

© Peter
Isaacs
Adjutant 5RAR
1st Tour |
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5 RAR began to form
early in 1965 and was officially raised on 1
March. Although its Commanding Officer was
appointed from 1 March, Lt Col Peter Oxley did
not arrive until May. Meanwhile, administrative
command of the Battalion was exercised by its
designated Second in Command (2I/C);
Major John
Warr who had been the Deputy Assistant
Adjutant & Quartermaster General (DAA & QMG) of
1RAR in its Pentropic establishment. DAA & QMG
was a designation originating in Victorian times
but in reality, it was the chief administrative
officer. John had been responsible for all
administrative aspects of the reorganisation of
1RAR into a full strength Tropical Establishment
Battalion and raising the nucleus of 5RAR.
Basically 5RAR consisted of the old
E Company of 1RAR and the surplus ranks of
other 1RAR companies including those who were
under 19 years of age, unfit or had compelling
compassionate reasons for not remaining with
1RAR for their forthcoming tour in South
Vietnam. There were sixteen officers and for a
short period, I became Officer Commanding D
Company situated half a mile up the road from
Gallipoli Barracks in a small camp that was then
known as Old Holsworthy. This was subsequently
to become the HQ of the newly formed 1st
Australian Task Force commanded by Brigadier Tim
Vincent.
Throughout this article, I refer to John Warr as
"John" because it is the name by which I knew
him since leaving the Australian Army in 1968
and the subsequent years during which we
remained in touch. Sadly, he died in 1999. When
he was my Commanding Officer, I referred to John
either as "Sir" or as "Colonel". The same
applies to the Battalion Second in Command and
Company Commanders. In 1966 / 7, to me they were
all "Sir".
Apart from D Company, until 1RAR departed for
South Vietnam in May, both Battalions shared
Gallipoli Barracks. The 200 or so soldiers of
5RAR spent much of their time on routine chores
and administrative duties including the
provision of guard details at Victoria Barracks
in Sydney so as to permit 1RAR to concentrate on
training. 1RAR also had an understandable
priority on the provision of equipment and
facilities. Surprisingly, a problem did arise
over the joint occupancy of the officers' mess.
Lt Col Lou Brumfield had been the XO (Executive
Officer or Second in Command) of 1RAR in its
Pentropic guise but had assumed command of 1RAR
under its revised Tropical establishment. He and
John Warr did not really get on well together,
and some ill feeling was reflected in what I
thought was a petty attitude adopted by Lou
Brumfield over the allocation of resources
within the Officers' Mess and the split of the
mess funds.
In May, Lt Col Peter Oxley arrived from South
Vietnam where he had been Army Attaché, and
assumed command of 5RAR. John Warr reverted to
being 2I/C. However, it was soon announced that
both officers were to be promoted in September ―
Peter Oxley to command the new Third Training
Battalion to be raised at Singleton to train
National Servicemen and John Warr to command
5RAR. Between them, they agreed that John would
accept responsibility for all decisions that
would affect the Battalion after September. A
few new officers arrived but it was not expected
that the depleted strength would be made up
until later in the year. Interestingly, of the
sixteen officers who made up the original 5RAR
complement in March 1965, only nine were still
with the Battalion when it deployed to South
Vietnam the following year and only four in the
same jobs. As a further example of the
considerable officer turnover which occurred
during the first year of the Battalion's life,
in November 1965, the total strength was thirty
one officers, but of those, only seventeen were
still with the Battalion five months later when
it deployed to South Vietnam in April 1966. With
so many appointments frequently changing,
training and continuity were very difficult.
Amongst the early new arrivals was Neville
Jackson. Neville had served for 21 years in the
Queen's Surrey Regiment of the British Army. His
last appointment had been as the RSM of a
Battalion of the Kings African Rifles in Uganda.
Shortly after the country's independence, the
Battalion had mutinied and Neville had coped
with a very tricky situation indeed. Neville was
accompanied by his wife Elizabeth and four
children. Neville didn't accompany us to South
Vietnam but left the Army to train for the
Anglican Ministry. He re-joined as an Anglican
Chaplain and when eventually he left the Army,
Neville founded a parish in the small Queensland
coastal town of Buderim about 100 miles north of
Brisbane. Sadly, Elizabeth died of cancer in
1989 but Neville re-married and might well still
be preaching in Buderim.
