In the 1930’s the sect became increasingly nationalistic and organised it’s own militias, running Tay Ninh province as an almost independent feudal state. There were snipers and small groups of Viet Cong everywhere – in and behind trees, popping up from spider holes and tunnel entrances at ground level, and scrambling away after firing quick bursts. Photo: Julian Tennant, The Cao Đài Holy See at Tây Ninh. We had three tasks. For this purpose, it organized the U.S. Army Vietnam (USARV). Viet Cong locally made canvas haversack captured by Sapper Peter Cachia of 3 Fd Tp RAE during Operation CRIMP. It led to the military headquarters of the Viet Cong’s Southern Command. The district of Củ Chi lies approximately 60 kilometers northwest of Saigon bordering an area known as the Iron Triangle, the heartland of the Viet Cong guerrillas operating in the region. The 1/92nd Field Artillery Association - Vietnam. The straps are of light brown canvas 60 mm wide tapering to 12 mm wide. Tran Van Bay, Army of the Republic of Vietnam ... 3 Field Troop Royal Australian Engineers, 161st Independent Reconnaissance Flight, and 1st Australian Logistical Support Company served as part of the US 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam. Sandy MacGregor recounts the experiences of the sappers from 3 Fd Tp as they entered the tunnels for the first time in his book, No Need for Heroes. The Viet Cong badge attached to the lighter was found in one of the tunnels when he was participating in Operation CRIMP in January 1966. Our collection contains a wealth of material to help you research and find your connection with the wartime experiences of the brave men and women who served in Australia’s military forces. There was a straight drop then it doubled back up, like the U-bend under a sink. Note the ear plug in the soldier’s right ear, the throat microphone and the switch in his mouth used to operate the torch strapped to his forehead. COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT, VIETNAM 1969. Vietnam Helicopter insignia and artifacts - D Troop, 3rd Squadron, … The Peopleâs Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong claimed victory. The American Soldier in VietnamMore than 2.5 million American men served in Vietnam during the war. This was the preferred sidearm for troops in Vietnam. A pragmatic group they switched sides, giving nominal allegiance to the Emperor Bao Dai and the French, whilst still retaining anti-French sentiment. Photo: Julian Tennant, Cao Đài lay people in their white robes at the Holy See in Tây Ninh. Sappers from 2 Field Troop, 1 Field Squadron, Royal Australian Engineers (RAE), inspect the wreckage of Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter of 9 Squadron RAAF. The trapdoor of concrete is covered with earth and grass and saplings are grown in it so that it carefully blends in with the rest of the vegetation, and is virtually impossible to detect. The tunnel turned again to go along under the surface and became a little wider, but there still wasn’t room enough to turn around. Photograph by Captain Alex ‘Sandy’ MacGregor, OC of 3 Field Troop, who developed the ‘tunnel rat’ concept first used during Operation CRIMP. In the years following its establishment, the Cao Đài became increasingly active in politics and at its peak, during the French period, had a militia of around 20,000 troops under its command. D Troop (AIR) 3/4 Cav & F Troop (Air) 4th Cav Home Page. The men burrowed away, ever further, ever deeper, until they discovered a hidden danger in the operation. Intelligence indicated that these bunkers housed the headquarters for the Communist committee that controlled all Viet Cong activity in the Capital Military District and a large complex of tunnels was subsequently uncovered by the battalion. He is armed with a Smith & Wesson 38 calibre revolver equipped with a silencer and pinpoint-light sight. One estimate of total beer sales throughout Vietnam comes in at just under $4 million a month. As late as 1970, more than a year into troop withdrawals from Vietnam, the U.S. Army was still planning to build two 474-seat movie theaters, additional handball courts, two in-ground swimming pools with bathhouses, and a recreational lake. The waist cord to draw the jacket in was on the inside, a hem cord was included in the same fashion. Lengths of synthetic cord have been machine sewn to the both the straps and the haversack along the joins as a means of reinforcement. The Vietnam Tunnel Rats are the men who served in the Engineer Field Troops in Vietnam (3 Field Troop and 1, 2 and 3 Troop of 1 Field Squadron, Royal Australian Engineers). The U.S. Air Force was tasked with designing a new breed of helicopter, one that could be multifunctional, and Bell Helicopter ⦠The Australian War Memorial was voted the number one landmark in Australia by travellers in the 2016 Trip Advisor awards. Pictures taken between 1968 and 1970 of Alfa Troop, 3rd Squadron, 4th ARrmored Cavalry, 25th Infantry Division. C Troop 3/4 Cav Home Page. . U.S. troop strength in Vietnam dropped to 136,500 by 31 January 1972, to 119,600 by 29 February, and then to 95,500 by the end of March. National ANZAC Centre (Albany), Australia: Vic. Photo: Julian Tennant, Tay Ninh, 96km northwest of Ho Chi Minh City is home to the “Holy See” of the once powerful Cao Dai religious sect. Fought the NVA on the slopes of Nui Ba Den twice with numerous firefights in and around the area bordering the Cambodian border. Between 1964 and ⦠Photo: Julian Tennant, Ordnance recovered from the Cu Chi area on display at the Cu Chi Tunnels tourist