It's the first thing you notice when you drive up to Jon Eaton's property in Sarina. A big wooden sign written in a language not many would understand.
Mr Eaton fought for 12 months in the jungle during the Second Malayan Emergency, also known as the communist insurgency, in Malaysia.
He said you probably wouldn't know about it, because it happened at the same time as the Vietnam War.
It is said the second emergency represents one of the lesser-known repercussions of the 1968 developments in Vietnam and China.
Mr Eaton said before Afghanistan, Malaya was Australia's longest conflict.
The second emergency did not end on all fronts until 1990.
"When we were in Malaya, all our vehicles and guns had a white kangaroo painted on it...they [Malays] had no idea what a kangaroo was, and so they thought it was a running rat.
A life worth writing about
From being abandoned at a train station as a baby, to surfing with Midget Farrelly, working on farms, building boats and bath tubs before crippling his hand and becoming a teacher; Jon Eaton is now writing a book about his life.
And in a life rife with pain and suffering, he remains immensely proud of his service to his country.
Mr Eaton remembers the jungle vividly; surrounded by tigers, orangutans, the buzzing of mosquitoes and clucking of scorpions.
He spoke of a lingering twilight and darkness that hit all at once — as if someone had flicked a light switch.
"I was buggered when I come back from overseas," he said.
"I didn't know then but I was suffering from post-traumatic stress.
'My life had been on hold'
He still remembers the moment he found out his time in the conflict zone was up.
"I was out in the jungle and an officer came and tapped me on the shoulder and said you're going back to Australia," he said.
Two days later, Mr Eaton was back in Sydney.
"In my mind all those blokes were still in the jungle," he said.
In 2007, Mr Eaton saw a reunion ad in the paper for his battery, who were organising a trip back to Malaysia.
"All of a sudden I had people ringing from all over Australia saying we've been looking for you," he said.
"I had some really bad memories and I really didn't want to go."
However, Mr Eaton was granted some peace in reuniting with his fellow comrades.
"You don't recognise them but their voice doesn't change," he said.
"I thought I could join an RSL and so I did...I knew it was over."
A member of 'the black sheep'
At the end of 1964, the government introduced selective conscription.
Mr Eaton was quickly identified for his physical abilities and asked to become a physical training instructor.
"You wouldn't know if you looked at me now but I was once pretty fit," he said.
But those above him wanted to keep him in Australia to train recruits.
Mr Eaton became the physical instructor of the 107 Field Battery Royal Australia Artillery, also known as "the black sheep".
"They got all the people that didn't fit anywhere else and put them in there," he said.
He said there were two units, and they had to make a decision about who to send to Vietnam and who to send to Malaysia.
As fate would have it, the other unit went to Vietnam and was in the Battle of Coral.
Aftermath of armed conflict
Mr Eaton said after seeking professional help, he realised he probably struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder most of his life.
"It's nightmares, you get flashbacks and you remember things — never good," he said.
Mr Eaton has been to see a number of psychologists since returning from his tour of duty.
"You learn what the triggers are and how to deal with them...things like visualisation and mantras," he said.
He also travelled to Townsville to see a psychiatrist.
He remembers the look of concern on the taxi driver's face when he told him the address.
Mr Eaton said there were only two doctors at the practice: one for brain cancer and the other for problems of the mind.
As he sat down on arrival, he began to wonder to which category the people around him belonged.
Then a mosquito started buzzing, which caused his eyes to widen and his head jerk suddenly.
"Oh shit, they know which one's mad," he said and laughed.
The sign on entrance to Mr Eaton's property is his way of telling the story of a little known conflict and paying tribute to his comrades, the warriors of the running rat.
