RSL FOREST LAKE & DISTRICTS SUB BRANCH Inc P.O. Box 4173 Forest Lake QLD 4078

REVEILLEIssue 8/2021 AUG 2021 BOARD & EXECUTIVE NEXT GENERAL MEETING

PRESIDENT & GRANTS OFFICER: th Steve Ford: Ph 0403 346 991 17 AUGUST 2021

SECRETARY: At our new building, Wacol Barracks Sharron Ford Ph 0413 847 939 907 – 971 Boundary Rd, Wacol [email protected]

TREASURER: COMMENCING AT 7.15 PM sharp Brian Roche Ph 0414 708 034 Please note the entrance to the SED DELEGATE: Barracks location on page 2. George Churchward Ph 0414 406 585 PLEASE REMEMBER to sign IN the VICE PRESIDENT: Attendance Book which will be on the Chris Gunner Ph 0477 641 299 left inside the front door ASSISTANT SECRETARY IF YOU REQUIRE A LIFT OR TO BE Linda Slaughter Ph 0439 750 797 COLLECTED BY THE RSL BUS, MEMBERSHIP & PROPERTY: Contact Andrew Reggett on 0430 207 671 Kevin Dinsdale Ph 0488 220 002

SOCIAL EVENTS & BUS TRIPS: Position Vacant

COMMEMORATIVE CHAIRPERSON: Dan Baldwin Ph 0407 377 510

NEWSLETTER: Greg Amey Ph 0416 255 349 [email protected]

Digger at , 1968 2 2 FROM THE PRESIDENT AUGUST 2021

Welcome back to the world without lockdowns. Hope you are all safe and managed to get through the last few weeks. We have a busy couple of weeks at the Sub Branch coming up. Remember if you need any assistance or just need to chat, we are there to help.

VIETNAM VETERANS DAY – Tuesday 17th August - Service starting at the Chapel from 5pm followed by light supper in our Clubhouse, then the General Meeting. We expect quite a few VIP’s at this service, so please let us know if you are coming to support this special commemoration. We brought forward this special event to coincide with our meeting night.

RSL TIES AND SCARVES – these have arrived and will be distributed at the general meeting on Tuesday night. If you requested these please see the Secretary to collect on the night. These are available to all members.

General meeting 17th August 2021 – following our Vietnams Veterans Event (no later than 7:15pm start) We will be unveiling the Artwork donated by Julie Miller at 7:00pm just before we start the meeting. Hope to see a good turn up to show our support.

UPCOMING EVENTS

August 17th - Vietnam Veterans Service 5pm start – Chapel (as above)

August 19th - Cyril Kretschmann’s 100th birthday

Monday August 30th - COFFEE CLUB at the Clubhouse - 10:00am – 12:00noon

Stay safe everyone, Steve Ford, PRESIDENT

3 3 S.E.D. DELEGATE'S REPORT

There will be an address by the Delegate George at the General Meeting due to no organised S.E.D. Meeting this month due to the COVID lockdown that was in place.

Till my next report = Keep well & cheers to All

George Churchward

Gunney say's HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NOW ENJOY YOUR CAKE

BIRTHDAY'S FAY TRAVERS AUG 28

CYRIL KRETSCHMANN AUG 19 JENNIFER DALEY AUG 29

BRIAN ROBERTSON AUG 21 VICTOR JONES AUG 30

GREG GRANDEMANGE AUG 22 ROWAN MARGARET SEP 4

KEVIN DINSDALE AUG 23 ALAIN POTIER SEP 7

PAUL MULCAHY AUG 25 WILLIAM MacLAUCHLAN SEP 10

RAYMOND ROSS AUG 26 HEWITSON RICHARD SEP 14

KEVIN SHERRY AUG 26 SLAUGHTER TREVOR SEP 19

BEVERLEY HEWITSEN AUG 27 JACQUELINE HICKS SEP 21 4 4 Military history of during the

Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War began with a small commitment of 30 military advisors in 1962, and increased over the following decade to a peak of 7,672 Australian personnel following the Menzies Government's April 1965 decision to upgrade its military commitment to South Vietnam's security. By the time the last Australian personnel were withdrawn in 1972, the Vietnam War had become Australia's longest war, eventually being surpassed by Australia's long-term commitment to the War in Afghanistan. It remains Australia's largest force contribution to a foreign conflict since the Second World War, and was also the most controversial military action in Australia since the conscription controversy during World War I. Although initially enjoying broad support due to concerns about the spread of communism in Southeast Asia, an increasingly influential anti-war movement developed, particularly in response to the government's imposition of conscription.

The withdrawal of Australia's forces from South Vietnam began in November 1970, under the Gorton Government, when 8 RAR completed its tour of duty and was not replaced. A phased withdrawal followed and, by 11 January 1973, Australian involvement in hostilities in Vietnam had ceased. Nevertheless, Australian from the Australian Embassy remained deployed in the country until 1 July 1973, and Australian forces were deployed briefly in April 1975, during the , to evacuate personnel from the Australian embassy. Approximately 60,000 Australians served in the war: 521 were killed and more than 3,000 were wounded. Australian advisors, 1962–1965

While assisting the British during the Malayan Emergency, Australian and New Zealand military forces had gained considerable experience in jungle warfare and counter-insurgency. According to historian Paul Ham, the US Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, "freely admitted to the ANZUS meeting in Canberra in May 1962, that the US armed forces knew little about jungle warfare". Given the experience that Australian forces had gained in Malaya, it was felt that Australia could contribute in Vietnam by providing advisors who were experts in the tactics of jungle warfare. The Australian government's initial response was to send 30 military advisers, dispatched as the Training Team Vietnam (AATTV), also known as "the Team". The Australian military assistance was to be in jungle warfare training, and the Team comprised highly qualified and experienced officers and NCOs, led by Colonel Ted Serong, many with previous experience from the Malayan Emergency. Their arrival in South Vietnam, during July and August 1962, was the beginning of Australia's involvement in the war in Vietnam.

Relationships between the AATTV and US advisors were generally very cordial, but there were sometimes significant differences of opinion on training and tactics. For example, when Serong expressed doubt about the value of the Strategic Hamlet Program at a US Counter Insurgency Group meeting in Washington on 23 May 1963, he drew a "violent challenge" from US Marine General Victor "Brute" Krulak. Captain Barry Petersen's work with raising an anti- communist Montagnard force in the central highlands between 1963 and 1965 highlighted another problem. South Vietnamese officials sometimes found sustained success by a foreigner difficult to accept. Warrant Officer Class Two Kevin Conway, of the AATTV, was killed on 6 July 1964, side by side with Master Sergeant Gabriel Alamo of the USSF, during a sustained Viet Cong attack on Nam Dong Special Forces Camp, becoming Australia's first battle casualty. Increased Australian commitment, 1965–1970

In August 1964 the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) sent a flight of Caribou transports to the port town of Vũng Tàu. By the end of 1964, there were almost 200 Australian military personnel in the Republic of Vietnam, including an engineer and surgical team as well as a larger AATTV team. To boost the size of the Army by providing a greater pool for infantrymen, the Australian Government had introduced conscription for compulsory military service for 20-year- olds, in November 1964, despite opposition from within the Army and many sections of the broader community. Thereafter, serving with 1 ATF all contained National Servicemen. With the war escalating the AATTV increased to approximately 100 men by December.

On 29 April 1965, Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced that the government had received a request for further military assistance from South Vietnam. "We have decided...in close consultation with the Government of the —to provide an infantry for service in Vietnam." He argued that a communist victory in South Vietnam would be a direct military threat to Australia. "It must be seen as part of a thrust by Communist China between the Indian and Pacific Oceans" he added.

