Malcolm Robert Robertson – Vietnam
RSL Victoria remembers the sacrifice of Private Malcolm Robertson who lost his life in service of his country during the Vietnam War.
Malcolm was born at Lilydale Bush Nursing Hospital on Easter Monday, 29 March 1948 to parents Jim and Ellen Robertson. His father had served in the Second World War and established an orchard in Silvan on his return to Australia where he grew cherries, peaches, apricots in what was then the fruit bowl of Melbourne.
Both his father and his uncle, Walter, would later become prominent in the RSL. Jim served as President of Monbulk RSL for many years and Walter on the RSL State Executive during the term of Bruce Ruxton.
His parents divorced when Malcolm was nine years old in 1957 and he and his brothers Tony and Richard moved to Greensborough with their mother.
He completed high school at McLeod High School and found work in retail sales selling white goods and electrical appliances at Maxwells in Lonsdale Street Melbourne.
“He had a lot of friends,” his younger brother Richard remembers. “He lived at home but went out a lot and was passionate about his cars and his motorbike. His favourite car was a blue Studebaker Lark with an all-leather interior.”
While Richard was younger, he remembers his brother as being very outgoing with an adventurous spirit.
“He was the kind of person that people just gravitated to, and he had the gift of the gab which made him a good salesman.”
When Malcolm received his draft notice in 1968 it was met with a mixture of shock and dread by some of his family, but Malcolm himself looked at it with a sense of adventure. He looked forward to following in the footsteps of his father and grandfathers.
Malcolm did his basic training at Puckapunyal but continued to write home regularly. He told his father in a letter that “I am not a bad shot over 25 meters. I obtained a ½ grouping (you have to get 1 ½ to qualify) so that was a breeze and on 92-meter range I obtained a 3 group when to qualify you need a 6.”
He later transferred to Canungra in Queensland to complete his training in preparation for deployment Vietnam with the 1st Australian Logistic Group. He was still in Canungra as he celebrated his 21st birthday, making it back to Melbourne to visit family for the last time in April before being leaving for Vietnam on Mother’s Day 1969.
His first letter home to his father provided some level of comfort to the family as he described his base and role at Vung Tau.
“This place is a bit like a holiday resort. The Australian, U.S, New Zealand and Korean Rest and Convalescent centres are along the beach…. all within a mile from the camp, even the town of Vung Tau is only about a mile away. We get leave every night we are not working. Our platoon is the only infantry in camp, the rest being the Services etc…. The main job we do is ride shotgun escorts between Vung Tau and Nui Dat and other places, also we do guard on the front gates and look after Vietnamese work parties, so it is fairly easy and safe at this stage anyway.”
Malcolm spent seven months on base where he proved as popular with the other troops as he had amongst his friends in Melbourne. One of his father’s last letters was sent just before Christmas 1969. His father said he was sure Malcolm would be looking forward to a change as he remembered serving during the Second World War and “being in the one place in New Guinea for eight months and recall the monotony of it.”
His father ended the letter saying that he was looking forward to Malcolm returning and visiting him at his orchard where he could pick some flowers “for whoever is in favour at the time, I’ll be looking forward to that. It’s cheerio from your dad, hope you are well and happy and keep your head down.”
On December 24 Malcolm left the base at Vung Tau and spent the night celebrating Christmas. He returned to the camp via the main gate late on the night of Christmas Eve. What happened next has been the subject of much conjecture and controversy over the last fifty-seven years. What is known is that a guard on duty fired a shot from a machine gun in front of the guard house which struck and killed Malcolm.
The following morning the Malcolm’s mother and the rest of the family were gathered together on Christmas morning preparing to celebrate what they believed would be the last Christmas before Malcolm returned to Australia.
“There was a knock on the door,” Richard Robertson remembers. “There were two guys in uniform, and they simply told my mother your son is dead. They didn’t give us any details about the circumstances of his death, just that he had been killed, not in action, and they were sorry to bring us the news.”
