touching down in Sydney after the completion of his service, Mr McCarthy summed it up in two words: not good.
"Thousands of people that were [at the airport] applauded, and I found my family amongst the crowd. After that, there was dead silence.
"We just had to filter back into society."
He said one of his biggest concerns was not being accepted into some RSL clubs and feeling anxious discussing his service with work colleagues out of fear of being criticised.
"Whatever happened in Vietnam during the day was on the TV at night. Everyone had an opinion."
In 2004, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and began reaching out to organisations like Soldier On for help.
Honouring the fallen
In 2018, Mr McCarthy was inspired to establish Honour Our Fallen, a charity committed to perpetuating the memory of deceased veterans by engaging young Australians and encouraging research into ex-servicemen.
When travelling in the United States with his wife, Mr McCarthy met an American veteran who visited Sydney in 1968 while on R&R. He handed Mr McCarthy a plastic wristband and told him to wear it with pride.
READ MORE:
For the rest of the trip, he was thanked countless times for his service.
"It was quite unusual...people just walk past you and say 'thank you for your service'."
He said his emotions welled at a bar in Nashville, when a soldier who had just returned from Afghanistan approached Mr McCarthy and hugged him, thanking him for his service.
"That really got to me. I thought, when I go home, I'm going to do something about this."
He quickly found a facilitator to work with schools in the ACT, South Coast and Southern Highlands to give students the chance to discover and research veterans in their local area.
One of Honour Our Fallen's missions is to erect an Australian flag on the grave of every veteran.
"We're now in 180 cemeteries around the world and part of the reason I'm walking from Brisbane to Bowral is to create more awareness."
A walk to remember
Initially, Mr McCarthy was eager to walk from the east to the west coast of Australia.
"Four thousand kilometres might be a bit much."
Mr McCarthy will not be trekking alone: two of his supporters will be by his side, one travelling in a car and another in a motor home.
His fundraising walk will start in Enoggera Memorial Park in Brisbane and will initially head east to the Redlands RSL Club before heading south on the Pacific Motorway.
He will be making 38 overnight stops throughout regional Queensland and New South Wales, visiting towns like Kempsey, Bulahdelah, Grafton, Woolgoolga and Mullumbimby.
Primary school students, community members and councillors across the two states have already committed to joining Mr McCarthy's cause and will walk beside him as he ventures into new towns.
He hopes to raise $30,000 by the end of his walk, which will be donated to Honour Our Fallen and Soldier On.
Although Mr McCarthy is giving his legs a much-needed break before the long walk, he is eager to again experience the joy of waving to people passing by.
"That will get me through."
Rick McCarthy will be completing his 1100km walk at the Bowral Vietnam Veteran Memorial on Sunday, September 24, accompanied his supporters and Vinh Tran from the Southern Highlands Living Military Museum.
Learn more about his walk and donate at rickswalkforveterans.com.au.
