Ice Journey (PDF)

Ice Journey is the biography of Vietnam veteran Dave Morgan, whose long career in meteorology culminated with a life-changing expedition to Antarctica.

Like many of his fellow soldiers, Dave tried to present a "normal" face to the world while battling Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It was a debilitating struggle that ultimately sparked a personal obsession to escape the bonds of average Australian society.

In his early fifties, Dave turned to the seclusion and hardship of Antarctic research where postings to Macquarie Island, Davis Station and a prized position at Casey Station, finally forced him to face his fears, deal with his PTSD and come to terms with his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam.

Dave carries his deeply buried demons from the jungles of Vietnam to the icy peaks of Antarctica; his journey to the ice fulfilling a lifelong dream while making him feel safe for the first time in 30 years. His experiences as an expeditioner on the starkly beautiful, harsh and inhospitable 'ice' was at once intoxicating and isolating, providing the catalyst for Dave to finally face his fears.

It is an emotional journey that transports the reader from the terror of a young soldier fighting far away from home to exhilaration on the ice far from the rest of the world. It is a story filled with vivid landscapes and humour before a shocking final twist that ends his final posting in heart-wrenching fashion.

While the ghosts of Vietnam still exist inside Dave, Ice Journey is an invitation to share in his experiences.