Five days later Malcolm’s father received a telegram from Andrew Peacock, then Minister for the Army which read “IT IS WITH DEEP REGRET THAT I HAVE LEARNED THAY YOUR SON 3793978 PTE MALCOLM ROBERT ROBERTSON HAS BEEN ACCIDENTALLY KILLED ON 24TH DECEMBER IN PHUOC TUY VIETNAM AS A RESULT OF A GUNSHOT WOUND TO THE HEAD STOP I DESIRE TO CONVEY TO YOU IN YOUR SAID BEREAVEMENT MY SINCERE PERSONAL SYMPATHY AS WELL AS THAT OF OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA AND OF THE MILITARY BOARD.”
The soldier who fired the shot was tried by court-martial and convicted but the conviction was later quashed by the court of appeal.
Malcolm’s mother, Ellen lived to be 98 years of age but never recovered from the loss of Malcolm.
“He was born at Easter, left for Vietnam on Mother’s Day and died on Christmas Eve,” Richard Robertson. “Our family could never celebrate those events again after Malcolm died.”
As time passed the family never forgot Malcolm but welcomed new members over time as his siblings married. In the early 2020’s Richard’s wife, Jacintha, uploaded DNA from members of the family to the DNA database on Ancestry.com as part of a family history project.
In July 2022 she was surprised to find Ancestry.com reported they had a hit for a close relative, but no one knew who it could be. After uploading DNA from almost everyone in the family they realised the match must be a previously unknown child of Malcolm. They sent the mystery person a message and waited.
That message was received by Naomi Jackson. When Naomi was seven years old, she was sat down by her parents who told her that she and her older brother were adopted. Even as a child this answered many of the questions she and her brother had about themselves as they physically did not look or act like each other or other members of their family, including their younger sister who was the biological child of her adoptive parents.
Her parents didn’t have any details on who her biological parents were, but when she was 21, and pregnant with her first child, she wanted information about her parents’ medical history and, after initially being told her mother had died, was able to track her down with the help of a social worker.
Naomi developed a close bond with her biological mother which continues to this day. Sadly, however, her biological mother was not in contact with her biological father and the only information she could provide suggested he was Māori.
So, when the messages arrived from the Robertson family suggesting they were related she initially was hesitant about responding. It took 18 months of messages, from many different members of the Robertson family, for her to respond.
“I really wasn’t sure what to believe,” Naomi said. “Everything I had been able to find out about my father said that I was not related to Malcolm, but in the end the DNA does not lie.”
For Naomi finally finding out who her biological father initially came as a double blow.
“Since I was a child I had wondered who he was, if he was still alive, if he wanted to see me and if I could be part of his life. But when I finally found out who he was it turned out he had died. To then hear about how he died was a second blow.”
Naomi was no stranger to tragedy. When she was 16 years old her adopted brother was murdered and she lost both adopted parents in the early part of the 21st century. Those experiences had led her to want to help others with their bereavement. She became a celebrant at funerals where she was able to help people come to terms with the death of a loved one.
But the mystery of her biological father had always haunted her. Her biological mother told her that she had run into her biological father shortly after she had given her up for adoption, which would have been just before Malcolm left for Vietnam.
“My mum says she told him about me and that I had been adopted out,” Naomi said. “She said that he said – Oh so I have a daughter and then walked away. That story never changed from my mother, so I believe that my dad knew about me.”
Whether or not Malcolm knew about Naomi the rest of his family were never told.
In January 2024, more than 54 years after Malcolm had died, Naomi finally met the family she had never known.
“They were so great to me,” Naomi said. “They treated me and my son Jordy and his now wife Rei like they had known us forever.”
The family gathered with Naomi and showed her photos of Malcolm growing up.
“We came across a photo of Malcolm as a toddler, and it could have been my son Jordy, they looked so similar. Then they showed me a photo of Malcolm as a teenager and there was no denying he was Jordy’s grandfather, they were exactly alike. There were even photos where I could see my daughter Jess in my father.”
Naomi and her children have been welcomed into the extended family and in July 2026 Richard presented Naomi with Malcolm’s Army uniform, giving her the most personal connection to the father she never knew.
RSL Victoria pays tribute to Private Malcolm Robertson, his family and all those who have sacrificed in the service of their country.
Lest We Forget.
