The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Recorded letter by Craftsman Graeme Arthur Unmack, 1 Armoured Regiment Light Aid Detachment, Vietnam, 19 February 1970. Recording is made to his family, narrating his role in Operation Hammersley.
Unmack details his involvement in Operation Hammersley which began on 10 February 1970 when C Company, with tank, APC and mortar support, deployed to the western side of the Long Hai Hills to protect quarry operations being undertaken by 17 Construction Squadron. C Company established Fire Support Base ISA near the quarry site and ambushed likely enemy routes leading from the hills.
Unmack speaks of his of his experience of the operation, including the number of Australian casualties; how his platoon was sent in to rescue some engineers trapped at the quarry; his unhappiness at Prime Minister John Gorton ordering the troops to be pulled out; how he misses his family and his disillustionment with the war.
Centurion Mk 5/1 Main Battle Tank with damage to the hull near the right hand exhaust shroud, possibly sustained in active service. The vehicle is finished overall in light olive drab lustreless pain
Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam. 18 February 1970. A Viet Cong (VC) bunker is prepared for demolition in the Long Hai mountains during Operation Hammersley. Laying the charges are Sapper (Spr) Rober
Australian soldiers pause on a rock ledge during their sweep of a section of the Long Hai mountains to survey the ground below during Operation Hammersley. The area was the scene of a bitter battle be
Sapper Colin Heley of Liverpool, NSW, an engineer from the 1st Field Squadron, Royal Australian Engineers (RAE), holding a dagger and a flashlight, clambers out of a cave in the Long Hai mountains aft
Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam. 18 February 1970. Private (Pte) Darrell Hook of Redcliffe, Qld, passes out a Mosin-Nagant Carbine rifle from enemy weapons cache in a cave in the Long Hai mountains
Flashlight in hand, Sapper (Spr) Trevor Hughes of Beenleigh, Qld, emerges from the gloom of a cave in the Long Hai mountains during Operation Hammersley. The cave held a cache of rocket propelled gren
Climbing mountains in a flak jacket and helmet is hot work for Private John Sandry of Richmond, NSW. His unit, C Company of 8th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (8RAR), was sweeping through a
Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam. c. 9 March 1970. Private (Pte) Crabb, Corporal Burton and Pte Onrust examine a captured 12 gauge shot gun while Pte Marrow looks on; Pte Gillis is bent over examinin
Private Mervyn Hains records a letter for his sister, Helen and brother-in-law Russell, with comments for other members of his family also. He describes the some of his experiences in Vietnam; patroll
Murray speaks of his role in the defence of Fire Support Base Coral, in the Bien Hoa Province of South Vietnam, during May 1968.
McCormack speaks of his role in the defence of Fire Support Base Coral, in the Bien Hoa Province of South Vietnam, during May 1968.
Butler speaks of his role in the defence of Fire Support Base Coral, in the Bien Hoa Province of South Vietnam, during May 1968.
Correspondence between Major John Healy in Vietnam and his wife June Healy in Australia. Tape 1. John Healy describes his tape recorder; talks about the base and how noisy it is due to the large amoun
Lowe speaks of his role in the defence of Fire Support Base Coral, in the Bien Hoa Province of South Vietnam, during May 1968. A transcript of this recording may be available. For further information