The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
The Royal Australian Regiment's 7th Battalion, now on its way home from a 12-month tour of duty in South Vietnam, recently sallied forth into the jungle for the last time. Before leaving base for the May Tao mountain area the soldiers joked as they checked one another's equipment. The lift off of these men of the battalion's Delta Company, was by RAAF helicopters which were directed by the Company, Commander, Major Andy Matay of Bondi, NSW. After boarding the helicopters and making themselves comfortable the troops watched as the choppers lifted them high over the rugged terrain of Phuoc Tuy Province. As the landing zone drew near the helicopters lost height and swept low over the jungle before depositing the soldiers in the foothills of the May Tao's where the VC's D445 Battalion was believed to be hiding. Meanwhile, at the other end of the Province, the Battalion's Alfa Company, was conducting a joint operation with a Vietnamese Popular Force company. This operation is one of several undertaken by the Australians to improve the tactical expertise of the Popular Force men. In this operation the troops moved on Australian Armoured Personnel Carriers of 3rd Cavalry Regiment, dismounting periodically to sweep areas of scrub in their search for VC and hidden food and weapons. For Australian troops of the 7th Battalion, every step is one step nearer home. Also identified: 5717058 Private (Pte) George Richard O'Donnell of Balga, WA; 1735519 Pte John Peter Laffey of Caboolture, Qld; 16616 Sergeant Kevin Bertram (Kev) Harker of Beenleigh, Qld.
Soldiers of the 7th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment this week handed over their operational commitment in Vietnam to incoming troops of the 3rd Battalion. From widely scattered areas of Phuoc Tuy
One week after their arrival in Vietnam, troops of the 7th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, went into action in jungle north west of Task Force base at Nui Dat. Swarms of American helicopters
The 6th Battalion RAR spearheaded the operation aimed at sweeping the Viet Cong from one of its last remanining strongholds in Phuoc Tuy Province. Boarding helicopters at Luscombe airfield the Austra
Troops of 7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, this week boarded HMAS Sydney for their return from Vietnam. A year of continuous operations against the Viet Cong behind them, 7th Battalion ve
One week after their arrival in Vietnam, troops of the 7th Battalion RAR were on patrol in the jungle north-west of Nui Dat. They were airlifted by American helicopters into the operational zone in wh
Australian troops in Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam, recently launched an operation with Vietnamese Regional and Popular Forces on a scale not previously attempted. In the operation this week, Aust