Selective National Service had been introduced
in 1965 and we expected our first conscripts to
arrive in October. In April I relinquished
command of D Company and became the Intelligence
Officer at Battalion HQ. Although it was
expected that 5RAR would replace 1RAR in April
1966, the official announcement was not made for
many months. Nevertheless, we anticipated that
we would have only three months in which to
train for war once the Battalion was made up to
full strength at the end of the year.
At the first Battalion Parade at which Peter
Oxley was in command, he quoted from
Shakespeare's Henry V, 111,i
"In
peace there's nothing so becomes a
man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in
our ears
Then imitate the action of the
tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the
blood,
Disguise fair nature with
hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible
aspect." |
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I'm
not sure how much of Shakespeare's immortal
words the majority of the Diggers on parade that
day understood, but it so happened that Esso was
at the time, promoting sales of its petrol by
using a tiger advertising theme ― "put a tiger
in your tank". The next day, Gallipoli Barracks
was festooned with "tiger tails" collected from
Sydney's Esso filling stations. The "Tiger
Battalion" was born and some time later, we
managed to adopt a real tiger cub at Taronga
Park zoo as our mascot and named him "Quintus".
We also found a generous patron. Bill Brennan
was an enthusiastic collector of model soldiers.
He heard of the formation of the Tiger Battalion
and offered to provide a tiger skin for the bass
drummer of the newly formed Regimental Band.
Bill was to remain a true friend and benefactor
of 5RAR for many years.
In the absence of a full complement of officers
and men, Peter Oxley concentrated on building
morale and esprit de' corps. Typical of this was
a 24 hour route march involving the whole
Battalion ― at that stage no more than about 200
strong. Route marches are usually conducted at
the platoon level and are useful in building
stamina. The Oxley march involved the whole
Battalion marching off down the Hume Highway
with "tiger tails" tied prominently to many a
rifle barrel. After seven or eight hours, we
came to a camp established during the day by a
work party. They had built a huge bonfire near
the tents; there was no pretence of a typical
exercise scenario. Once we
had eaten and repaired our feet, we slept. There
were no night patrols, sentries or the usual
defensive measures ― that was for later. The
next day the Battalion awoke, had a communal
breakfast and headed back to Gallipoli barracks
across country following a route that I had
previously reconnoitred. It was a simple
exercise but it was important in building a unit
identity at a time when morale could have
slumped disastrously with all attention focused
on 1RAR.
On another occasion, Peter Oxley took Neville
Jackson and me to the depths of the southern end
of the Holsworthy training area. We selected a
suitable site for a Battalion attack and Neville
was told to build some makeshift huts as the
objective. We decided on all the routes the
companies would take towards the objective, the
forming up places and start lines for attack.
Peter Oxley's aim was that there would be no
cock ups, everything would proceed smoothly.
Once again, he was building morale and despite
our inexperience as a unit, we would carry out
the attack without problems and be pleased with
our success. It ran contrary to conventional
military wisdom where training begins with the
individual training of soldiers and gradually
moves up through platoon to company and finally
to Battalion level training. We were ignoring
individual and sub unit skills and concentrating
instead on building the idea of a Battalion. It
was very much like teaching primitive tribesmen
how to shoot (as I was to learn much later ―
different army, different war). You first of all
stand the trainee so close to the target that
when he fires the weapon, he cannot miss. He is
then gradually moved back, hitting the target
each time he fires from a greater distance. The
aim is to build the man's confidence in his
ability to hit the target. He can be taught all
about the rest of the paraphernalia later.
John
Warr took over as CO in September and in early
November, an Inaugural Parade was held; reviewed
by Army Minister A. J. Forbes MC. The first
batch of our National Service reinforcements had
arrived together with more regular soldiers from
other Battalions and from recruit training.
Approximately 250 National Servicemen were
present on that parade.
At the end of the year, a number of officers
were posted out of the Battalion and those who
would serve with it during its expected
forthcoming tour of duty in South Vietnam
arrived. We were very fortunate in the selection
of several of the newcomers. Major Stan Maizey
became the Second in Command (2I/C). Stan was a
Royal Military College Duntroon (RMC) and Staff
College graduate and had served with the
occupation forces in Japan and Korea and as a
Company
Commander
with 2RAR in Malaya. He was an exceptionally
gifted officer but didn't suffer fools gladly.
Max Carroll joined as OC Support Company. Max
was an Officer Cadet School Portsea and Staff
College graduate and had served with 3RAR in
Malaya. The principal role of the OC Support
Company during war was to run the operations of
the Battalion and act as battle 2I/C to the CO.
This system had been developed in 1RAR where
John Essex Clark was serving with distinction as
OC Support Company.