The question of whether a formal request was made by the South Vietnamese government at that time has been disputed. Although the South Vietnamese Prime Minister, Trần Văn Hương, made a request in December 1964, Hương's replacement, Phan Huy Quát, had to be "coerced into accepting an Australian battalion", and stopped short of formally requesting the commitment in writing, simply sending an acceptance of the offer to Canberra, the day before Menzies announced it to the Australian parliament. In that regard, it has been argued that the decision was made by the Australian government, against advice of the Department of Defence,[27] to coincide with the commitment of US combat troops earlier in the year, and that the decision would have been made regardless of the wishes of the South Vietnamese government. 5 Continued from previous page... 5 As a result of the announcement, the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian (1 RAR) was deployed. Advanced elements of the battalion departed Australia on 27 May 1965. Accompanied by a of armoured personnel carriers from the 4th/19th Prince of Wales's Light Horse, as well as logistics personnel, they embarked upon HMAS Sydney and, following their arrival in Vietnam in June, they were attached to the US 173rd Airborne , along with a New Zealand artillery battery. Throughout 1965, they undertook several operations in Biên Hòa Province and subsequently fought significant actions, including Gang Toi, and Suoi Bong Trang. Meanwhile, 1 RAR's attachment to US forces had highlighted the differences between Australian and American operational methods, and Australian and US military leaders subsequently agreed that Australian combat forces should be deployed in a discrete province. That would allow the Australian Army to "fight their own tactical war", independently of the US

In April 1966, 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) was established in Phước Tuy Province, based at Nui Dat. 1 ATF consisted of two (and, after 1967, three) infantry battalions, a troop, and later a , of armoured personnel carriers from the 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron, and a detachment of the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR), as well as support services under the command of the 1st Australian Logistic Support Group (1 ALSG), based in Vũng Tàu. A squadron of tanks was added in December 1967. New Zealand infantry units were also deployed in 1967 and, after March 1968, were integrated into Australian battalions serving with 1 ATF. The combined forces were designated "ANZAC Battalions". Special forces from the New Zealand Special Air Service were also attached to each Australian SASR squadron from late 1968. 1 ATF's responsibility was the security of Phước Tuy Province, excluding larger towns.

The RAAF contingent was also expanded, growing to include three squadrons — No. 35 Squadron, flying Caribou STOL transports, No. 9 Squadron flying UH-1 Iroquois battlefield helicopters and No. 2 Squadron flying Canberra bombers. Based at in Ninh Thuận Province, the Canberras flew many bombing sorties, and two were lost, while the Caribou transport aircraft supported anti-communist ground forces, and the Iroquois helicopters were used in troop- lifts and medical evacuation and, from their base at Vũng Tàu, as gunships in support of 1 ATF. At its peak it included over 750 personnel.

During the war, RAAF CAC-27 Sabre fighters from No. 79 Squadron were deployed to Ubon Air Base in Thailand as part of Australia's SEATO commitments. The Sabres took no part in direct hostilities against , and were withdrawn in 1968. The (RAN) also made a significant contribution, which involved the deployment of one destroyer, on six-month rotations, deployed on the gun-line in a shore bombardment role. The RAN Helicopter Flight Vietnam and a RAN Clearance Diving Team were also deployed. The ageing aircraft carrier, HMAS Sydney, after being converted to a troop-ship, was used to convey the bulk of Australian ground forces to South Vietnam. Female members of the Army and RAAF nursing services were present in Vietnam from the outset and, as the force grew, the medical capability was expanded by the establishment of the 1st Australian Field Hospital at Vũng Tàu on 1 April 1968.

From an Australian perspective, the most famous engagement in the war was the , which took place on 18 and 19 August 1966. During the battle, a from 6 RAR, despite being heavily outnumbered, fought off an assault by a force of regimental strength. 18 Australians were killed and 24 wounded, while at least 245 Viet Cong were killed. It was a decisive Australian victory and is often cited as an example of the importance of combining and coordinating infantry, artillery, armour and military aviation. The battle had considerable tactical implications as well, being significant in allowing the Australians to gain dominance over Phước Tuy Province and, although there were other large- scale encounters in later years, 1 ATF was not fundamentally challenged again. Regardless, during February 1967, 1 ATF sustained its heaviest casualties in the war to that point, losing 16 men killed and 55 wounded in a single week, the bulk of them during .

