I saw and heard Eric Bogle at a small folk festival soon after he arrived here. He sang this song and told us the story pretty much as it's given from his LP notes. (It was before he made the LP). I remember that we all cried with him over this song. It was new and fresh and came directly from his own experience. And it showed, I think. It affected us more than his (now) more well known "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda". Joy