DAVO'S VIETNAM WAR HOMECOMING TO AUSTRALIA, JULY 1968

Map of Vietnam during Aussie Operations

The map at left shows Vietnam as it is today. The circled area indicates the Australian Vietnam Forces sphere of operations. The map at left indicates specifically Phuoc Tuy province as it was during the Vietnam War. The Australian Task Force set up its base on a strip of beach at Vung Tau Peninsula in Phuoc Tuy province. The 1st Australian Task Force base at Nui Dat, was set up some 25 kilometres from Vung Tau. The base at Nui Dat was to be the forward fighting base for the Australian contingent. The provincial capital was the city of Baria. The Task Force base was surrounded by mostly jungle covered countryside with the Mao Tao Mountains to the north-east, the Long Hai hills to the south along the coastline and the Dinh hills to the west. All three areas were known to be Viet Cong strongholds along with the villages of Long Tan and Long Phuoc. The area surrounding Baria contained rich rice paddy fields and numerous market gardens.

Phuc Tuy province was bounded in the north by Xa Bang, to the west by route 15 to Saigon, to the north-east by the May Tao Mountains and to the south by the South China Sea.  The Task Force base at Nui Dat was central to the province with major population centres of Binh Gia to the north, Dat do to the south with Baria and Vung Tau to the SSW.

For the main part, the province was jungle covered with the exception of three large groups of mountains - the May Tao in the north-east, the Long Hai running to the southern coast, the Dinh and Nui Thi Vai, Nui Toc Tien hills in the west.

 

 

 

Filling in Time

Here I am filling in spare time at the Dat down near the Bananas. I guess you could say that I had a pocket full of trouble. What else would an engineer cuddle? This was taken in February '68. We had a pile of left over's from the Mine Room, so Bret Nolan and I decided to spice up the Dat with a bit of whiz bang for a change. It worked. We showered the Task Force Officers Mess with goolies and almost took out a WO1 from 1Fld Sqn LAD with a chunk of shrapnel. We denied all knowledge of course and had a couple of quiet ones in the 1Fd Sqn Sgt's Mess that night feeling pretty proud of ourselves. I can honestly say that to this day I still love the smell of gunpowder and all things that are associated with loud bangs!  Were we that young?

AWM Accession No.: CRO/68/0172/VN
Description:
Nui Dat, South Vietnam, 1968-02. Sergeant Dave Poulton of Armidale, NSW, carrying a load of enemy explosives to be detonated. Dozens of captured Viet Cong mines, mortar bombs and hand grenades were exploded at the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) base.

 

 

 

 

 

Sophisticated Bomb Transport Vehicle

Bret Nolan and myself at work with one of several wheelbarrow loads of VC mines, U.S. and Australian ordinance for disposal by demolition. The demolition site was down on the wire at 1 Fld Sqn. Here Bret and I prepare charges to be laid in the trench to propagate the detonation to the ordinance.

AWM Accession No.: CRO/68//0171/VN
Description:
Nui Dat, South Vietnam. 1968-02. Dozens of Viet Cong (VC) mines, mortar bombs and hand grenades were exploded at the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) Base by Staff Sergeant (SSgt) Brett Nolan of Tocumwal, NSW (right), an expert on enemy weapons. SSgt Nolan and Sergeant Dave Poulton of Armidale, NSW, examine a wheelbarrow of VC explosives before the detonation. Both soldiers are members of of the 1st Field Squadron, Royal Australian Engineers, RAE.

 

 

R & C of a different kind...

In April 1968 I was wounded in action near the Long Hari Hills south of the old cemetery at Dat Do. I was dusted off to 1Fld Hospital at Bung Tau and returned to active duty some three weeks later.   I arrived in the chair by default. I happened to be struggling to the loo and they plinked me in the chair for a publicity shot.  Mind you the chair was a welcome relief and they had trouble getting me out of it. Margaret Young wrote letters to my wife for me as I was unable to pen them myself owing to some shrapnel wounds to the hands.

AWM Accession No.: CRO/68/0448/VN
Description:
Vung Tau, South Vietnam, 1968-04. Bare-chested Sergeant Dave Poulton of Armidale NSW, is the first patient to use one of the new wheelchairs presented to the 1st Field Hospital by the Red Cross. With him are Red Cross members Margaret Young of Wentworthville, NSW (left), and Barbara Buchanan of Currum, Vic, and the Commanding Officer of the hospital, Lieutenant Colonel William Watson of Ashgrove, Qld.