Such losses underscored the need for a third battalion, and the requirement for tanks to support the infantry, a realisation which challenged the conventional wisdom of Australian counter-revolutionary warfare doctrine, which had previously allotted only a minor role to armour. Yet, it was nearly a year before more Australian forces finally arrived. To Stuart Graham, the 1 ATF commander, Operation Bribie confirmed the need to establish a physical barrier, to deny the Viet Cong freedom of movement and thereby regain the initiative. The subsequent decision to establish an 11-kilometre (6.8 mi) barrier minefield from Đất Đỏ to the coast increasingly came to dominate task force planning. Ultimately, that would prove both controversial and costly for the Australians. Despite initial success, the minefield became a source of munitions for the Viet Cong to use against 1 ATF and, in 1969, the decision was made to remove it.

As the war continued to escalate following further American troop increases, 1 ATF was heavily reinforced in late 1967. A third infantry battalion arrived in December 1967, and a squadron of Centurion tanks, and more Iroquois helicopters, were added in early 1968. In all, a further 1,200 men were deployed, taking the total Australian troop strength to over 8,000 men, its highest level during the war. This increase effectively doubled the combat power available to the task force commander.

Although primarily operating out of Phước Tuy, the 1 ATF was also available for deployment elsewhere in the III Corps Tactical Zone. As Phước Tuy progressively came under Australian control, 1968 saw the Australians spending a significant period of time conducting operations further afield. The communist began on 30 January 1968 with the aim of inciting a general uprising, simultaneously engulfing population centres across South Vietnam. In response, 1 ATF was deployed along likely infiltration routes to defend the vital Biên Hòa–Long Binh complex near Saigon, as part of between January and March. Heavy fighting resulted in 17 Australians being killed and 61 wounded, while communist casualties included at least 145 killed, 110 wounded and 5 captured, with many more removed from the battlefield. Tet also affected Phước Tuy Province and, although stretched thin, the remaining Australian forces there successfully repelled an attack on Ba Ria, as well as spoiling a harassing attack on Long Dien. A sweep of Hỏa Lòng was conducted. In late February, the communist offensive collapsed, suffering more than 45,000 killed against South Vietnamese, compared with allied losses of 6,000 men. Regardless, Tet proved to be a turning point in the war. 6 6 Continued from previous page.... From May 1969, the main effort of the task force refocussed on Phước Tuy Province. Later in June 1969, 5 RAR fought one of the last large-scale actions of the Australian involvement in the war, during the , 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of Nui Dat in Phước Tuy Province. The battle differed from the unusual Australian experience, because it involved infantry and armour in close-quarter house-to-house fighting against a combined force of Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), through the village of Binh Ba. For the loss of one Australian killed, the communists lost 107 killed, six wounded and eight captured, in a hard-fought but one-sided engagement.

Due to the losses suffered at Binh Ba, the NVA was forced to move out of Phước Tuy into adjoining provinces and, although the Australians did encounter main force units in the years to come, the Battle of Binh Ba marked the end of such clashes. Yet, while the Viet Cong had largely been forced to withdraw to the borders of the province by 1968–69, the control of Phước Tuy was challenged on several occasions in the following years, including during the 1968 Tet Offensive, as well as in mid-1969, following the incursion of the North Vietnamese 33rd Regiment, and again in mid-1971, with further incursions by the 33rd Regiment and several Viet Cong main force units and, finally, during the Easter Offensive in 1972. Attacks on South Vietnamese Regional Force outposts, and incursions into the villages, had also continued.