The appointment of
the OC Support Company was a key one and in Max
Carroll we were fortunate indeed. With one
exception, all the Company Commanders were a
young crop ― the youngest being Bruce McQualter;
an RMC graduate and OC B Company. Noel Granter
was a Portsea graduate and commanded C Company.
Paul Greenhalgh was a fellow classmate of Bruce
McQualter at RMC and commanded D Company. John
Miller was a Portsea graduate, had transferred
from 1RAR and commanded Admin Company. Bert
Cassidy was the oldest and had transferred from
the CMF to the Regular Army in 1959 and had
served in the ranks in the South West Pacific
during WW2. He commanded A Company. Bob Milligan
joined as 2I/C C Company from his previous
posting as ADC to the Commander 1 Division.
Because of a
shortage of infantry officers and also I think
because of the Army's wish for officers of other
Corps to gain early experience of the war in
South Vietnam, a number of non infantry officers
were posted to us to fill vacancies. These
included Don Willcox (Intelligence Corps) as
Intelligence Officer, Ron Bade (RAEME) as 2I/C A
Company (he had arrived a couple of months
before), Brian LeDan (RAust Sigs) as Signals
Officer, Bob O'Neill (R Aust Sigs) as 2I/C B
Company, David Rowe (RAAMC but later
transferring to Inf) as Anti Tank Platoon
Commander, Jack Carruthers (RAEME) as a Platoon
Commander in B Company and John Cook (RAAOC) as
Assistant Quartermaster. Tony White arrived as
Regimental Medical Officer having only recently
qualified. His military experience consisted of
a two week course during which he had learned
neither to salute nor to understand how to put
on his gaiters the correct way around. He proved
to be an outstanding medical officer.
The Rifle Company Platoon Commanders were all
recently commissioned and from a variety of
backgrounds. Five were National Service Officers
who had attended a twenty two week course at the
recently established Officer Cadet Training
School at Scheyville in New South Wales. They
included Ted Pott & Terry O'Hanlon in B Company,
Harry Neesham and John Deane-Butcher, in C
Company and Finny Roe in D Company. The others
were regular officers, three of whom had been
commissioned from the ranks after a twelve month
course at Portsea including Dennis Rainer, Mick
Deak and Bob Gunning. John Nelson had been a
civilian entry to Portsea and Greg Negus had
transferred to the regular Army from the CMF.
Only Roger Wainwright and John Hartley were RMC
graduates and serving as Platoon Commanders in C
and A companies respectively. John was
subsequently twice Mentioned in Despatches
(MID). Trevor Sheehan and John MacAloney had
transferred from 1RAR; both were Portsea
graduates and they commanded the Mortar and
Assault Pioneer Platoons respectively. John was
later awarded an MC. Ron Shambrook was the
Quartermaster and had transferred from the CMF
to the Regular Army in 1962. Bob Supple was the
Transport Officer. Both had transferred from 1
RAR. Bob had been commanding 1RAR's airborne
platoon detached to RAAF Williamtown and became
2I/C of B Company 5RAR, but when the more senior
Bob O'Neill arrived, he was moved to the only
remaining post for a senior Subaltern and was
less than pleased! Darryl Lovell had also
transferred from 1 RAR and had been the
Assistant Adjutant until about two weeks prior
to embarkation when the after effects of a
Friday night "celebration" got the better of him
and he was hospitalised. He rejoined after we
had arrived in South Vietnam and had begun to
settle in to
Nui Dat. Ralph Thompson had also transferred
from 1RAR and took over from Darryl as Assistant
Adjutant.
Mick Deak was one of A company's three Platoon
Commanders. Mick had been a particularly hard
nosed Private soldier (and sometimes a L/Cpl) in
E Company 1RAR and frequently in trouble for
fighting. Much to the surprise of everyone in E
Company, Mick applied for a Commission and even
more surprising was his success in passing the
selection for entry to the course at Portsea.
Years later he told me it was prowess on the
Rugby field which clinched his place at Portsea.
Newly commissioned Officers graduating from
Portsea were seldom posted back to the unit in
which they had served in the ranks but someone
at Army HQ Personnel branch had obviously
forgotten that 5RAR was raised from 1RAR in
which Mick had been such a hell raiser. When we
received notice of the arrival of 2nd Lieutenant
MG Deak, I just knew there would be trouble ―
and so there was, but it all turned out right in
the end and Mick was awarded an MC whilst
commanding the Anti Tank Platoon (prior to its
conversion into a Reconnaissance Platoon).
