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Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia (Vic Branch Inc.) Education Team

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23.01.2022 #Onthisday in 1942 Kokoda was recaptured by a small Australian patrol led by Lieutenant Alexander Black of the 2/31st Battalion. The capture of Kokoda, New Guin...ea, and its airstrip enabled the Australian advance across the Owen Stanley Range to continue. Learn more: http://ow.ly/WAA750C2h6p Image: Soldiers of the 2/31st Australian Infantry Battalion heat up bully beef and biscuits along the track over the Owen Stanley Ranges. October 1942. Photographer: Thomas Fisher. 027047

21.01.2022 1st Australian Task Force at Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam, between 24 May 1966 and 16 October 1971. It kind of gives you a sense of what it was ...like living and working at the Nui Dat base and in and around the Phuoc Tuy Province. Once Phuoc Tuy in South Vietnam had been selected as the provincial site for the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF), a location for its base had to be chosen. There were three possibilities: Ba Ria, Phuoc Tuy’s capital; the port of Vung Tau; and an area in the province’s central region known as Nui Dat, Vietnamese for ‘small hill’. Nui Dat (‘small hill’) was an ideal location for the new Australian Task Force base. It was on a main highway, Route 2, approximately 30 kilometres from the port of Vung Tau which was the new Australian logistic support base. Nui Dat was some distance from Phuoc Tuy’s provincial capital, Ba Ria, and was sufficiently isolated to enable the Australians to manage their own operations. However, the area around Nui Dat had been a well-known Viet Cong stronghold and many of the residents in nearby villages had family members in the Viet Cong. Removed from population centres but close to Viet Cong base areas, Nui Dat was considered ideal for the type of counter-insurgency warfare that Australians waged in Phuoc Tuy. Its location in the centre of the province meant that Nui Dat was in the middle of Viet Cong territory. Therefore, security was of prime importance. The villages nearest Nui Dat Long Tan and Long Phuoc were both considered Viet Cong strongholds and the Australian task force’s first commander, Brigadier O.D. Jackson, with the agreement of the Province Chief, had the people and livestock of the two villages forcibly resettled. The removal of the local people from the vicinity meant that the chances of the Viet Cong gathering information about the base and the movement of Australian troops were significantly reduced. However, attempts to win the support of Phuoc Tuy’s people were compromised by the decision to remove people from their homes without compensation. The base was established by members of the United States 173rd Airborne, the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR) and the newly arrived 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (5RAR) on 24 May 1966. This effort was called 'Operation Hardihood'. More details here - http://bit.ly/1TXKQUO The first soldiers to occupy it lived in tents and worked to establish defences. Every soldier at Nui Dat had a fighting pit. Elevated bunkers, manned 24 hours a day, were constructed around the base’s perimeter which was further defended by wire obstacles and belts of anti-personnel mines. Vegetation was cleared from a 500-metre wide area outside the wire to provide fields of fire and a clear view of approaching Viet Cong. At its peak the base at Nui Dat was home to some 5,000 Australian, New Zealand, and American personnel, but for much of the time most of them were deployed on operations outside the base. Most Australian units and individual soldiers served in Vietnam for a 12-month tour of duty but most combat soldiers saw little of Nui Dat. The Australian style of counter-insurgency operations kept troops away from the base for long periods and many men only returned for a few days between ‘ops’. After ten years of war every Australian infantry battalion except 8RAR and 9RAR had served two tours of duty in Vietnam. The Australian withdrawal effectively commenced in November 1970. As a consequence of the overall US strategy of Vietnamization and with the Australian government keen to reduce its own commitment to the war, 8 RAR was not replaced at the end of its tour of duty. 1 ATF was again reduced to just two infantry battalions, albeit with significant armour, artillery and aviation support remaining. One of the New Zealand infantry companiesW Companywas also withdrawn at this time. Australian combat forces were further reduced during 1971 as part of a phased withdrawal. The Battle of Nui Le on 21 September proved to be the last major battle fought by Australian and New Zealand forces in the war, and resulted in five Australians being killed and 30 wounded. Meanwhile, the New Zealand SAS troop was withdrawn in February and the artillery battery in May. Finally, on 16 October Australian forces handed over control of the base at Nui Dat to South Vietnamese forces, while 4 RAR, the last Australian infantry battalion in South Vietnam, sailed for Australia on board HMAS Sydney on 9 December 1971. V Company and the New Zealand medical team were also withdrawn at this time. Meanwhile, D Company, 4 RAR with an assault pioneer and mortar section and a detachment of APCs remained in Vung Tau protect the task force headquarters and 1 ALSG until the final withdrawal of stores and equipment could be completed, finally returning to Australia on 12 March 1972. Between June 1966 and December 1971, 1 ATF recorded at least 3,370 Viet Cong killed, the majority in Phuoc Tuy, while an unknown number were wounded. Total Australian casualties during the Vietnam War were 521 killed and 3,025 wounded, the bulk of which were sustained by 1 ATF. New Zealand casualties during the war were 37 killed and 187 wounded.

