Photos Aussies and Kiwi's in Vietnam

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1968. A 'gaggle' of No 9 Squadron Iroquois helicopters, likely all UH-1H aircraft, departing from Kangaroo Pad (Kanga Pad) at Nui Dat. The aircraft appear to be empty and are probably returning to a Landing Zone (LZ) somewhere in Phuoc Tuy Province to bring another load of Australian troops back to Nui Dat at the end of an operation. This is an original print made in Vietnam by RAAF Public Relations photographer Flying Officer Alexander (Alex) Gall.

 

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1968. A 'gaggle' of No 9 Squadron Iroquois helicopters, likely all UH-1H aircraft, departing Kangaroo Pad (Kanga Pad) at Nui Dat. The aircraft appear to be empty and are probably returning to a Landing Zone (LZ) somewhere in Phuoc Tuy Province to bring another load of Australian troops back to Nui Dat at the end of an operation. This is an original print made in Vietnam by RAAF Public Relations photographer Flying Officer Alexander (Alex) Gall.

 

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SOUTH VIETNAM. 1969-02-17. A SIX MAN MOBILE ADVISORY TRAINING TEAM, FROM 4RAR/NZ (ANZAC) BATTALION, IS STATIONED AT THE VILLAGE OF DAT DO, SOUTHEAST OF THE 1ST AUSTRALIAN TASK FORCE BASE AT NUI DAT, PHUOC TUY PROVINCE. THE TEAM ADVISES LOCAL VIETNAMESE POPULAR FORCE PLATOONS AND REGIONAL FORCE COMPANIES IN MINOR TACTICS, WEAPON HANDLING, NAVIGATION AND MAP READING, MORTAR FIRE CONTROL FIRST AID AND GIVE GENERAL ASSISTANCE TO THE PARA-MILITARY FORCES OF THE DISTRICT. THE TEAM IS ONE OF THREE WORKING THROUGH PHUOC TUY PROVINCE ON THE PROVINCE PACIFICATION PROGRAM. CORPORAL MAURIE SHAW OF GROVELY, QLD, EXPLAINS THE WORKINGS OF A CLAYMORE MINE TO A POPULAR FORCES PLATOON.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. March 1970. Surrounded by rubber trees at the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) base, the 1st Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, completes its year long tour of duty in the war zone. The 1st Field Regiment, ending its second tour, handed over to the 4th Field Regiment, also on its second tour. The parade was marked by the ceremonial firing of one red and one blue smoke round in the Nui Dinh hills, west of 1ATF base. Red and blue are traditional artillery colours.

 

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Horseshoe Hill, South Vietnam. 1969-09. Private (Pte) Dick Bradley of Northbridge, NSW, on duty with a South Vietnamese soldier manning a .50mm calibre machine gun near Dat Do just south of Nui Dat. Pte Bradley, a member of B Company, 6RAR /NZ (ANZAC) (The ANZAC Battalion comprising 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment and a component from the 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment), was helping retrain troops of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). The ARVN soldier is a member of the 3/43 ARVN Battalion. Four battalions of the 18th Division of ARVN are each undergoing a six-week retraining period with Australian troops from 1969-08-12 to 1969-09-20.

 

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Horseshoe Hill, South Vietnam. 1969-09. Private (Pte) Dick Bradley of Northbridge, NSW, on duty with a South Vietnamese soldier manning a .50mm calibre machine gun near Dat Do just south of Nui Dat. Pte Bradley, a member of B Company, 6RAR /NZ (ANZAC) (The ANZAC Battalion comprising 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment and a component from the 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment), was helping retrain troops of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). The ARVN soldier is a member of the 3/43 ARVN Battalion. Four battalions of the 18th Division of ARVN are each undergoing a six-week retraining period with Australian troops from 1969-08-12 to 1969-09-20.

 

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28 January 1971. English Translation:

Front: Pictures of three Hoi Chanhs, Ba, Be and Dat.

Back: On 27 January 1971, Hai Luc, Tran Van Be and Cao Van Ba rallied to the Australian Forces. We have been warmly received and well treated. You have heard our voices talking to you.
Rally now before it is too late. Chieu Hoi. (Chieu Hoi symbols).

Theme: Chieu Hoi
Target Audience: Enemy elements in the Viet Cuong area
Language: Vietnamese
Purpose / Object: Encourage / induce ralliers
Method of Dissemination: By Air
Number Produced: Not known

 

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1968. A go cart undergoing repair at the 1st Armoured Squadron Workshop, Nui Dat. Go cart racing was very popular among Australians based at Nui Dat and Vung Tau.

 

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South Vietnam. 1968-10. A resupply helicopter flies in to deliver spare parts for a bulldozer, to the site of land clearing operations by the land clearing team in Phuoc Tuy Province. The team's bulldozers were carving 200 yard wide trails through sixteen miles of thickly jungled foothills of the Nui Dinh, Nui Thi and Nui Vai hills, a few miles west of the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) Base at Nui Dat. Code named Lyrebird, the operation was designed to restrict the movement of the Viet Cong in their own area. Members of the 1st Field Squadron and the 17th Construction Squadron, Royal Australian Engineers (RAE), were involved in the operation.

