Photos Aussies and Kiwi's in Vietnam

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. 1969-10. Helicopter pilot, Second Lieutenant Barry Dick of Ipswich, Qld, straps himself into his aircraft before flying another mission in Phuoc Tuy Province. His unit, the 161st (Independent) Reconnaissance Flight, is with the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) and flies in support of Australian operations in the Province.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. 1969-09. Australian entertainers, the Wills Singers, Susan and Anne, Johnny Mac (with guitar), and Lorrae Desmond, on stage, join together in song as the finale to their ninety minute concert party at the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) Base. About 1200 soldiers sat through a monsoonal downpour to shout and cheer the singers for four encores. The South Australian concert party, sponsored by the Australian Forces Overseas Fund, visited most Australian units during its tour.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. 1969-11. The Commanding Officer of 9th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (9RAR), Lieutenant Colonel A. L. Morrison of Iverbrackie, SA (centre), and the Adjutant Captain John Rayward of Inverbrackie, SA, salute the Commander of the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF), Brigadier S. P. Weir DSO MC of Braddon, ACT (not seen), at the Battalion's farewell parade. At right is the Regimental Sergeant Major, Warrant Officer Class 1 Dudley Cassidy also of Inverbrackie, SA.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. 1969-11. Line up of soldiers of 9th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (9RAR), remember fallen comrades during a church service which was part of a farewell parade. Note how each is holding an order of service in one hand and his weapon in the other hand. The Battalion is due to sail for home on the troopship HMAS Sydney.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. 1969-11. The Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) Sir Thomas Daly of Canberra, ACT, sitting down on sandbags listens as Private Paul Saxton of Gloucester, England, talks about life with the 3rd Special Air Service Squadron while another soldier looks on. Lt Gen Daly visited the Squadron, which is part of the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) Base, during his six-day tour.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. 1969-12. A D-8 bulldozer, No. 527, of the 1st Field Squadron, The Royal Australian Engineers, is up-armoured at the unit's workshops by tradesmen of the Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers attached to the Squadron. The bulldozer will help in clearing an old minefield.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. 1969-12. The largest Royal Corps of Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RAEME) unit in Vietnam, the 106th Field Workshops at the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) Base, has as its motto 'The punch behind the Task Force Fist'. The motto has been painted on a sign which stands on the roof of the unit's other ranks' canteen.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. 1969-12. Corporal Don Sutherland of Stafford Heights, Qld, a member of the 104th Signal Squadron, listens to a voice tape from his family who recorded a Christmas message for him in the studios of Radio 4BH in Brisbane, Qld. Many Australian servicemen received tapes from their families through the courtesy of 4BH, Radio DJ Club in Sydney, NSW, and the Bank of New South Wales.

 

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Nui Dat, Vietnam. 1967-06. A motor mower looks a little out of place in a combat area, but civic pride and the need for quick service prompted the acquisition. Mowing the high grass is Private Phil Gifford of Bridge Town, SA, who is a member of the Mortar Platoon, 7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (7RAR).

 

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Vietnam. 1967. Lance Corporal Chris St Clair of Campbelltown, NSW, carries entertainer Miss Mary Wise through the mud from her tent to the stage at the 1st Australian Task Force in Nui Dat. Miss Wise, wearing a bikini, was a member of an Overseas Forces Fund Concert party which performed for the troops.

 

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Nui Dat, Vietnam. 1967-08. Members of the Weird Mob concert party look over the Australian Forces Overseas Fund hut at the 1st Australian Task Force base. The party was visiting Australian service bases throughout South Vietnam. They were led by Australian author John O'Grady (Nino Culotta), fourth from left.

 

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Vietnam. 1967. Captain Warwick Hamilton of Neutral Bay, NSW (right), Officer Commanding 131st Divisional Locating Battery with the 1st Australian Task Force at Nui Dat, congratulates Gunner Bill Thomas of Redcliffe, Qld (left), and Gunner Roger McDonnell of Newscastle, NSW, on successfully supervising the construction of the Battery's recreation hut, in the background.

 

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Nui Dat, Vietnam. 1967. At 1st Australian Task Force Headquarters training must go on, despite operational commitments. Here a member of 7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (7RAR), practises lift out procedures using winch and sling collar from a helicopter hovering at 80 feet.

 

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Vietnam. 1967. A command post centre during Operation Ballarat near the 1st Australian Task Force Base (1ATFB) at Nui Dat. With many maps spread out before them on a table, operational staff are assessing reports of Viet Cong movements, strengths and locations before deciding on a course of action. The command post coordinated artillery, mortar and air strikes during the battle.

 

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Vietnam. 1967-09. Staff Sergeant Peter Weir-Smith of Ipswich, Qld, inspects a new 180-line TCC-10 American switchboard after it is installed at the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) base at Nui Dat. It will be operated by 104th Signals Squadron. Note his tattoos.

 

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Vietnam. 1967-09. Signaller John Toulmin of Parkes, NSW, a member of 104th Signals Squadron, works the 120-line switchboard installed at the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) base at Nui Dat. The board is being replaced by a new 180-line TCC-10 American switchboard.

 

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Nui Dat, Vietnam. 1967-10. Within 36 hours of his arrival in Vietnam, Captain Tony McGee of Cambridge, Tas, was on his way into battle against the Viet Cong. Captain McGee, second in command of D Company, 7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (7RAR), and other members of the battalion were awaiting Chinook helicopters to lift them into an operational zone for the start of Operation Santa Fe in Phuoc Tuy Province.

 

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Nui Dat, Vietnam. 1967-11. The Minister for External Affairs, Mr Paul Hasluck (centre), speaks with the new Commander of the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF), Brigadier Ronald Hughes of Stafford Heights, Qld (right). Behind Mr Hasluck is the Commander of the Australian Force, Major Generald D. Vincent of Canberra, ACT. Mr Hasluck visited the Task Force and Logistic Support Group in Vung Tau before attending the inauguration of South Vietnamese President, Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Thieu, in Saigon.

 

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South Vietnam. 1968-12. Gunner Graeme Owen of Glenroy, Vic, a member of the 131st Divisional Locating Battery, located at the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) Base at Nui Dat, thought that a poster of Santa Claus mounted on top of his hut was the best substitute for a chimney he could find. It was one example of the many and varied preparations being made for Christmas by soldiers in Vietnam.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. 1969-02-07. Corporal Rick Cook of Glen Innes, NSW (left), a member of 2nd Australian Field Canteens Unit, shows electrical goods, including a Toshiba radio, to Trooper Greg Hamilton of Redcliffe, Qld, a member of C Squadron, 1st Armoured Regiment, in the new gift store.