Large-scale battles were not the norm in Phước Tuy Province. More typical was company-level patrolling and cordon and search operations, which were designed to put pressure on enemy units and disrupt their access to the local population. To the end of Australian operations in Phước Tuy, that remained the focus of Australian efforts, and that approach arguably achieved the restoration of South Vietnamese government control in the province. Australia's peak commitment at any one time was 7,672 combat troops and New Zealand's, 552, in 1969.

During that time, the AATTV had continued to operate in support of the South Vietnamese forces, with an area of operations stretching from the far south to the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) which formed the border between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. Members of the team were involved in many combat operations, often commanding formations of Vietnamese soldiers. Some advisors worked with regular ARVN units and formations, while others worked with the Montagnard hill tribes, in conjunction with US Special Forces. A few were involved in the controversial , run by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which was designed to target the Viet Cong infrastructure through infiltration, arrest and assassination. The AATTV became Australia's most decorated unit of the war, winning all four Victoria Crosses awarded during the conflict. Australian counter-insurgency tactics and civic action

Historian Albert Palazzo comments that when the Australians entered the Vietnam War, it was with their own "well considered ...concept of war", and this was often contradictory or in conflict with US concepts. The 1 ATF light infantry tactics such as patrolling, searching villages without destroying them (with a view to eventually converting them), and ambush and counter ambush drew criticism from some US commanders. General is reported to have complained to General Tim Vincent that 1 ATF was "not being aggressive enough". By comparison, US forces sought to flush out the enemy and achieve rapid and decisive victory through "brazen scrub bashing" and the use of "massive firepower." Australians acknowledged they had much to learn from the US forces about heliborne assault and joint armour and infantry assaults. Yet the US measure of success—the body count—was apparently held in contempt by many 1 ATF battalion commanders.

In 1966 journalist Gerald Stone described tactics then being used by Australian soldiers newly arrived in Vietnam:

The Australian battalion has been described ...as the safest combat force in Vietnam... It is widely felt that the Australians have shown themselves able to give chase to the guerrillas without exposing themselves to the lethal ambushes that have claimed so many American dead... Australian patrols shun jungle tracks and clearings... picking their way carefully and quietly through bamboo thickets and tangled foliage... .It is a frustrating experience to trek through the jungle with Australians. Patrols have taken as much as nine hours to sweep a mile of terrain. They move forward a few steps at a time, stop, listen, then proceed again.

Historians Andrew Ross, Robert Hall, and Amy Griffin, on the other hand make the point that Australian forces more often than not defeated the Communists whenever they met them, nine times out of ten. When the Australians were able to set ambushes, or openly engage the enemy, they defeated the Communists and killed or destroyed the units that opposed them.

Meanwhile, although the bulk of Australian military resources in Vietnam were devoted to operations against the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces, a civic action program was also undertaken to assist the local population and government authorities in Phước Tuy. This included projects aimed at winning the support of the people and was seen as an essential element of Australian counter-revolutionary doctrine. Australian forces had first undertaken some civic action projects in 1965 while 1 RAR was operating in Biên Hòa, and similar work was started in Phước Tuy following the deployment of 1 ATF in 1966. In June 1967 the 40-man 1st Australian Civil Affairs Unit (1 ACAU) was established to undertake the program. By 1970 this unit had grown to 55 men, with detachments specialising in engineering, medical, education and agriculture. Although extensive, these programs were often undertaken without reference to the local population and it was not until 1969 that villagers were involved in determining what projects would be undertaken and in their construction. Equally, ongoing staff and material support was usually not provided, while maintenance and sustainment was the responsibility of the provincial government which often lacked the capacity or the will to provide it. 7 Continued from previous page... 7 Withdrawal of Australian forces, 1970–1973

The Australian withdrawal effectively commenced in November 1970. As a consequence of the overall US strategy of 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.[78] The Australian area of operations remained the same, the reduction in forces only adding further to the burden on the remaining battalions. Regardless, following a sustained effort by 1 ATF in Phước Tuy Province between September 1969 and April 1970, the bulk of communist forces had become inactive and had left the province to recuperate. By 1971 the province had been largely cleared of local VC forces, who were now increasingly reliant on reinforcements from North Vietnam. As a measure of some success, Highway 15, the main route running through Phước Tuy between Saigon and Vũng Tàu, was open to unescorted traffic.