Dennis Rainer who had been a Section Commander
in E Company 1RAR was also posted to us on
graduation from Portsea. Dennis was awarded an
MID and an MC whilst serving in D Company.
With one exception the officers who would lead
5RAR in battle were younger than earlier
Battalions of the Regiment that had been sent to
war but at the Company Commander level, several
had experience of active service in Malaya and
all seemed to get on together very well.
I succeeded Ron Boxall as Adjutant and Ron
joined D Company as Paul Greenhalgh's 2 I/C. Ron
had been Assistant Adjutant in 1RAR (Pentropic),
and during his time as Adjutant of 5RAR had
needed to concentrate on the personnel
responsibilities of the job.. Ron had done the
hard work and as we had a competent Assistant
Adjutant in Darryl Lovell and a very capable
Chief Clerk in Staff Sergeant Merv Fridolf, I
was confident in their ability to look after the
remaining detail and henceforth delegated much
of my personnel responsibilities to Daryl and to
Merv.
My primary interest was in operations and as was
the case in 1RAR, the Adjutant became the
Assistant Operations Officer responsible for the
day to day running of the Battalion command
post, air support – both helicopter tactical
movement and offensive ground attack- and
manning the rear radio link to Task Force
Headquarters. One personnel function that I did
retain was responsibility for the discipline of
junior officers. This would not be easy when the
Battalion was engaged in almost continuous
operations in South Vietnam but I regarded it as
being very important for junior officers to know
that the Adjutant was there to keep them in line
when necessary and provide guidance whenever
possible.
I was to work as Max Carroll's operations deputy
for the next 12 months until he became OC A
Company. I learned much from Max and we have
remained very good friends ever since.
During an early evening news broadcast In
January, it was announced that 5RAR would
relieve 1RAR in South Vietnam in April. I was at
home at the time and heard Bob Supple cheer from
his house next door. Sounds of similar male
rejoicing could be heard from other married
quarters nearby. My wife Penny was quiet as I
imagine all the other wives were too. What is
the instinct that makes men want to go to war?
Why don't women share it? Being left behind must
be one reason. Fear of what might happen to
their husbands, fathers, sons and lovers is
probably the main reason. It has been the same
throughout history and young men will never
learn that the final outcome of all wars is
decided around some table after vast numbers of
those husbands, fathers, sons and lovers have
been killed and maimed and countless thousands
of civilians of all ages and gender have been
similarly killed and maimed. But the sad truth
is that unless one is unfortunate enough to
experience prolonged and horrifying combat, the
fleeting danger and exhilaration is electrifying
and addictive. But it was some time before I was
to find that out.
In January, our final batch of National Service
reinforcements arrived and training for war
commenced in earnest. National Servicemen now
comprised approximately 50% of the Battalion's
strength and many eyes were upon us to see how
we would perform.
The Rifle Companies were now up to strength with
Private Soldiers and most junior NCO positions
had either been filled or soon would be. Filling
the many vacancies at Sergeant and Warrant
Officer level was not so easy. Both John Warr
and Stan Maizey spent much time lobbying the
various superior HQ and the Central Army Records
Office to fill our vacancies with the best men
available.
In this they were largely successful and our
original small group of ex
1RAR Warrant Officers and SNCOs were joined
by a growing band of experienced men. Many of
the Corporals from E Company 1RAR were promoted
to Sergeant including Stretch Witheridge and
Tassy Wass and I was especially pleased when
Rowdy Hindmarsh, Skinny Calvert and Derek
Collins who had been my three Section Commanders
in 19 Platoon 1RAR, also became Sergeants.
We could plan on having no more than three
months to prepare for war and everyone set to
work with an enthusiasm that in the
circumstances was surprising. There was
practically no political opposition to the
involvement of America and its allies in South
Vietnam at the time; that was to evolve much
later although we did step up the security of
Gallipoli Barracks from a position where the
camp was totally open to anyone who might have
wished to visit us! We certainly didn't have
armed sentries at the gate in those days.
The Rifle Companies worked long hours and
frequently spent from dawn until well after
darkness practising and improving their skills
with rifles and machine guns on the nearby
ranges. At that time riflemen were equipped with
an Australian made
7.62mm Self Loading Rifle – a version of the
original Belgian Fabrique Nationale design and
practically identical to the British SLR. Each
platoon had three American made
7.62 belt fed M60 light machine guns.
Platoon Commanders, Section Commanders, Radio
Operators and other such "support" personnel
were issued with a
9mm Owen sub
machine gun. This was an Australian designed
and manufactured weapon that was very reliable.
