The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Troops of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, moved into the village of Hoa Long at first light to start the search which followed recent reports of Viet Cong activity in the village. It was the main phase of two-day Task Force operation Oakleigh. The previous night, troops of 7 RAR and 1 Squadron, Special Air Service Regiment, had cordoned the village 2000 yards south of the Australian Task Force base at Nui Dat, Vietnam. As 2 RAR troops began their sweep, a voice aircraft overhead advised the local people they were to leave their homes and assemble in a prescribed staging area. Some of the old or sick people refused to leave and had to be escorted to the main road where they were taken by vehicles to the staging area. Here, the villagers were searched by Vietnamese national police for concealed weapons, bombs or grenades and then passed to Vietnamese soldiers who recorded their personal particulars and questioned them about Viet Cong activity in and around the area. The only relief of the morning for both the Vietnamese and Australian soldiers was the welfare officer and his brew. But this was brief, as medical officers with the Task Force treated minor complaints of the villagers and in the village itself the search continued. Haystacks were probed, houses searched and areas around them prodded and inspected for concealed items such as weapons and supplies of value to the Viet Cong. The search of Hoa Long resulted in 97 Viet Cong suspects or sympathizers being detained, and numerous documents, ammunition and excessive medical supplies being found. (Also identified: Sergeant Car Dries of Grovely, Brisbane, Qld; Platoon commander Sergeant Jack Woods of Mt Gravatt, Qld; signalman Private Allan Smith of Rockhampton, Qld; Warrant Officer Colin Swinbourne of Canberra, ACT; Major Bob Merrill from Singapore; Captain Dave Bradford of Pennant Hills, NSW, doctor, Task Force; Pte Don Campbell of Wingham, NSW; Pte Geoff Kingdon of Christies Beach North, SA; Pte Tony Kendall of Broadmeadows, Vic).
Difficulties in village cordon and search operations have been many and varied, but one of the greatest difficulties has been the problem of screening the inhabitants and effectively searching a villa
The village of Long Hai on the southern coast of Phuoc Tuy Province in Vietnam was searched 26 March for the first time by troops of the Australian Task Force based at Nui Dat. Long Hai is a fishing a
Australian troops of the 2nd and 7th Battalions of The Royal Australian Regiment, assisted by Vietnamese national police, recently cordoned and searched the village of Binh Gia north of the Australian
Faced with the threat of increased Viet Cong terrorism as Vietnam's Presidential elections draw near, troops of the 1st Australian Task Force at Nui Dat move into Hoa Long village. Their mission is to
Three Australian soldiers were killed and five wounded accidentally during this cordon and search of the Village of Hoa Long, within sight of the Australian Task Force Base at Nui Dat, in Phuoc Tuy Pr
Operation Darwin, the second search and destroy operation in Viet Nam for troops of the Second Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, resulted in three enemy bunkers being destroyed and an old base cam