The Battle of Long Khánh on 6–7 June 1971 took place during one of the last major joint US-Australian operations. On 18 August 1971, Australia and New Zealand decided to withdraw their troops from Vietnam; the Australian prime minister, William McMahon, announced that 1 ATF would cease operations in October, commencing a phased withdrawal. For the remainder of 1971 and 1972 the forces were withdrawn.

Australian advisors continued to train Vietnamese troops until the announcement by the newly elected Australian Labor government of Gough Whitlam that the remaining advisors would be withdrawn by 18 December 1972. It was only on 11 January 1973 that the Governor-General of Australia, Paul Hasluck, announced the cessation of combat operations against the communists. Australian troops remained in Saigon guarding the Australian embassy until 1 July 1973. The withdrawal from Vietnam meant that 1973 was the first time since the beginning of World War II in 1939 that Australia's armed forces were not involved in a conflict somewhere in the world. In total approximately 60,000 Australians—ground troops, air-force and naval personnel—served in Vietnam between 1962 and 1972. 521 died as a result of the war and over 3,000 were wounded. 15,381 conscripted national servicemen served from 1965 to 1972, sustaining 202 killed and 1,279 wounded. Six Australians listed as missing in action, although these men are included in the list of Australians killed in action and the last of their remains were finally located and returned to Australia in 2009.

This article was copied and edited to size from Wikipedia.

SAS Patrol just returned to base 1967 1 RAR Diggers in 1965 enjoying a meal

Digger on guard 1965/66 Nui Dat Digger on patrol 1967/68 8 8 D-Day Deadline for next issue submissions NLT Friday 10h September 2021 [email protected]

Submissions by PDF files cannot be amended

RSL MERCHANDISE IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE THROUGH THIS SUB BRANCH

Contact Kevin Dinsdale – Great savings on Figurines, lapel pins, Lots of Vietnam War badge stock now in just waiting for you to support your Sub Branch (these all make great Gifts btw)

SPECIALS ON MOVING BOXES & PACKAGING ITEMS

Call for current specials or ask in store

RSL members receive a discount when you mention this add

GEOFF DUNNING (Sub Branch Member) MEDALS & MEDAL MOUNTING SERVICES 0430 135 003 [email protected]

......

Need any top quality Military gear or gifts? Beret's, Badge's, Unit Plaque's, Caps, lanyards, memorabilia, Figurines, Teddy Bears etc

Contact Greg Amey on 0416 255 349 or [email protected]

New website now live, link here www.aussiediggermilitaria.com

MILITARY EQUIPMENT TOO !

Beautiful RAN drinking flasks $40

(not small ones either) USEFUL ONLINE PAGES & RESOURCES

(click on the web address to open a new window)

QLD RSL https://www.rslqld.org/

Forest Lake RSL Sub Branch Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/forestlakersl/

Department of Veteran Affairs http://www.dva.gov.au/ Phone: 1800 838 372

Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/

Australian Defence Force http://www.defence.gov.au/

Minister of Defence https://www.minister.defence.gov.au/

Mates 4 Mates http://mates4mates.org/

Soldier On https://www.soldieron.org.au/

Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia http://www.vvaa.org.au/

Vietnam Veterans Association of AUST – QLD http://vvaaqueensland.asn.au/

National Malaya & Borneo Veterans Assn http://www.nmbvaa.org.au/qld_bris.php

Member for Oxley Milton Dick MP http://www.alp.org.au/milton_dick

Member for Algester Leeanne Enoch MP https://www.queenslandlabor.org/candidate/leeanne-enoch/

Heritage Bank www.heritage.com.au

The Forest Lake News http://lnp.net.au/the-lake-news/

South West News http://quest.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

If you know of any other similar links please send them to me.