Story 5 - The Painting
from Vietnam
Major Peter Murray, OC, 547 Sig Tp, South Vietnam in 1968 found out he had an artist in his troop, Raymond "Snowy" Turner. He commissioned Snowy to do a painting for the unit and the arrangement was there would be no payment, other then the cost of the paint and materials.
Unfortunately, during the time Snowy was painting the picture he fell asleep on duty and was subsequently charged. Peter Murray heard the charge and found Snowy guilty and he was fined $20.
Later the OC was approached by Snowy who said, "I've a problem with the painting. If people know that I've done it for free, they'll all want me to do one for them for free - I'll have to charge you."
"How much?" replied Major Murray.
"Twenty dollars!" said Snowy.
The painting is of Kangaroo Pad at Nui Dat, which was directly to the front of the 547 Sig Tp area. Nui Dat Hill is in the painting background . It is now located at 7 SIg Regt and on display in No1 Building.
Photos of the painting supplied by Gomer Haycock, Dec 2018