Photos Aussies and Kiwi's in Vietnam

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With his finger on the trigger of his M16 rifle, 3788057 Private (Pte) Jonathan Francis (Jack) Higgins (right) and other members of A Company, 7RAR, are well spaced out as they move through an open grassy area during Operation Caroline, a two-day company-sized operation that preceded Operation Ballarat. Pte Higgins is the company commander's batman.

Original description and photo sourced by www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1178618

 

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On the alert is Private Fred R Harris, of Kalgoorlie, WA, 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR), as he carefully searches the jungle overhead while on an operational patrol against Communist terrorist along the Malay-Thai border. Pte Harris is armed with a 7.62mm L1A1 self loading rifle (SLR).

Original description and photo sourced by www.awm.gov.au/collection/C398041

 

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3788057 Private (Pte) Jonathan Francis (Jack) Higgins of A Company, 7RAR, stirs a brew in his mess tin during a break in Operation Caroline, a two-day company-sized operation that preceded Operation Ballarat. On the ground beside him is a field radio which as the company commander's batman he carries on operations.

Original description and photo sourced by www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1178620

 

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Informal portrait of Private Graham John Edwards, 7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (7RAR), holding a self loading rifle (SLR) during a training exercise in Australia. Born in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Edwards attended Leederville Technical College, and worked for five years as a railway fireman before joining the Australian Regular Army in 1968. He was sent to Vietnam, where he was a member of the assault pioneer platoon of 7RAR. On 12 May 1970, near Route 326, between Tam Phuoc and Long My, Pte Edwards' platoon moved into an area where mines had been laid. Unknown to the platoon, the mines had been recovered by the Vietcong and re-laid. An M16 mine exploded, wounding three men; both Edwards's legs had to be amputated. He did not let his disability get the better of him. Years later he recalled a visit to the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in Canberra: "It was a humbling yet balancing experience particularly when you know that but for the Grace of God and a bit of luck your name could well be up there with the others who lost their lives in that unfortunate war". When he returned to civilian life, veterans' welfare became a vital cause for him and he also moved into public affairs and politics. In 1983 he was elected as a Labor member to the Western Australian Legislative Council. After 14 years in State Parliament, he entered Federal Parliament in 1998, being elected to the House of Representatives for the seat of Cowan, in Western Australia. Edwards has held ministerial appointments and served on parliamentary committees. He is also a member of the Australian Republican Movement, and maintains a strong and active involvement in defence, disability services, and veterans' issues.

Original description and photo sourced by www.awm.gov.au/collection/P04724.001

 

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Australian soldiers assist in the recovery of an M113A1 APC of 1 Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron after it hit a mine. The APC has been pulled back from the point of detonation - note the chunk of track left in the hole in the left foreground.

Original description and photo sourced by: www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1193392

 

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Vietnam. 1966-08-19. Private Brian Wood of Toowoomba, Qld, carrying an M60 machine gun, was among soldiers of the 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR), who decimated and pursued the Viet Cong after a bitter battle at Long Tan, in Phuoc Tuy Province, part of Operation Smithfield. In follow-up sweeps the Diggers discovered graves and signs of a hasty retreat by the large VC force.

Original description and photo sourced by www.awm.gov.au/collection/CUN:66:0691:VN

 

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Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam. 1969-12. Two soldiers examine the largest weapons and explosives cache found in the Province during the Vietnam War. Corporal Brian Mills of Townsville, Qld (left), and Lance Corporal Bill Grubb of Lauderdale, Tas, of D 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), discovered the cache in a cave in the May Tao mountains, twenty three miles north-east of the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) Base at Nui Dat, during Operation Marsden.

Original description and photo sourced by www.awm.gov.au/collection/C323341

 

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South Vietnam. August 1971. A memorial service commemorating the 5th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan was held in the rubber plantation, three miles east of Nui Dat, where seventeen soldiers of 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR), lost their lives in 1966. Gathered by the cross erected by 6RAR during their second tour are, left to right: Chaplains Dermott Casey, Roy Cosier and John Hamilton. The Commander of the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF), Brigadier B. A. McDonald, has his back to the camera

Original description and photo sourced by www.awm.gov.au/collection/C327002

 

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Informal portrait of Private Graham John Edwards, 7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (7RAR),

I used to see Graham down at the shops fairly regularly when I lived in Perth. He was a Labor politician, not really my style, but certainly a lot less irritating than most of his colleagues. He bobs up on the 7RAR facebook group now and then.

 

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Vietnam War. Phuoc Tuy Province. 18 June 1966. Private Jim Burton and Corporal Bob Walker blow the froth from welcome cans of American beer during a break in digging-in operations with 6RAR.

 

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Feb 1970. Looking tired but relaxed, Australian troops take some time out to attend a concert held at the Luscomb Bowl, Nui Dat. Identified bottom right corner is 3791527, Private Kenneth Robert 'Buddah' Hansen, 176 Air Dispatch Company, Royal Australian Army Service Corps, of Subiaco, WA.

 

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OR’s (Other Rank’s) Lines at Nui Dat. 1969.

 

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658-1OFP Nui Dat (Australia Base) 1969
Photo from Dick Kennedy. Dick served as a cook at a number of Australian units in Vietnam (Vung Tau & Nui Dat) from 21/5/1968 until 13/3/1969.

 

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At the 1ATF base, walls of sandbags protect the sides of the tent occupied by Lieutenant Adrian Roberts, commander of 3 Troop, 1 Armoured Personnel Carrier (1APC) Squadron, and Second Lieutenant Ian Charles Savage of the same unit, 1966.

 

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June 1966. The flooded area around the tent lines of the 5th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (5RAR), after monsoon rains. This was the first development of the Australian allocated area in Vietnam that became the base at Nui Dat.

 

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Lines of tents in Nui Dat. 1969.

 

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By 1969, the latrines at Nui Dat had risen to new heights. [Image courtesy of Norm Cooper]

 

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Members of Support Company, 4RAR, repair damaged sandbags around their weapon pit at Nui Dat during the monsoon season, 1968. The humidity and continual drenching of the men and their equipment as well as the sticky red mud meant that much of their equipment either rotted or grew fungus during the wet season.

 

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Nui Dat, South Vietnam. December 1970. The Lorrae Desmond Sydney Show toured the war zone in Vietnam. Here Lorrae Desmond sings to a large crowd of Australian soldiers at the Luscombe Bowl in Nui Dat.

 

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Feb 1970. Australian troops dispersing at the conclusion of a concert held at the Luscomb Bowl, (visible background), Nui Dat. Identified second from left, with slung rifle, carrying a folding chair is 44493 Corporal Grahame Matthew Crane, 176 Air Dispatch Company, Royal Australian Army Service Corps