park. The unit, part of Operation Crimp, a massive allied assault, had just settled down for lunch when the Viet Cong attacked. Plan on being there! Vietnam War. Australian War Memorial Accession Number SHA/65/0220/VN, Truckloads of Viet Cong documents were captured by troops of 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR), when they unearthed a huge tunnel complex in the area known as Ho Bo Woods, north-west of Saigon, in Operation Crimp. Photo: Julian Tennant, Cu Chi Tunnels tourist park. After 5 months in the field, I was pulled to the 93rd Evac at Long Binh to work with soldiers suffering from combat fatigue. These Unit and Division plates appear Front and Rear on vehicles and designate the parent unit of the vehicle. Today the Regiment is the only fully regular Regiment within the Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC). Col. Robert D. Heinl, Jr., (Ret. Visiting this site is actually the main reason why I have made return visits to the tunnels at Củ Chi as its proximity makes for a good day trip and is worthy of consideration if you are organising your own visit. Photo: Julian Tennant, Booby trap display at the Cu Chi Tunnels theme park. Defense, 8 March 1965 - 24 December 1965. The French Indochina wars form a large part of my interest in Vietnam and the sect was a major player in the south during the French era. For his contribution, Sandy MacGregor was awarded the Military Cross by the Australian government and the Bronze Star by the Americans. Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps. Ground Troop: 197 personnel, 9 M48 tanks, 3 M125 APC with 81mm mortar, 21 M113 APC. As soon as 1RAR hit the LZ they came under fire from snipers hidden in underground firing positions, trenches and tunnels. The start of the year 1971 found A Troop 3/17 Air Cavalry, under the Command of Major David Russell operating out of Quan Loi, Vietnam. Photo: Kenneth Ray Blanch. 3 Field Troop (14 September 1965 - 31 March 1966) 1 Field Squadron (1 April 1966 ... 43 members of the RAANC served in Vietnam with 1st Australian Field Hospital and 8th Field Ambulance. Photo: Julian Tennant, Cao Đài bishop (denoted by the “Divine Eye” embroidered onto his headpiece) waiting for the midday service at the Holy See in Tây Ninh. This site is dedicated to the members of Alpha Troop, 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 25th Infantry Division who served in Vietnam. Profile of D Troop 3/5 Cav 'Charlie Horse' in Vietnam during the time frame of Lam Son 719. The research for this After Action Report included OPERATIONAL REPORTS, DAILY STAFF JOURNALS and DUTY OFFICER S LOGS at the Battalion, Brigade and Division levels located in the National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001. However, by 1968 infantry reconnaissance in force operations in Vietnam were usually of at least 28 days duration with the troops being resupplied in the field. The 2nd Cavalry Regiment (Reconnaissance) traces its origins to that of the Australian Light Horse in World War 1. The operation took its toll on many of the sappers as George Wilson recalls in Gary McKay’s book, Bullets, Beans & Bandages. ROYAL AUSTRALIAN ARMY ORDNANCE CORPS. Australian Airborne & Special Operations Unit Insignia, Paul Conrad’s collection of WWI & WW2 Wings and patches, Patrick Frost’s WW1 & WW2 Military Aviator collection, Les Hughes’ very useful collectors with good articles about fakes & repros site, Examples of the fake French Indochina Para & Legion badges, Official Pentagon Institute of Heraldry Website, Yahoo Military Airborne & Special Operations Insignia group, Erik’s Collectibles Militaria Research Blog, Australia: WA. Fleming, Thomas E. "Tom" Troop Commander (67-68) DVD - Info will go here: Fleming, Thomas E. "Tom" Troop Commander (67-68) DVD - Info will go here: Fleming, Thomas E. "Tom" Troop Commander (67-68) Nashville-Hobo-1 Description of events leading up to the TET 1968 Truce Recon Mission of 25th ID covering the plan of mission execution by D Troop. Membership is exclusively for men who served with either 3 Field Troop or 1 Troop, 2 Troop or 3 Troop of 1 Field Squadron in Vietnam. Dawn patrols and downtime in America's ugliest war: One veteran's forgotten photos of The Association was formed for all who served with one of the RAE Field Troops in Vietnam. NOTE: This summary of Army Tables of Organization and Equipment includes only combat and directly related major support units. This compartment is closed by a large external flap secured by tying together lengths of synthetic cord. These are then sold as souvenirs to visiting tourists. Some of the organised full-day tours include a visit to the Cao Đài Holy See at Tây Ninh, approximately 96km northwest of HCMC as part of their package tour. During the Vietnam War, ANZUS troops uncovered a great number of enemy tunnels while patrolling or conducting larger operations. The tunnels at Bến Dược are smaller attracting fewer visitors than the Bến Đình site which is closer to Ho Chi Minh City and is more popular with the multitude of tour groups offering the Củ Chi ‘experience’. The tunnel system breached by 3 Fd Tp was later discovered to consist of over 200 kilometers of tunnels in multiple levels, and included living, working and storage areas, forming part of the much larger Củ Chi tunnel complex. We were established in 1983 as a member-based, charitable 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The work of the troop was marked with great secrecy and very few individuals outside it knew of its real role or could access its reporting. Photo: Julian Tennant, Explosives