It was being replaced with another 9mm sub
machine gun design but both were withdrawn
during our tour in South Vietnam because they
had insufficient "stopping power". A hit with a
9mm round did not guarantee the target would go
down – the round might be stopped by a heavy
webbing belt or pouch and the target would
remain "active" – and potentially lethal!
We took
106mm Recoilless Rifles and
66mm
Carl Gustav anti tank launchers to Vietnam
but apart from taking a very long "pot-shot"
from the top of Nui Dat hill at a suspected
Elephant (supposedly used by the VC as cargo
carriers), neither weapons were used and
remained in storage. In fact the Swedish
Government refused to supply Carl Gustav
projectiles as it opposed the war in Vietnam.
We were allocated ample quantities of small arms
and 81 mm mortar
ammunition with which to reach a high state of
readiness. Trevor Sheehan had recently completed
a course as an 81mm Mortar Platoon Commander and
he soon brought his mortar crews and their
Sergeant Mortar Fire Controllers who would each
accompany a Rifle Company Commander on
operations, to a high state of training. Bob
Gunning was the Mortar Platoon 2I/C who would
command the actual mortar line. As Platoon
Commander, Trevor would be part of the Battalion
HQ Fire Support Coordination Centre (FSCC) which
included the Officer Commanding the Field
Artillery Battery that would always be in Direct
Support of the Battalion once operationally
deployed.
The Rifle Companies also carried out their own
training exercises in the Gospers Mountains.
There was much work to do at Battalion HQ and
the administrative staff also worked very long
hours. Battalion HQ deployed on a number of
shake down (or was it up?) exercises in the
local Holsworthy training area. None of us had
much experience of how an infantry Battalion HQ
should operate in the field and through trial
and error (and initially without the
complication of Rifle Companies to command) we
worked out who from the HQ staff was actually
needed in the field and who could support the
Battalion's activities better from a base
location. We developed answers to such questions
as how does the HQ actually move on foot through
thick country? What should the make up of the
various parties be? Who was best placed to
actually command the movement, to lay out the
defences when we stopped? What was the role of
the RSM? Who would provide sentries at night,
who would organise the support of massed
helicopters that were the usual method of
getting around in South Vietnam, who would
organise offensive air support, where would the
FSCC party be? Together with radio operators and
orderlies, the FSCC party alone numbered seven
people. How would re-supply for the Rifle
Companies be arranged ― and who would be
responsible? What sort of defensive position
should we dig as a matter of routine every time
we stopped for more than a short break? How
could we operate the command post by night
without showing any lights? Who should be in the
command post? What sort of radio aerials did we
need to put up whenever we stopped both for
communicating with the Rifle Companies and the
rear link to Task Force HQ?
We had to develop our standard operating
procedures (the military's beloved "SOPs")
pretty well from scratch although after John
Warr returned in January 1966 from a short visit
to 1RAR in South Vietnam, the copy of their SOPs
which he brought with him was very helpful
indeed.
Each Rifle Company spent three weeks at the
Canungra Jungle Training Centre and I was able
to get away and visit one of them for a few
days. I enjoyed the break and from what I saw,
the Diggers seemed to be enjoying the experience
which for many of them was the first time they
had seen tropical rain forest.
We arranged basic Vietnamese language courses
for selected members of Rifle Companies and Bob
O'Neil delivered lectures on Vietnam and the
reasons for Australia's involvement in the war
to all members of the Battalion. As a former
Rhodes Scholar, Bob was expected to know these
details!
In recent years there have been reports of
National Servicemen being asked if they did or
did not wish to serve in Vietnam. I don't recall
any formal procedure, but Ralph Thompson
remembers me instructing him to address all
National Servicemen on the Battalion Parade
ground and warning them of operational service.
According to Ralph, they were more interested in
getting away to the boozer than what they all
knew was inevitable anyway! I believe that had
anyone approached his Company Commander and
stated that he did not wish to accompany the
Battalion, I'm sure he would have been left
behind on some pretext or other. I believe to
this day that there was no dissent among the
ranks of 5RAR to the forthcoming deployment. It
was after all, the greatest adventure in which
any of us had participated.
A final series of exercises was arranged in
March in which the whole Battalion participated
as a complete unit for the first time. We flew
by
RAAF De Havilland Caribou aircraft from the
airstrip at Holsworthy to a rough airstrip in
the Gospers Mountain training area (near
Rylstone NSW). Although we were training for
jungle warfare, the final exercise was almost
called off because of heavy snowfall and
plunging temperatures in the final 48 hours!
