Walter is a journalist and documentary maker. His connection with Vietnam goes back to the time he was a soldier in the Australian Army when he spent two tours in Vietnam, one as an interpreter. He still speaks excellent Vietnamese.
After leaving the Army, Walter studied Chinese language and history at the Australian National University. As a result, he has extensive knowledge Asian Philosophy and the history of China and Vietnam.
Walter worked as a broadcaster and current affairs journalist for the ABC and in commercial television news covering general news, politics and economics. After the war, he first returned to Vietnam in 1989 to cover the dedication of the Long Tan Cross. At that time he was working for the Ten Network.
Walter is now focusing on making documentaries and his role in MBT’s tours to Vietnam. His last documentary was the acclaimed Vietnam Minefield that told of a major blunder by Australian commanders during the Vietnam War. This added to his knowledge and experience of Australia's military involvement in Vietnam.
Recently, Walter was involved with Operation Aussies Home in the discovery and repatriation of three Australian Servicemen, Peter Gilson Richard Parker and John Gillespie, who had been listed as Missing in Action since the war in Vietnam.
In his six year Army stint, Walter served with 1 Fd Regiment attached to 5 RAR in Vietnam in 1969. He was wounded and evacuated to Australia. He did a course in Vietnamese language for a year with the Defence Force Language School and in 1972, he returned to Vietnam as an interpreter and was among the last Australian soldiers out.
Walter made regular return journeys throughout the 1990s and has been leading various types of tours there since 2000.
