Photos Aussies and Kiwi's in Vietnam

[BravoZulu]

August 1970.
A backward glance and Private Barry Russell, 22, from Sandford, Qld, moves off again during a patrol in the north west of Phuoc Tuy Province. He is a soldier 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).

A banner across the main road in Baria, South Vietnam. It reads: "People of Phuoc Tuy province warmly greet the heroic victory of the Royal Australian Forces in destroying the 45th North Vietnam Regiment on 18 August 1966". The banner, erected two days after The Battle of Long Tan, was discovered by two C Company soldiers, including 5411376 Private (Pte) Bruce Dye. The soldiers had been directed to make the potentially dangerous laundry run from the Task Force Base into Baria. It was upon their leaving that this large banner appeared across the road in front of them. Before racing back to the safety of the Task Force Base, Pte Dye took this one photograph of the banner which remained hanging for a short period of time.

February 1970
A bare-chested Bombardier Barry McLean of Mirani Via Mackay, Qld, at his job as a signaller with the 105th Field Battery, 1st Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery. He will be back at the Bank of New South Wales after his discharge in April.

 

[BravoZulu]

7th June 1971
A basket, water bottle, mugs, small kitbag and other personal items are laid out on mats or groundsheets at an enemy camp and bunker system that was assaulted and captured by soldiers of 3 Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), during Operation Overlord. Standing at rear is a crude hut or shelter built of jungle timbers and roofed with a tarpaulin. The large and well-designed bunker system had previously been occupied by elements of 3 Battalion, 33 North Vietnamese Army (NVA) Regiment.

26 May 1968
A B52 crater situated slightly left and front on 11 Platoon, 4 Section, D Coy, members of 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) sandbagged gun pit over looking the battlefield to the tree line where a regiment of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) soldiers formed up, prior to coming across open ground under cover of their own mortars to attack 3RAR's defences.

1969. A Bell Iroquois UH-1H helicopter gunship of 9 Squadron RAAF firing rockets into the jungle during a training run. These gunships were identified by the callsign 'Bushranger.

1969. A Bell Iroquois UH-1H helicopter gunship of 9 Squadron RAAF in flight near the Nui Dinh hills, a heavily contested battle field for the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) during its Vietnam deployment. Several clearings have been cut into the jungle and the remnants of trees are visible on the ground. This clearance was achieved through bulldozers and by burn-offs.

2nd August 1968. A Bell UH-1B helicopter comes into land to evacuate troops wounded in an incident where an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) ran over a large anti-tank mine. APCs of A Company, 3rd Cavalry Regiment were transporting members of D Company, 1 Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) in the Hat Dich area during Operation Platypus when one of the APCs detonated a mine. The explosion threw the vehicle backwards, landing on its roof. The driver of the APC, 3790395 Trooper Robert James Gillard, was killed instantly and 39426 Private Robert Grist later died of injuries. Four other soldiers were wounded from the explosion.

 

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Horseshoe Hill, South Vietnam. 1969. Cpl David Waterston, 25, of Caulfield, Vic, shows Vietnamese soldiers of the 18th Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) how an M60 machine gun works

 

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Vietnam War. 1968. Wallaby Airlines. DHC4 Caribou STOL transport aircraft of No. 35 Squadron RAAF on the flight line at Vung Tau Air Base. Assigned to the USAF 834th Air Division, Seventh Air Force, the squadron flew medevac, cargo and passenger flights throughout South Vietnam in support of Australian, South Vietnamese and United States forces. Photo by Flying Officer Alex Gall. [AWM P06482.013]

 

[digrar]

We did some low level tac flying in one of those old girls in 1996. Amazed we survived the experience. Especially when someone made a cock up setting up or landing on the night landing strip and the bloody thing landed on top of us...

 

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Brian 'Dusty' Millar – Dirty 13 Trucking Company 161 Battery

https://vietnamwar.govt.nz/

 

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New Zealand soldiers of W3 Company about to head out on Operation Townsville during the Vietnam War, 1970.