Brigadier Vincent; commander of the 1st Task
Force supervised the final exercise. At the
conclusion of a week of hard slogging over the
very difficult and latterly snowy terrain of
Gospers Mountains, he pronounced that we were
good enough to deploy to the tropical jungles of
South Vietnam!
My personal view is that in the mid 1960s, the
Australian Regular Army was ill prepared to
undertake a major overseas military commitment
and cite the varied backgrounds of the officers,
the frequency of postings into and out of the
Battalion in 1965 together with the serious
shortage of senior NCOs as evidence of that ill
preparedness. A huge effort got under way to
correct the deficiencies in numbers and in
training, but by the standards which evolved and
certainly by those of today, we were only just
up to the mark in April 1966 and the experience
of war soon revealed some shortcomings in both
officers and NCOs; including one Company
Commander being dismissed in July and another
being posted to a staff appointment on medical
grounds in August.
General Tom Daly was General Officer Commanding
Eastern Command and he was a frequent visitor as
it was his HQ that was responsible for our
preparation. In December 1997, John Warr told me
that General Tom's final words of advice to him
were as follows:
"If you have a choice of accomplishing something
in 12 hours but with a high risk of casualties
or of doing the same thing in 24 hours but with
less risk, do it at less risk – your men's lives
are more important."
Deployment for most of us was to be by QANTAS
civil airliner, but one Rifle Company had to
sail to the South China Sea aboard the converted
aircraft carrier
HMAS Sydney together with all the vehicles
and heavy equipment for the remainder of the 1st
Task Force that was to follow. Being an
enthusiastic gambler by nature, Stan Maizey held
a draw to decide which Rifle Company should
enjoy a nine day tropical cruise and Paul
Greenhalgh of D Company drew the black spot from
Stan's upturned cap. Having already told his
Company that they would deploy by air, Paul was
aghast. He approached John Warr and Noel Granter
was told that C Company would sail instead.
Everyone was given one week pre-embarkation
leave but there was not enough time for many of
the Battalion HQ staff to go away, and my wife
and I had nowhere to go anyway. We had decided
that she and our two year old son would return
home to the UK and by making a special case, the
Government graciously returned her passport
which under the terms of the £10 Assisted
Passage Migrant Scheme, would normally have been
retained for 3 years.
Stan Maizey had drawn up a very detailed
administrative plan for the preparation and
movement of the Battalion and all its equipment
to South Vietnam I still have a copy of the plan
and it is a model of thorough preparation,
precise "staff duties" - as the military terms
its method of preparation of such detailed
instructions - and good humour!
Stan has written a most revealing article for
the 5RAR website chronicling the deficiencies of
the Army's logistics system in 1965-66 and its
impact on our preparations for war. It was very
largely thanks to Stan, John Miller, Ron
Shambrook and all ranks of Admin Company that we
were ready for embarkation by the time the
Advance Party commanded by John Miller departed
for South Vietnam by air on 19 April. The
following day there was a parade and Beating
Retreat when Army Minister Malcolm Fraser was
Reviewing Officer, and on 21 April, the
Battalion marched through Sydney for what I can
only describe as a tumultuous ticker tape send
off. C Company less Roger Wainwright's Platoon
which went by air with the CO's party on 28
April embarked on
HMAS Sydney on 22 April together with all
the transport and freight. On 28 April, movement
of the main body by air got under way and
flights departed every two days.
I was due to depart on the last aircraft and had
a few more hours than most to help my wife sort
out our domestic affairs although she managed
most of the problems herself. We put what we
could into storage, disposed of that we didn't
want and handed over our married quarter. I took
her and our son to Sydney airport and we parted
sadly. The thought that we might never meet
again passed through my mind as I'm sure it did
hers but neither of us said anything about it.
As soon as they had gone, I arranged to sell her
MG Midget at a local car auction. She was very
upset at leaving the car knowing that we must
sell it as it had been a 21st birthday present
from her father and that car had been a good
friend to us.
I moved into the Mess for the final 48 hours
before departure and on the evening of the 12th
May, was picked up by a driver and taken to Stan
Maizey's married quarter. I watched Stan say
goodbye to his three daughters. The youngest was
Sally, then aged about 12 months. She was asleep
as he kissed her. "Goodbye blossom" were the
last words he said before we went out into the
cool night air. Stan's wife Janette drove with
us to the RAAF Base at Richmond. Marquees had
been set up for families to have a final cup of
tea before the men folk departed. It was a
subdued gathering and there were tears and final
hugs all around me. I was quite relieved to be
alone. I hate farewells at airports.
