Photos Aussies and Kiwi's in Vietnam

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17 May 1968. Escorted by officers of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR), General (Gen) William Childs Westmoreland, Commander US Military Assistance Command Vietnam, pays a farewell visit to Australian troops in Bien Hoa province. The Australians had inflicted heavy casualties on a Viet Cong force which had attempted to overrun Fire Support Base (FSB) Coral and FSB Balmoral in north west Bien Hoa province only hours before Gen Westmoreland's visit. Left to right: 335116 Major Anthony William Hammett; Gen Westmoreland; and Lieutenant Colonel Phillip Harvey Bennett, Commander 1RAR.

 

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Gen Westmoreland (Commander, MACV) talking to 3RAR CO (Lt Col Jim Shelton) before leaving FSPB Balmoral. Supply by Tom Spring [May 1968]

 

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Gen Westmoreland (Commander, MACV) about to leave FSPB Balmoral after visit. 3RAR Officers waiting for his departure. Supply by Tom Spring [May 1968]

 

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Heads bowed, members of 1RAR attend a mass conducted at Coral by Father George Widdison, a Roman Catholic Padre, for those who died during the fighting at the base in May and June 1968. [AWM THU/68/0595/VN]

 

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3RAR RAP at FSPB Coogee before Battalion moved to FSB Balmoral.

 

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Members of the Royal Australian Navy Helicopter Flight Vietnam arming a gunship prior to a mission. Integrated with the US Army 135th Assault Helicopter Company it was designated an 'Experimental Military Unit' adopting the badge and unofficial motto.

 

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John Bryant! I know him quite well. The pic of him returning to Nui Dat in ripped uniform is one of my favourites.
I wonder if I can find the pic of him riding that bike somewhere?

28 May 1968. 3791212 Private (Pte) John Edwin Bryant, 11 Platoon, 4 Section, D Coy, 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) sitting on top of an Australian Centurion MkV/1 tank at Fire Support Base Balmoral. This tank was placed to the left and rear of 11 Platoon, 4 Section, D Coy, 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR). 4717740 Corporal David Joseph (Dave) Mancer, who was later awarded the Military medal (MM), is standing to the left.

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379212 Private (Pte) John Edwin Bryant, all of 11 Platoon, 4 Section, D Coy, members of 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), on return to 3RAR’s lines at Nui Dat after extraction by Chinook helicopter from at Fire Support Base Balmoral.

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28 May 1968. 379212 Private (Pte) John Edwin Bryant, 2786784 Pte Ian Robertshaw; and 3789749 Pte Paul Donnelly, all of 11 Platoon, 4 Section, D Coy, members of 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) in a sandbagged gun pit early morning of first enemy attack on Fire Support Base Balmoral.

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28 May 1968. 379212 Private (Pte) John Edwin Bryant, all of 11 Platoon, 4 Section, D Coy, members of 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) digging a personal weapon pit following the first North Vietnamese Army (NVA) attack on Fire Support Base Balmoral. The pit was approximately six feet (two meters) deep with 3 feet overhead cover.

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28 May 1968. 379212 Private (Pte) John Edwin Bryant, all of 11 Platoon, 4 Section, D Coy, members of 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), with North Vietnamese Army (NVA) weapons packs and webbing recovered after the battle at Fire Support Base Balmoral. View attachment 321815

28 May 1968. 379212 Private (Pte) John Edwin Bryant, all of 11 Platoon, 4 Section, D Coy, members of 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) with one of the two North Vietnamese Army (NVA) courier bikes found on patrol during a sweep of the surrounding area at Fire Support Base Balmoral.

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Riding is probably not the correct word, crashing a bit more accurate.

 

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SASR preparing for a patrol, 1970

 

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Trooper Neville Taylor of No 26 Patrol, F Troop, 2nd Squadron, Special Air Service Regiment (SASR), waits in the scrub for the helicopter pickup at the end of a patrol, Vietnam War, 1971.

 

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Bien Hoa Air Base. July 1965. Sergeant Mervyn Kirby (left) and Private John Priestley of 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR), return from their first battalion size operation. At this time the Australians were under the command of the US 173rd Airborne Brigade.

 

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1969 Australian anti-swimmer patrol of the HMAS Vendetta, Danang, Vietnam.

 

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Sergeant Jack Gebhardt of 1st Squadron, SASR (Special Air Service Regiment) points to direct his men while on patrol, Vietnam War, Phuoc Tuy Province, 1970.

He is armed with a camouflage painted L1A1 SLR with a sawn off barrel and flash hider, nicknamed a 'Bitchgun', many of which were converted to fire in full automatic and the sawn off barrel and flash hider while reducing length was also intended to trick enemy Viet Cong or NVA soldiers into thinking they were engaging a much larger force of men armed with machineguns instead of a small SASR team with rifles.

 

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Happy Fathers Day! Vietnam War. September 1970. Sapper David May (left) and his father, Captain Ernie May, toast each other with Australian Victoria Bitter (VB) beer at the 198th Works Section's Sergeants' Mess.

 

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Vietnam War. Phuoc Tuy Province. August 1970. Lance Corporal Stephen Sanderson, 85th Transport Platoon, Royal Australian Army Service Corps, (RAASC), at Fire Support Base Le Loi. He is holding an M79 40mm grenade launcher. Australian troops often referred to this weapon as a wombat gun. Photo by Second Lieutenant Paul Asbury (RAASC). [AWM P08445.019]

 

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Vietnam War. Phuoc Tuy Province. August 1969. A US Army CH-47 Chinook lifts a giant observation tower into Fire Support Base (FSB) Thrust. Photo by Sergeant Christopher Bellis. [AWM BEL/69/0578/VN]

 

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Vietnam War. Horseshoe Hill, Phuoc Tuy Province. September 1969. Corporal David Waterston shows Vietnamese troops of the 18th Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) how an M60 machine gun works. A soldier of 6RAR/NZ (ANZAC) (The ANZAC Battalion comprising 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment and a component from 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment), Corporal Waterston was engaged on retraining Vietnamese soldiers in infantry tactics and weapon handling. Four Vietnamese battalions are scheduled to be retrained by the Australians. Photo by Sergeant David Combe. [AWM EKN/69/0096/VN]

 

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Vietnam War. Phuoc Tuy Province. 29 February 1972. Engineers working with 198 Works Section, Royal Australian Engineers (RAE), at the Jungle Warfare Training Centre at Van Kiep, meet the Chief of the General Staff (CGS), Lieutenant General M. F. Brogan (left). With Lieutenant General Brogan is the Chief Engineer with the Australian Force Vietnam (AFV), Lieutenant Colonel J. M. Hutcheson (second from left). The Jungle Warfare Training Centre was one of several centres where Lieutenant General Brogan farewelled Australian troops from Vietnam. The engineers are finishing off construction work at the Centre which is the Headquarters of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV). Photo by John Ford. [AWM FOD/72/0031/VN]

 

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Vietnam War. Phuoc Tuy Province. January 1972. Corporal Glen West (left), and Lance Corporal Mick Webb of A Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC), clean a .30 calibre machine gun from their M113A1 Fire Support Vehicle (FSV) during preparations for their and the vehicle's return to Australia. The detachment is helping to provide protection for elements of the Australian Force in Vietnam who are engaged in the cleaning and packing of stores and equipment to be returned to Australia. Photo by John Ford. [AWM FOD/72/0006/VN]