For those unfamiliar with the term 'tunnel rat' it may sound like an unwanted title. For local Vietnam veteran Terry Gleeson, it's a badge of honour.

Terry, the first subject in the Gazette and Warragul RSL's 'My Service, My Story' podcast series, served as a field engineer in his time overseas, where he was given a number of responsibilities including disarming traps, spotting landmines and dismantling bunkers.
One of these jobs included clearing out and taking down Viet Cong tunnels - earning the engineers their tunnel rat moniker.
Born in Terang, Terry and his family moved to the area when he was three months old.
Fast forward to 1968 where, at the age of 22, Terry was conscripted into service for the Australian Army. Back then the conscription process involved different birthdays being randomly drawn to select who would and wouldn't serve.
There was only one problem for Terry - he forgot to enter the ballot, thereby forfeiting his chance to avoid conscription. The matter had to be settled in court where, funnily enough, fellow Vietnam conscript and current Gazette journalist Keith Anderson was in attendance as a court reporter.
"One thing led to another and before I knew it I forgot to register. That didn't bother me in the finish, it was never brought up again," he says.
"It was a trying time. Some mates were going, some weren't. I didn't mind at all when I was told that I would go in. It is what it is."
Like many other Australians, Terry soon found himself in basic training at Puckapunyal, something he didn't mind - although he concedes that learning to take orders all the time took some getting used to. Similarly to the process of his conscription, Terry's path to becoming an engineer didn't quite happen as he expected.
"I said 'infantry' and my second choice was engineers. Somehow or another they gave me the engineers choice which was fine.
"Following engineer training it was a short turnaround until the trip to Vietnam, which was both the first time Terry had left Australia and his first time on a plane.
He recalls seeing workers trying to fix oil leaks on the aircraft, noting it didn't exactly fill him with confidence.
After arriving at the Australian base Nui Dat, Terry was sent to support an infantry company. There he took up his role as a field engineer, watching out for Viet Cong traps.
It was a harrowing task at times. Terry recalls the "total devastation" that would run through the entire company when someone unknowingly stood on a landmine, knowing that as soon as they moved there was nothing anybody could do.
"They were our worst enemy, the mines. Anything else we could handle. They really were a savage bit of gear," he says.
Even local Vietnam villages would request the Australians' help to deal with landmines. It's a lot of responsibility for a 22-year-old, though Terry says it wasn't too concerning for him.
"It got a bit scary but I guess being the age you were if you didn't do it someone else would have to do it. You didn't want to let anyone down."
Away from the challenges and tribulations of the jungle Terry recalls some good moments of camaraderie between the soldiers.
Put any group of 20-something-year-olds together with some alcohol and you generally know what to expect.
Terry has a laugh as he remembers some of the antics he and his mates got up to, including a time where they used their explosives to blow up the base of a flagpole to knock it over - giving a nearby commanding officer one hell of a fright.
Other stories, like wiring up the bed of anyone who got a bit cocky with explosives, also bring a smile to his face.
By the time he returned to Victoria, Terry, like many of his compatriots, found himself a stranger in a place he used to call home.
"It was all quite different. Too different really, I think you're missing where you were and wishing you were still there," he says.
"So many people didn't know where I'd been. You just seem to have been forgotten."
Terry admits that towards the end of his service he "would have gone back" if given the chance. "I probably should have extended my stay in the first place."
Terry kept much of his time in Vietnam close to the chest in the years following, in part due to the negative reception he felt from the general population over his service.
These days, however, he's been more willing to open up about his time away, and had the opportunity to return to Vietnam where he met and talked with a former member of the Viet Cong, an experience he said he now treasures.
"No regrets whatsoever about any of my army service," he says.