The QANTAS Boeing 707 which took us to Saigon
via Manila might well have been the same
aircraft in which I flew to Australia 2½ years
before. Much had happened since then but the
time had passed quickly. The crew proudly
announced that they had all volunteered to fly
us to war and seemed disappointed when we
appeared less than impressed! I don't remember
landing in Manila
but I do remember seeing the coast of South
Vietnam for the first time and wondering what
fate held for us in the future. We landed at Ton
San Nhut airport which at that time was
reputedly the busiest airport in the world. The
atmosphere was stiflingly hot. There seemed to
be hundreds of aircraft about from civilian
Boeing 707s, large US Military Airlift Command
(MAC) Lockheed 141 Starlifters, and
C130 Hercules by the dozen and in earth and
sandbagged emplacements a variety of ground
attack aircraft ranging from
F100 Super Sabres
to the A10 Skyraiders of the South Vietnamese
Air Force. And then there were helicopters –
everywhere!
I returned to that same airport thirty nine
years later in October 2005 at the beginning of
a two week visit with a group of former 5RAR
colleagues. The aircraft bunkers were still
there together with a few helicopters and fixed
wing aircraft abandoned in 1975.
We were taken by bus to board a
US Air Force C123. Looking rather like a
C130 Hercules but with only 2 engines, the
C123 was camouflaged colour and streaked with
oil. We dumped our kitbags on a pallet and
clambered aboard via the lowered tail ramp. The
interior was hot and after engine start up –
very noisy.
After a 40 minute flight we landed at Vung Tau.
I remember feeling that we had definitely
arrived in the war zone on seeing US servicemen
walking around their aircraft with holster slung
pistols and the windows of the buses being
covered in wire mesh as a precaution against
grenades. Doubtless some of the Diggers had
expected to take cover as soon as they had
reached the bottom of the aircraft steps! (C
Company did fix bayonets as they approached the
beach at Vung Tau on disembarking from
HMAS Sydney, but that is another story best
told by former CQMS Bob
Trenear!)
Ralph
Thompson met us and we boarded Landrovers and
trucks for the short journey to the Battalion's
temporary
base camp located in sand dunes next to the
South China Sea. I remember passing close to an
overgrown cemetery. The sweet smell of dung –
probably human as well as animal – seemed to
permeate the air near all habitation. When we
arrived at the tented camp set up by John
Miller's advance party, Ralph showed me to a
tent that he and I would share and as he sat on
his aluminium trunk in the sand, I asked him to
bring me up to date on what had been going on
ever since he had arrived several weeks before
with the advance party. I put my kit on a camp
bed and felt rather left out of things. I had
been in a position to know every facet of the
Battalion's activity since it was raised over a
year ago. Now, as one of the last to arrive, I
was the new boy and I didn't like the feeling at
all.
It didn't last long; shortly afterwards, Stan
Maizey, Bob O'Neil, Bob Milligan and I completed
an aerial reconnaissance of
Nui Dat and Binh Ba in separate helicopters
of 68 Aviation Company. (described in Bob's book
"Vietnam Task"). A couple of days after that,
Brian LeDan and I joined 1/503 Battalion in the
173rd Airborne Brigade's operation to clear the
intended location of 1ATF.
All officers had packed Tropical Mess Dress
which we wore only once at a memorable occasion
in the Grand Hotel in Vung Tau (some claim it
was the Pacific Hotel and cite the Commander's
Diary as proof, but I believe it was the Grand)
when we entertained to dinner, the officers of
the US Army's 68th Aviation Company with whom we
were to work closely during the Battalion's
first six weeks whilst under command of the US
173rd Airborne Brigade. As a finale, Bandmaster
Bob Taylor conducted our Band in a performance
of "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying
Machines" which brought roars of approval from
all present. Later that evening, Stan Maizey had
to "persuade" the Military Police officer in
charge of the Provost Patrol that 5RAR officers
were not subject to any curfew and should be
allowed to return to Back Beach without
hindrance! Roger Wainright didn't make it. He
had been confined to camp by his Company
Commander Noel Granter!
In mid 2008, Ron Hamlyn wrote an article for
Tiger Tales. His concluding sentence was:
"Every night for the next few years I used to
thank the Lord for giving 5RAR John Arnold Warr
as Commanding Officer, the most compassionate
and caring man I ever met."
