Photos Aussies and Kiwi's in Vietnam

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Aug 1969. Whilst working on the tennis court at the Nui Dat Community Centre, 2791865 Sapper (Spr) Robert William Scott was covered in tar when it blew out of the tank. Aviation fuel was initially used to remove the tar from his body and this resulted in Spr Scott having to fly daily to Saigon for 3-4 weeks of treatment.

 

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1966. Tent lines of an unknown unit nestled amongst the rubber trees at 1st Australian Task Force Base, Nui Dat.

 

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NUI DAT, SOUTH VIETNAM. C. 1970-02. A NO. 9 SQUADRON RAAF IROQUOIS UH-1H BUSHRANGER (GUNSHIP) HELICOPTER UNDERGOING REPAIR TO REPLACE ITS TAIL BOOM. A REPLACEMENT HAD TO BE FLOWN FROM VUNG TAU.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. November 1970. Pre-Christmas cooking at Nui Dat gets a critical taste-testing from Second Lieutenant (2Lt) John Ainsworth. 2Lt Ainsworth, 23, of Plympton, SA, is catering advisor for the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF). More than 200 Army cooks were busily preparing for the coming Christmas dinners for troops of the Task Force and other Australian units.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. November 1971. The close comradeship that existed between Australian and New Zealand troops on active service in the Vietnam war over the years was still evident during final ceremonies at Nui Dat. Here, Regimental Policemen, Barry McGlone of Launceston, Tas (left), and Tai Whatu of New Zealand, lower the sign in front of the 4RAR /NZ (ANZAC) (The ANZAC Battalion comprising 4th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment and a component from the 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment) Headquarters prior to the Battalion's extraction to Vung Tau. Vung Tau became the main base for the marshalling of units for embarkation and the closing down of unit stores ready for shipment to Australia.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. November 1971. One of the last Australian rounds to be fired in anger in Vietnam was by Gunner Laurie Bennett of Redfern, NSW, a member of 104 Field Battery, Royal Australian Artillery (RAA). The last task given to the Battery before it left Nui Dat was a firing mission to cover the extraction of other elements of the Nui Dat force to Vung Tau. Australian Force activities are now centred at Vung Tau, which has become the main base for the marshalling of units for embarkation and the closing down of unit stores read for shipment to Australia.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. November 1971. Preparing for his last shot, this time with a camera, a soldier of 4RAR /NZ (ANZAC) (The ANZAC Battalion comprising 4th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment and a component from the 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment), crouches inside a RAAF Iroquois helicopter with other members of his unit for the trip from Nui Dat to Vung Tau. The trip ended the combat role in Vietnam for these soldiers. Other troops in the Battalion moved to Vung Tau by road convoys and RAAF Caribou aircraft.

 

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NUI DAT, SOUTH VIETNAM. 1968-07-21. USING A RANGEFINDER, GUNNER JOHN DELLACA OF BALLARAT, VIC (LEFT) AND LANCE BOMBARDIER (MITCH) MILLAR OF DANDENONG, VIC, TRACK AND PLOT BEARINGS TO MORTAR, ARTILLERY AND SMALL ARMS FIRE AROUND PHUOC TUY PROVINCE. MEMBERS OF 131ST DIVISIONAL LOCATING BATTERY, ROYAL AUSTRALIAN ARTILLERY (RAA), THEY ARE MANNING A LISTENING POST ON TOP OF NUI DAT HILL. THE POST IS MANNED TWENTY FOUR HOURS A DAY. NOTE THE POST IS SURROUNDED BY SANDBAGS.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. 1968-09. Private Lee Dellit, 21, of Rye, Vic, a member of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR), situated at Nui Dat, speaks to his father, Warrant Officer Class 1 (WO1) Ray Dellit, 43, who is serving twenty five miles away at the 1st Australian Logistic Support Group (1ALSG) at Vung Tau. WO1 Dellit is a veteran of fifteen years Army service. Private Dellit called his father to wish him a happy Father's Day.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. June 1971. Smoke and flame as Gunner Bob Eddington of Narrogin, WA, prepares to move in to fire the next round from a 105mm Howitzer gun at Nui Dat, Headquarters of the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF). Gunner Eddington, a National Servicemen serving with 104 Battery, Royal Australian Artillery (RAA), is No. 2 in the gun crew, responsible for elevating and firing the gun.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. August 1971. The 100th birthday of the Australian Regular Army and its oldest unit, A Field Battery, was celebrated at Nui Dat, headquarters of the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF), with the firing of a ten gun salute. Seen firing one of the rounds, left to right: Lance Bombardier Mike Richards of Newcastle, NSW; Bombardier Paul Walsh of Vincent, Qld; Lieutenant Dick Jackson of Berowra, NSW, gun position officer of A Field Battery of Newcastle, NSW; and Bombardier Greg Wager of Mildura, Vic. At far right, waiting for his turn to fire the next round is Battery Sergeant Major Warrant Officer Class 2 Arthur Bretherton of Townsville, Qld. Qld,