15.01.2022 Battle of Long Tan - Peter Harvey 60 Minutes - Vietnam War

14.01.2022 W.O. Rayene Stewart "Ray" Simpson V.C. DCM.

13.01.2022 thanks to Jamie Howard for locating & sharing this photo - South Vietnam. 6 October 1971. It's homeward bound for these soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), after being flown by helicopter onto the troop carrier HMAS Sydney, marking the end of their eight month tour of South Vietnam. The Battalion, the first major unit to leave the war-zone since the withdrawal announcement, will march through the streets of Adelaide later this month. Third from right is Corporal Peter Haran, far right is Corporal Hans Vanzwol and the remainder are unidentified men of the anti-tank platoon. 6 October 1967. AWM.

13.01.2022 #OTD: We Remember Leading Aircrewman Noel Shipp Today we pause to remember the life and service of Leading Aircrewman Noel Ervin Shipp, who was killed in action... whilst serving in Vietnam on the 31st of May 1969. Originally from Brisbane, Queensland, Noel deployed to Vietnam in 1967 as part of the Royal Australian Navy’s Helicopter Flight Vietnam, a unit integrated into the US Army Assault Helicopter Company. In this role, Noel was a helicopter door gunner in an American Iroquois gunship serving as escort for unarmed troop carrying helicopters in and out of battle zones. On May 31, 1969, US helicopters were picking up troops in Dinh Tuong Province when they came under intense machinegun fire from the ground. Noel’s aircraft flew in to offer covering fire, blasting the enemy position with rockets and machine guns. Reports of the incident say that as the battle between the US helicopters and the enemy hiding in the jungle below became more intense Shipp was seen hanging well outside the door of his helicopter allowing effective use his machinegun, at the same time exposing himself to enemy gunfire and the back blast from the side mounted rockets. During the exchange Noel’s pilot was fatally wounded and as the gunship rapidly fell toward the jungle Noel was observed delivering as much fire as possible into the enemy position right up until the moment of impact, when the fiery crash killed all four crew. Noel was the fifth Australian navy aircrewman to be killed in Vietnam. He was 24 at the time of his death. lest we forget. --------------------------------------------------------------- If you appreciate this content, please considering 'liking' the page and sharing this post so others can learn about Australia's fascinating military history! See more here: https://www.facebook.com/OTDAustralianMilitaryHistory

11.01.2022 Royal Australian Navy - Vietnam - E.O.D. Team

10.01.2022 Mary Tobin says It must have lifted their spirits when entertainment groups arrived to take their minds off the drama of everyday life in the war zone ..Always appreciated from all accounts ...Good to see. I remember Little Patty Judie Stone And Cole Joy just to name a few went over to Vie4tnam to entertain the troops Greatly enjoyed by all...

09.01.2022 Every year the Students of Frankston High School compete with other schools for the - Australian Defence Force Long Tan Leadership Awards

08.01.2022 Mick Berrigan had served in Vietnam for seven months when he suffered a catastrophic head wound. MICK Berrigan went to war in 1967 - a bright spark who loved a drink and the girls. The shell of a man who came back injured never recovered from his private hell. PRIVATE Mick Berrigan died from combat injuries Sunday Oct 31 2011 and was buried on the Thursday. There weren't any politicians there, or news cameras, because death didn't come swiftly. It ate at him for 44 years, tor...Continue reading