The Full Circle for Mick

Name: The Full Circle for Mick
Author: Michael G. Kramer

Story of a migrant to Australia from Germany who lies about his age when joining the Australian Army in 1967 in order to serve in Vietnam.

In very early January of 1904 Fritz Kramer arrived at Tsingtao in northern China. He was working for F.H. Schmidt, a German engineering company which specialised in the building of railways, steel bridges, jetties, and canal work. He knew that it was critical for his Chinese workforce to have the Buddhist religion preached to them in order to have harmonious relationships among the workers. So, he hired a Vietnamese Buddhist monk to offer spiritual guidance for his Chinese workforce. At the completion of the railway in early January 1907 and after receiving a promotion from his employer, he was sent to Namibia.

After WW2 ended, his son, Friedrich (Fritz) Kramer the younger, and his family migrated to Australia. In 1967, the grandson of engineer Fritz Kramer the elder lied about his age in order to serve with the Australian infantry forces in Vietnam. While in the field with the First Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR), he met an old Buddhist monk who was the son of Hao An Dung, the Buddhist monk who worked for his grandfather. Mick Kramer had served with 1RAR and returned to Australia. After some time, he qualified as an engineer before returning to Vietnam and putting right his karma.

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Reader reviews

Everybody loves an underdog, and this guy seemed to be one all his life. I loved the kid that he was, getting into fights all the time because he wouldn’t take crap from anyone. I loved that he was loyal to his dad, even though the guy was a jerk. I rooted for him when various people tried to stick it to him, especially that lot at Australian Immigration.
Ikay Moreno
5.0 on Amazon

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