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. September 1971. Brothers Dave (left) and Don Edwards meet for the first time in nearly a year at the 1st Australian Task Force Base (1ATF) at Nui Dat. Dave, 19, a regular soldier joined the Army five months after brother Don was called up as a National Serviceman. Dave trained in Victoria as a signalman before being transferred to Queensland and then Vietnam. Don has nearly completed his tour with the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), after serving with 7RAR in the initial part of his tour.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. September 1971. Corporal (Cpl) Eddy Place of Launceston, Tas, packs up his belongings at the 1st Australian Task Force Base (1ATF) at Nui Dat. Cpl Place, who was a cook at 1ATF during his first tour of duty in 1968-69, has been through it all before. He returns to Australia this month after serving since February with the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR).

 

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South Vietnam. October 1971. Five years of tenancy by Australian troops at Nui Dat came closer to an end with the move to Vung Tau of the headquarters of the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) and several Force units. The move, by road convoy and RAAF Iroquois helicopters, was a further stage in the Australian Force withdrawal from Vietnam. Some units of the Force remained at Nui Dat to provide close defence of the base until it is finally evacuated. Here, part of the convoy passes a group of South Vietnamese soldiers along Route 2 on the way to Vung Tau.

 

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NUI DAT, SOUTH VIETNAM. 1970-03. THE NEW CENTRAL POINT AT THE PEARLY GATES, THE MAIN ENTRANCE TO THE 1ST AUSTRALIAN TASK FORCE BASE. THE PEARLY GATES, A SIGHT FAMILIAR TO THOUSANDS OF AUSTRALIAN TROOPS WHO HAVE SERVED IN SOUTH VIETNAM, WERE SIMPLY TWO LARGE WHITE PAINTED GATES TOPPED WITH BARBED WIRE, WITH A SMALL SUN SHELTER AND GUARD SHED. BUT NOW THE MARCH OF PROGRESS HAS COME TO NUI DAT. THE ROAD HAS BEEN SEALED AND A NEW CONTROL POINT BUILT. THE SIGN AT THE MAIN GATE READS, 'STOP GARRISON MILITARY POLICE CHECK POINT'.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. October 1970. Under rubber trees at the 1st Australian Task Force Base (1ATF), Nui Dat, Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) Sir Reginald Pollard (right), meets soldiers of 2RAR /NZ (ANZAC) (The ANZAC Battalion comprising 2nd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment and a component from the 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment). Lt Gen Pollard, a former Chief of the General Staff and now Colonel Commandant of The Royal Australian Regiment, was on a visit ot see the progress of the war, and to meet men of the Regiment. Pictured, left to right: Corporal Ben Holscher, 23, of Flemington, Vic, and Private George Jackson, 24, of Newfarm, Qld, both of the Battalion's Support Company.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. November 1970. The Commander of the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF), Brigadier W. Henderson, inspects a parade of New Zealand soldiers of W Company, 2RAR /NZ (ANZAC) (The ANZAC Battalion comprising 2nd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment and a component from the 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment), at Nui Dat. The Kiwis paraded as a farewell to South Vietnam before their return to New Zealand. It marks the first stage of New Zealand's withdrawal from Vietnam.

 

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A digger and his mate at Nui Dat.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. June 1971. Colonel P. M. McCarthy of Canberra, ACT (right), the Director of the Army Nursing Service, paid a visit to the 8th Field Ambulance at Nui Dat during her six day tour of South Vietnam. Among the patients she spoke with during the visit was Trooper Pat McAuliffe of Spring Hill, Qld, a member of the 1st Armoured Regiment, who was injured by a falling tree during Task Force operations. Private Brian Watts of Inala, Qld, a dust-off medical orderly at the hospital, looks on (centre).

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. November 1970. Watched by a group of interested soldiers, Sergeant Reg Benedict of Singleton, NSW (left), lands a glancing left on professional boxer Wayne Devlin of Launceston, Tas, during the visit to Nui Dat, of a six man boxing troupe. The troupe, sponsored by the Sportsman's Appeal for Australian Forces in Vietnam (AFV), spent four days at Nui Dat giving exhibition and competition bouts with soldiers of the Task Force. Sergeant Benidict is a soldier with 106th Field Workshops.