 

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South Vietnam. 1968-10. Sapper Ken Lowdon of Puckapunyal, Vic, climbs onto his bulldozer to begin a shift during the land clearing team's Operation Lyrebird, a land clearing operation in Phuoc Tuy Province. The team's bulldozers were clearing 200 yard trails through sixteen miles of thickly jungled foothills of the Nui Dinh, Nui Thi and Nui Thi Vai hills, a few miles west of the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) Base at Nui Dat. Members of the 1st Field Squadron and the 17th Construction Squadron, Royal Australian Engineers (RAE), were involved in the operation.

 

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Oct 1968. Sapper Stephen Wise of Brighton, SA (left), and Sapper Reg Collins of Wiley Park, NSW, weld the damaged track of a 35 ton bulldozer. During Operation Lyrebird, the team's bulldozers were clearing 200 yard trails through sixteen miles of thickly jungled foothills of the Nui Dinh, Nui Thi and Nui Thi Vai hills, a few miles west of the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) Base at Nui Dat. Members of the 1st Field Squadron and the 17th Construction Squadron, Royal Australian Engineers (RAE), were involved in the operation.

 

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1971. Aerial view of the 1st Australian Task Force base at Nui Dat. Luscombe Field is visible on the left and the water reservoir is on the right. Groves of rubber trees are visible within the base and around the perimeter. The road in the foreground is probably Route 2 which runs in a north south direction, through Phuoc Tuy Province. This base was used by Australians fighting in South Vietnam between 1965-1971 and was known as the 'Dat'. As the Australian army presence scaled down and relocated to Vung Tau, the base was handed back to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, in November 1971, where it quickly fell into disrepair.

 

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April 1967. MEMBERS OF B COMPANY, 5TH BATTALION, THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN REGIMENT (5RAR), BOARDING IROQUOIS HELICOPTERS OF NO. 9 SQUADRON RAAF. THE SOLDIERS ARE RETURNING TO THE MINEFIELD THAT RAN FROM DAT DO TO PHUOC HAI, PRESUMABLY TO LAY MORE MINES.

 

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April 1967. MEMBERS OF B COMPANY, 5TH BATTALION, THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN REGIMENT (5RAR), BOARDING IROQUOIS HELICOPTERS OF NO. 9 SQUADRON RAAF. THE SOLDIERS ARE RETURNING TO THE MINEFIELD THAT RAN FROM DAT DO TO PHUOC HAI, PRESUMABLY TO LAY MORE MINES.

 

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April 1967. MEMBERS OF B COMPANY, 5TH BATTALION, THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN REGIMENT (5RAR), BOARDING IROQUOIS HELICOPTERS OF NO. 9 SQUADRON RAAF. THE SOLDIERS ARE RETURNING TO THE MINEFIELD THAT RAN FROM DAT DO TO PHUOC HAI, PRESUMABLY TO LAY MORE MINES.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. 1969-08. Interior of the gift shops operated by the 2nd Australian Field Canteens Unit. This one serves the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) base. Behind the counter is Private (Pte) John Mitchinson of Claremont, WA, who is serving another West Australian, Pte Vincent Lawler of Albany, a member of 6RAR /NZ (ANZAC) (The ANZAC Battalion comprising 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment and a component from the 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment), who is buying a National brand reel to reel tape recorder.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. 1969-10. Gunner (Gnr) Andy Carter of Coffs Harbour, NSW, polishes his shoes in readiness for a five-day Rest and Recuperation (R and R) leave in Hong Kong. Gnr Carter, a former examiner with the Inverell branch of the Bank of New South Wales, is a member of the 105th Battery, Royal Australian Artillery (RAA), which is part of the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) Base. Note the National Panasonic transistor radio and Nugget shoe shine brush.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. 1969-10. With his armoured vest slung over a shoulder and an M16 automatic rifle and helmet in his hand, Second Lieutenant (2nd Lt) Barry Dick of Ipswich, Qld, heads for his Sioux helicopter to begin another day's work in Phuoc Tuy Province. 2nd Lt Dick is a pilot with the 161st (Independent) Reconnaissance Flight which operates from Luscombe Airfield and his job is searching out the Viet Cong (VC). The Flight supports the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) which is based in a rubber plantation.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. 1969-10. 39510 Second Lieutenant (2nd Lt) Allan Jellie of Mount Martha, Vic, Killed in Action 1969-12-03, prepares to fly another mission in his Sioux helicopter. 2nd Lt Jellie has been in the war zone eight months and is a pilot with the 161st (Independent) Reconnaissance Flight which supports the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) based in a rubber plantation. The Flight is equipped with helicopters and aeroplanes and operates from 1ATF's Luscombe Field.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. 1969-10. After logging many hours searching for the Viet Cong in Phuoc Tuy Province, Second Lieutenant (2nd Lt) Peter Bysauth of Rose Bay, NSW, prepares to alight from his Sioux helicopter at Luscombe Airfield. 2nd Lt Bysauth is a pilot with the 161st (Independent) Reconnaissance Flight which supports the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) based in a rubber plantation. The Flight is the 'eyes' of the 1ATF and provides intelligence information on areas of the Province that are inaccessible to ground troops.