Dave Morgan was born in Melbourne in 1948. He, his twin Don, older
brother Gerald and sister Sybil (Patsy) were raised single-handedly
by their mother, Sybella, widowed when husband Gerald (Gus) died
suddenly during her pregnancy with the twins. With a childhood
filled with many moves due to Sybella’s ill heath and her need to
find work, Dave found adventure and a taste for travelling. He
joined the Citizens Military Force in his sub-senior year and took
private flying lessons, eventually joining the Army at the end of
the school year.
On 1 January 1969, he left his family in Brisbane for Vietnam as
part of the 104 Signal Squadron. During his term, he served at
several fire support bases and dealt with attacks by the Viet Cong.
During one of those attacks, his pit hole engulfed him, and after
he returned to an unsympathetic Australia, he started reliving that
experience night after night.
He hid it well from all but his family – wife Deb and children
David and Michelle. They moved around Queensland for Dave’s job as
a Technical Officer (Weather Observer) for the Australian Bureau of
Meteorology, but his desire for isolation led him to expeditions at
Macquarie Island and Davis Station. A few hours after he arrived at
Casey Station for his next expedition, he slipped on blue ice and
his severe head and neck injury forced a medivac back to the
mainland.
Now retired, Dave is seeking treatment for his Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder, which Antarctica finally made him acknowledge he
had it.
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