The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
F230401 Sergeant (Sgt) Norma Hinchcliffe, a medic serving with the Australian Force Communications Unit (FCU) treats a patient at a hospital in Phnom Penh. Sgt Hinchcliffe was a front seat passenger in a Bell 206 JetRanger helicopter on a routine welfare trip from her base at Sisophon to the small signals outpost of Ban Non Sun in Banteay Meanchey province on the Thai border, an area of high Khmer Rouge activity. A suspected Khmer Rouge sniper fired on the helicopter ('the bullet went straight between our heads' commented Sgt Hinchcliffe) damaging the controls, radio and hydraulics, and forcing the craft to land on an isolated dirt road to allow the pilot to check for obvious damage. The pilot managed to restart the helicopter and they returned to Sisophon at treetop level 'with a terrible grinding noise'.
This was one of many incidents encountered by United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) troops who operated close to Khmer Rouge controlled territory.
Australian photographer Heide Smith poses for a quick shot as she sits in the back of an Australian Force Communications Unit (FCU) vehicle which is approaching the Australian Federal Police base at T
Three young men returning from a day's fishing pass by Thmar Puok police headquarters in Banteay Meanchey Province. The men on each end are holding nets which they used to catch the fish to feed their
Nurse Sergeant (Sgt) Norma Hinchcliffe points to the entry point of the armour-piercing bullet that came through the helicopter's windshield to the console, narrowly missing Sgt Hinchcliffe and the pi
Having just emerged from swimming, this group of children stand or squat on a narrow pier that juts out into the village pond, and turn to view the camera apprehensively. The older girl on the left is
A young Khmer Rouge soldier pauses on his bicycle at a United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) checkpoint near the Australian Federal Police (AFP) headquarters at Thmar Puok in Bante
The Liberated Zone Police Headquarters at Thmar Puok in Banteay Meanchey Province. All the attap houses in this complex had to be built by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) before they could commenc
