Paris K

Today's performance from Brett was very confronting. The trauma from the Vietnam War nowadays isn't talked much about in society, so this performance really helped me understand the emotions that were in play while serving in the war. It also brings to light the feelings of not just the soldiers, but the family around them and how the soldiers left their lives at home. The songs that were sung helped me comprehend the content but also actually feel it. Rather than teaching me new information, the performance evoked the emotions surrounding the Vietnam War. Overall, it was an outstanding performance.

Bronwyn Z

Brett’s performance of Dusted Off was a very eye-opening experience and further deepened my goal to join the Defence Force in the future. Through the personal stories of the Australian Vietnam War soldiers, I was able to better understand the war from a soldier’s perspective rather than what was written in the history books. Through the performance, I learned more about the importance of mateship in war. Mateship is a major reason soldiers keep on going in war time and through support of your mates, you can survive. Overall, Brett’s performance was outstanding, and I admire his effort to represent the sounds of the Vietnam War including the SLRs, M16s, mines exploding and choppers. I also appreciate the time he took in talking to the girls after his performance. Brett took interest in my ambition to join the Army as an officer and my participation in Army Cadets which gave me confidence to believe I could achieve my dreams. 

Chloe K

Dusted Off was a very engaging and emotional experience performed by Brett Hunt. I believe that Brett approached these various events in a very unique way, showing different perspectives of people’s encounters during this war while depicting elements of music and intense sound effects. He was able to touch on various pieces of information that we had already been educated on during our History lessons, but I think that he also brought through some new opinions and knowledge. One of the main things that I didn't know was the sabotaging of the Australian land mines. This occurred during the nighttime where enemy troops (North Vietnamese) breached toward Australian camps where they got on all fours and carefully removed and disengaged their land mines, placing them in different positions throughout the forest, targeting and sabotaging the Australians' initial plan. This caused so many lives to be wounded, as well as losing the lives of their leader, Peter, and another fellow soldier. This incident showed me how logical and careful they had to be because soldiers had to navigate so slowly and carefully in order to assist the wounded whilst not trying to blow up another mine. Another factor that I also learnt was the discrimination the Americans had on African Americans. Brett’s father was initially told that he couldn't have a drink with a fellow farmer just because of his race. This comment was disregarded by his father, which led to a massive fight. The reason that this stuck out to me was because I didn't expect that sort of discrimination during this time, but unfortunately, we were able to see how long discrimination and racism has occurred. 

Brett was able to keep us engaged through various jump scares and astonishing sound effects, giving us auditory and visual imagery of what the Vietnam War was like. Overall, an amazing performance!

Kirrily Cousins - HSIE Teacher