Source: nzhistory.govt.nz

 

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SOUTH VIETNAM. 1968-01. SOLDIERS OF B 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) LOOK SKYWARD AS ONE OF THEIR COMRADES, WHO WAS INJURED WHEN A TREE FELL ON HIM DURING OPERATION DUNTROON, IS WINCHED UP TO A DUSTOFF HELICOPTER HOVERING OUT OF THE PHOTOGRAPH ABOVE THE JUNGLE CANOPY

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C228597

 

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During Operation Smithfield, armoured personnel carriers (APCs) of 1 APC Squadron and troops on foot sweep along in pursuit of retreating Viet Cong in Phuoc Tuy Province. The chase followed a savage battle at Long Tan in which members of the 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR), APCs and artillery fire killed 250 enemy troops

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/CUN/66/0707/VN/

 

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Vietnam. 1967-06. At Headquarters, 1st Australian Task Force Base, five members from a staff of six are from Tasmania. Sergeant Bob Brooks of Seaton, SA (far right), is asking that a South Australian be given a fair go. The Tasmanians are (left to right): Private Ron Papps, Chris Oakman, Corporal Kierwan Brown, Lance Corporal Rick Mulligan and Warrant Officer Lance Cox of Wynyard, Tas.

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C312848

 

[gafkiwi]

We did some low level tac flying in one of those old girls in 1996. Amazed we survived the experience. Especially when someone made a cock up setting up or landing on the night landing strip and the bloody thing landed on top of us...

We flew on them during one of the Swift Eagle exercises around the same time. When they flew into pick us up they looked like they were diving as they came into land except it was the slowest dive in history. Its also a strange sensation to be flying in one direction and the aircraft pointing in another.

 

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Australian soldiers, Balmoral Fire Support Base, Vietnam, 1968.

Source: Australian War Memorial

Private (Pte) Les Coff of Dudley Park, SA (left), and Pte Robert Wells of Burnie, Tas, in their sandbagged weapon pits at Fire Support Base (FSB) Balmoral. Both are members of 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR). Pte Coff is armed with an M16A1 5.56mm gun with a shell dressing taped to it, and Pte Wells is armed with a Self Loading Rifle (SLR). Note the section radio lying between them. This allowed sections to talk to the Platoon Commander. Both men are wearing steel helmets due to FSB Balmoral receiving rocket and mortar fire. Note also the US Army C ration tins.

 

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3 RAR at Torrens Parade Ground, After Their March Through Adelaide
Photographs taken following the 1968 deployment of 3RAR to South Vietnam.

Source: Australian War Memorial

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. November 1971. With RAAF helicopters waiting in the background, these members 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) band pause for a nostalgic tune on their bagpipes before leaving Nui Dat behind. Piping prior to their extraction to Vung Tau are, left to right: Private (Pte) John 'Pommie' Whittington of Hurstville, NSW; Pipe Major Warrant Officer Class 2 Doug Thoresen of Townvsille, Qld; Pte Bill 'Haggis' Christie of Footscray, Vic, and Pte John 'Willie' Williams of Ashfield, NSW.

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C327356

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam, 10 November 1971. Returning to Nui Dat from their final patrol in Vietnam, these men of B Company, 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), were to move with their Battalion to Vung Tau prior to embarkation for Australia. The soldier leading is carrying a 7.62mm GMPG M60 machine gun and two belts of ammunition.

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C60288

 

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Australian soldiers, Balmoral Fire Support Base, Vietnam, 1968.

Source: Australian War Memorial

View attachment 232467

My first thought was to say bullshit, they're not Australians, it's that rare to see the boys wearing helmets.

 

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My first thought was to say bullshit, they're not Australians, it's that rare to see the boys wearing helmets.

I had the same thing with another pic I found somewhere, there the Diggers are wearing Seppo M1 helmets, while still being in Australia.

But the L1A1 doesn't lie.

 

[digrar]

My second thought was that sneaky seppo bastard had stolen an L1A1!
I wore that same helmet through to 97 when I got posted from 8/9 to 6RAR. ODF units up in Townsville had the new kevlar helmets at least as early as 93 in Somalia.

 

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Bien Hoa Province, South Vietnam. 1968-02. Sapper Brian Hopkins of Victoria Park, WA (left), and Sapper Vic Underwood of Chippendale, NSW, filling sandbags to ensure their protection against possible Viet Cong attacks during Operation Coburg. Both are members of 1st Field Squadron, Royal Australian engineers (RAE), based with the Task Force at Nui Dat.

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C316810

 

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Bien Hoa Province, South Vietnam. 1968-02. Private Wolfgang Gutjahr of Wollongong, NSW, a member of 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), in his gun pit. He is taking part with other Australian Task Force troops in Operation Coburg.

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C316902

Somehow this pic reminds me of the "Danger Close" flick!