and IED display at the Cu Chi Tunnels complex. Troops in the field, often infantrymen and unlucky support personnel, did not go without. At its height, there were 48,000 ROK personnel. Later, long after the end of the war Sandy MacGregor finally learned what lay beyond that final trapdoor. I served with 3/22nd, 25th Infantry Division out of Tay Ninh as an infantryman. For the next 10 years members were rotated through the team for a 12-month tour of duty. The Củ Chi Tunnel complex was big enough to conceal an entire regiment, some estimates put the figure at 5000 troops, enroute to its area of operations and proved to be an ongoing problem for the allied forces. He recounts his experiences developing the ‘Tunnel Rats’ concept and service in Vietnam in an interview that was recorded for the Life on the Line podcast series, which is worth listening to. By the end of 1963 it was estimated that around 400km of arterial tunnels, trenches, connecting tunnels and bunkers existed in an area that covered 300 square kilometers. The clergy is based on the Roman Catholic hierarchy and headed by a ‘pope’. During the six days that 3 Fd Tp spent on Operation CRIMP, the sappers had investigated tunnels for 700m in one direction and another 500m across that line, recovering truckloads of documents and equipment, including photographs of the Viet Cong’s foreign advisors. Australian War Memorial Accession Number: P01595.021. When the United States joined in the war, they soon discovered that ground troops were next to useless due to Vietnam's terrain. On 7 June 1971, while undertaking a resupply mission for troops engaged on Operation Overlord, the helicopter crashed in the jungle after being hit by ground fire. Given that a can of beer cost a GI around 15 cents, the 500,000 U.S. forces in Vietnam probably put away close to 32 million cans of beer a month. Keeping Troops in the Field Part 3: Resupply | Australia`s Vietnam … Merredin Military Museum (Merredin), Australia: WA. For 1RAR, the objective of this operation, which involved over allied 8000 troops, was a series of underground bunkers believed to be in the Ho Bo Woods area of Củ Chi district. Clearance teams from 3 Fd Tp began entering the network but breaching and securing the tunnels was no easy task. Photograph: Michael Shannon. It was issued to Corporal Lex McAulay, who was with 1RAR during this period. Fought the NVA on the slopes of Nui Ba Den twice with numerous firefights in and around the area bordering the Cambodian border. The Republic of Korea joined the Vietnam war in 1964 as part of the coalition forces. We recognise their continuing connection to land, sea and waters. HQ and HQ Troop: 264 personnel, 10 M113 APCs, 4 M132 Flamethrower Carriers. Photograph: Alexander ‘Sandy’ MacGregor. In the field OSS and TSS combined to form the Regimental A2 Echelon. The WW2 era Australian Military Forces lighter in the middle of the picture has been modified with the addition of the enameled 173 Abn and Viet Cong badges. The U.S. also attempted to consolidate its ground operations more efficiently. Some were longer. Vietnam was "the most blatant class war since the Civil War," as James Fallows put it in his 1989 book, "More Like Us." A Changing War (1969-1970) November 10, 2011. In January 1966, the 1st Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR), which had been attached to the US 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) after arriving in Vietnam the previous year, participated in Operation CRIMP. It was the result not only of missionary propaganda but also, after 1850, of the upsurge of French capitalism, which generated the need for overseas markets and the desire for a larger French share of the Asian territories conquered by the West. HQ 2 Company Ordnance Depot (Type A) 1 . But many others were poor or working-class teenagers who enlisted or were drafted into the military right out of high school. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Organized in HQ and HQ Troop, three armored cavalry troops, air cavalry troop. After 5 months in the field, I was pulled to the 93rd Evac at Long Binh to work with soldiers suffering from combat fatigue. Some of these men were career military officers. It was first developed by the Viet Minh in their fight against the French and in 1947 only 47 kilometers of tunnels existed, but with the formation of the Viet Cong the system expanded. Air Troop: 194 personnel, 9 ⦠It was not an easy mission to accomplish as this was a departure from the American policy of sealing and destroying any tunnels found. They were involved in revolts against the French before and during WW2, co-operating with the Japanese and then allying themselves to the Viet Minh in the early years of the post war struggle against the French administration. This is how the length of the straps can be adjusted. Dedicated to those who were there. VIETNAM WAR MAP: IV CORPS (from Newsweek – January 1, 1968) The sixteen southern provinces in and around the Mekong River delta comprise the richest part of all Vietnam, its rice bowl. Personally, I think that the visitor parks are somewhat over-rated in terms of education or real historical value, but for a visitor with an interest in the military history of Vietnam they are worth visiting, just to check them out. The team was withdrawn from Vietnam and disbanded on 19 Dec 1972. CRIMP was the battalion’s first major foray into an area which has become synonymous with the famous Củ Chi Tunnels and the pioneering ‘tunnel rat’ work carried out by its sappers. 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