Photos Aussies and Kiwi's in Vietnam

[digrar]

June 1970. Soldiers of the Defence and Employment Platoon of Headquarters, 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) base at Nui Dat, watch a fourteen foot python snake which slithered into their operational field base in the north of the Province. In the foreground, pointing is Lieutenant Peter Cosgrove of Coogee, NSW, the platoon commander. The snake was adopted by the platoon as a mascot and flown back to Nui Dat.

View attachment 291623

Uncle Pete went on to get a Military Cross, then move through the ranks, getting to the point where he was just about cooked and ready to hang up his hat. Then Timor happened. He became an overnight sensation. Australian of the year. Chief of Army, Chief of the Defence Force and then Governor General.

 

[TheKiwi]

Three of the HQ 1 ATF ACV's (Callsign 85, 85A and 85B) ready to lead the convoy out of Nui Dat
on the 16 Oct 1971. Vietnamese vehicles line up on the outside waiting to help themselves
to the goods being left by the Australians. Photo supplied by Pete Bird

Yeah there is the definition of optimism...

 

[uktabber]

Great pics mates!!

 

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Richard Mountfort (1944-2008) with South Vietnamese soldiers in 1971. Richard served in Vietnam with Victor 2 Company, 1967-68 and the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV), 1970-71.

 

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Gunners from 161 Battery, Royal New Zealand Artillery (RNZA), checking and adjusting the clinometer on an 105 mm L5 Pack Howitzer, prior to a shoot against suspected VC positions in a forward area of Phuoc Tuy Province during Operation Ingham. Identified from left: Gunner Phil Johnson; Gun Sergeant Trevor Pilcher; 2nd Lieutenant Gordon Stevenson. The gunner (background) is unidentified.

 

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Pte Dennis Griffin (left) and Pte Norman Booker (top) in Vietnam, 1967-1968. Norman Booker was M60 No. 2 with 4 Platoon, Victor 2 Company, 2RAR and 2RAR/NZ (Anzac) Battalion

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. 1971. Luscombe Bowl and airfield at 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF).

 

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Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam. c. 8 March 1968. Private Peter McCann of Peterborough, SA, waits at the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) as US helicopters prepare to lift troops of 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), to the Long Hai Hills, south of Nui Dat. The mission, Operation Pinnaroo, is still in progress.

 

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Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam. c. 8 March 1968. Radio Operator Private Doug Poole of Athol Park, SA, speaks on his field wireless set to pilots of US Army Iroquois helicopters waiting to lift troops of the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) from the Task Force base to the Long Hai Hills. The mission, Operation Pinnaroo, is still in progress.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. c. 8 March 1968. Waiting to be heli-lifted from the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) base for the beginning of Operation Pinnaroo is Private Graham Bagnell of Cleveland, SA. His unit, the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) is working with other 1ATF elements in the search of the treacherous Long Hai Hills in southern Phuoc Tuy Province.

 

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Nui Dat aerial photo.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam, c. 1970. An RAAF Caribou aircraft on the runway at Nui Dat.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam, c. 1970. An RAAF Iroquois helicopter on the runway at Nui Dat. Note the USAF Chinook helicopter at right rear.

 

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Nui Dat, Vietnam. August 1971. The sign over the entrance to the prisoner of war compound at Nui Dat used to house Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army prisoners. The sign reads: Club Members only Nui Dat Playboy Club. Exclusively for VC and NVA.

 

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Nui Dat, Vietnam. c. 1969-1970. The prisoner of war compound at Nui Dat. The sign above the entrance reads "Club members only, NuiDat, Playboy Club, exclusively for VC & NVA" (VC is an abbreviation for Viet Cong, NVA for North Vietnamese Army). The sign on the fence reads "1 ATF PW Compound" (1 ATF PW is an abbreviation for 1st Australian Task Force prisoner of war).

 

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The prisoner of war compound at the 1st Australian Task Force Base, Nui Dat. Known as the Playboy Club and the Nui Dat Rest Centre.

 

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38810 Lieutenant Robin Terence Regan of Headquarters, 26 Company, Royal Australian Army Service Corps (RAASC), stands next to a sign mounted on the fence enclosing the prisoner of war (POW) compound at the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) base. The sign reads: 'Nui Dat Rest Centre: Home for wayward VC. Bed, breakfast, bodyguards, running water.' It features the figure of a giant kangaroo wearing a Military Policeman's (MP's) armband and acting as a waiter to a tiny Viet Cong (VC) POW. (Compare image FOD/71/0467/VN)

 

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Nui Dat, Vietnam. September 1971. The `Nui Dat Rest Centre. Home for wayward VC'. The sign at the prisoner of war compound used to house captured Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army troops. The centre offers bed and breakfast, body guards and running water. The shows a picture of a Kangaroo in a bowler hat carrying a jug of water.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. October 1971. An eight member NSW concert party toured South Vietnam playing to Australian soldiers based in Saigon, Nui Dat and Vung Tau. Seen here performing on stage at Nui Dat is compere and comedian David Burke.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. October 1971. An eight member NSW concert party toured South Vietnam playing to Australian soldiers based in Saigon, Nui Dat and Vung Tau. Seen here performing on stage at Nui Dat, to an enthusiastic audience, is vocalist Maureen Kelly.