Whilst acknowledging the huge influence that
Colin Khan
had both as CO during the Battalion's second
tour in South Vietnam and during his tenure as
President of the 5RAR Association, I think it is
largely due to the influence that John Warr had
on the Battalion and its members for the first
two and a half years of its existence, that
fifty years later, it remains a close knit
veteran family.
PJI
Isle of Wight, UK
April 2015
With the assistance
of Darryl Lovell, I have listed the Officers,
Warrant Officers and Staff Sergeants as at the
date of our deployment in April 1966. There may
be errors
I have included a few of the other members of
the Warrant Officers' and Sergeants' Mess but
there are many gaps. Perhaps members of the
Association will add names, but remember, the
list is current as of April 1966 only. There
were many changes throughout the following 12
months including promotions.
BATTALION HEADQUARTERS |
CO: |
Lt Col John Warr |
2I/C: |
Maj Stan Maizey |
Adjt: |
Capt Peter Isaacs |
IO: |
Capt Don Willcox |
A/Adjt: |
Lt Ralph Thompson |
RSM: |
WO1 Les Foale |
RP Sgt: |
Sgt "Tassie" Wass |
Chief Clerk: |
SSgt Merv Fridolf |
Orderly Rm Sgt: |
Sgt John Leaman |
A COMPANY |
OC: |
Maj Bert Cassidy |
2I/C: |
Capt Ron Bade |
CSM: |
WO2 Jock Stewart |
CQMS: |
SSgt ? |
PL Cdrs: |
Lt John Hartley |
|
2Lt Mick Deak |
|
2Lt John Nelson |
Pl Sgts: |
Sgt Neville Case |
|
Sgt Robert Brown |
|
Sgt ? |
B COMPANY |
OC: |
Maj Bruce McQualter |
2I/C: |
Capt Bob O'Neill |
CSM: |
WO2 John Bates |
CQMS: |
SSgt Sailor Mealing |
PL Cdrs: |
Lt Jack Carruthers |
|
2Lt Ted Potts |
|
2Lt Terry O’Hanlon |
Pl Sgts: |
Sgt Ray Solomon |
|
Sgt Barry Hassall |
|
Sgt ? |
C COMPANY |
OC: |
Maj Noel Granter |
2I/C: |
Capt Bob Milligan |
CSM: |
WO2 Ross Wormold |
CQMS: |
Sgt Bob Trenear |
Pl Cdrs: |
2Lt Harry Neesham |
|
Lt Roger Wainright |
|
2Lt John Dean-Butcher
|
Pl Sgts: |
Sgt Rowdy Hindmarsh |
|
Sgt Derek Collins |
|
Sgt Shorty Mavin |
D COMPANY |
OC: |
Maj. Paul Greenhalgh |
2I/C: |
Capt Ron Boxall |
CSM: |
WO2 John Clarke |
CQMS: |
SSgt Mick Owen |
Pl Cdrs: |
Lt Greg Negus |
|
2Lt Dennis Rainer |
|
2Lt Finnie Roe |
Pl Sgts: |
Sgt Bob Armitage |
|
Sgt Stretch Witheridge |
|
Sgt ? |
SUPPORT COMPANY |
OC: |
Maj Max Carroll |
CSM: |
WO2 Brian Hughson |
CQMS: |
SSgt Lofty Cunningham |
Mor Pl Cdr: |
2Lt Trevor Sheehan |
2I/C Mor Pl |
2Lt Bob Gunning |
Sig Pl Cdr |
Capt Brian LeDan |
Aslt Pnr Pl Cdr |
2Lt John MacAloney |
Anti Tk Pl Cdr |
Lt David Rowe |
Sp Pl Sgts |
Sgt Brian London |
|
Sgt Skinny Calvert |
Mor Pl MFCs |
? |
ADMIN COMPANY |
OC: |
Maj John Miller |
CSM: |
WO2 Don McGregor |
Quartermaster: |
Capt Ron Shambrook |
A/QM: |
Lt John Cook |
RQMS: |
WO1 Blue Balzary |
RMO: |
Capt Tony White |
Medical SNCO: |
SSgt Mick Seats |
Tpt Offr: |
Lt Bob Supple |
Tpt SNCO: |
Sgt Terry Gardner |
Bandmaster: |
WO2 Bob Taylor |
Drum Major: |
Sgt Ken Benson |
Armourer: |
SSgt Mick Henrys |
Caterer: |
WO2 Peter Roby |
Pay Sgt: |
Sgt Gerry Brendish |
Hygiene NCO: |
Sgt Bob "Blowfly" Brown |
ATTACHED |
Padre (RC):
|
Capt John Williams |
Sally Army: |
John Bentley |
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