HIS mission was to crawl down shafts into the often elaborate underground networks of the Viet Cong. There were more than rats and spiders in the narrow labyrinth: documents, weapons, enemy soldiers and hospitals could be found and then destroyed.
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Vietnam Veteran Bob Coleman is a Tunnel Rat.
Ginger Beer is what fellow Vietnam Vets about town call Mr Coleman in a sign of respect for the former engineer's highly dangerous work, often only equipped with a torch, hand-gun and learning on the job.
His challenge now is living with Parkinson's disease and declining independence, such as being able to drive his car that is proudly plated with the distinguishable phrase NAM RAT.
Diana Ferguson remains a member of the Ballarat Parkinson's support group.
A conversation she had with a couple of Vietnam Vets who were selling poppies has completely shifted the Sebastopol Returned and Services League's perspective on what can be possible.
Ms Ferguson's mother Theodora Barry, a fiercely independent and determined Dutchwoman, had lived with Parkinson's disease but her scooter kept her active.
When Ms Barry died a couple of years ago, Ms Ferguson could not bring herself to sell the scooter and make money from it.
Ms Ferguson had wanted to help others in a tribute to her mother's long-standing work with the Red Cross. This had started as a child in Holland and continued into Ms Barry's senior years as a volunteer at the Queen Elizabeth Centre and Geelong Hospital.
Through the Parkinson's support group, Ms Ferguson got to know Mr Coleman and discovered he was a vet.
She put the idea of the scooter to the vets selling poppies, one of which was Sebastopol RSL president Kevin Scott.
Of course they knew Mr Coleman, the town's Nam Rat.
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Mr Coleman had been a member of Australia's Engineer Field Troops, a group which received one of the highest casualty rates of the Vietnam War.
The RSL paid for restoration and service to the scooter and have been training Mr Coleman in how to drive the vehicle. This is mostly for him to independently navigate from his place of respite to the RSL hall for Friday afternoon catch-ups.
"This is why we sell poppies," Mr Scott said. "The welfare money we raise goes to RSL headquarters but sub-branches can request up to 50 per cent from what we sell for the welfare of our veterans.
"This is welfare.
"...From this conversation, we have started to purchase walkers to help some of our veterans. These are not overly dear but it has opened my mind up for what we can do."
When 99-year-old WWII veteran John Andrew decided he wanted to join the Sebastopol march on Anzac Day earlier this year, the RSL brought out a wheelchair they had purchased.
But the RSL will not just hand the scooter straight over to Mr Coleman. They want to make sure he felt confident and safe negotiating his way through an increasingly busy Sebastopol.
There is a sign though, in tribute to Mr Coleman in a way that any Vietnam vet in town could recognise should he need help.
The scooter has been fitted with the number plate NAM RAT 2.
Mr Coleman, a former Vietnam Veterans Association Ballarat president, said there was a time in the 1990s when he used to talk a lot. He quipped Mr Scott "runs circles" about him, but he was glad the scooter could help him pop up more independently to the RSL for some more good chats.
As a long-time Parkinson's support advocate, Ms Ferguson said it was important people with the disease remain socially and physically active.
"Mum was brought up that you never have idle fingers," Ms Ferguson said.
Ms Ferguson said this partnership with the RSL "felt right". While NAM RAT 2 is on the back, her mother's name is inscribed in a plaque on the scooter's front.
For free support and education on Parkinson's disease, visit fightparkinsons.org.au.
