At the Battle of Fire Support Base Andersen ten Tunnel Rats manned an overnight listening post ...

32 Pages·2017·3.9 MB·English

HOLDFAST
MARCH 2017 - Number 30 www.tunnelrats.com.au
OFFiciAL newSLeTTer OF THe VieTnAM TUnnneL rATS ASSOciATiOn inc.
At the Battle of Fire Support
Base Andersen ten Tunnel
Rats manned an overnight
listening post and only three
survived the night unhurt
It’s a battle the history books
have ignored for too long
NOSTALGIA PAGES 2
Sappers set sail on the mighty Mekong
Nostalgia
Pages
Pages of great pics from the past to
amaze and amuse. Photo contribitions
welcome. Send your favourite Vietnam
pics (with descriptions, names and ap-
prox dates) to Jim Marett 43 Heyington
Place Toorak Vic 3142 or by email to:
[email protected]
In 1969 the two Tunnel Rats seen here at the back of the boat were at-
tached to 5RAR as a Splinter Team, and as they were water-borne for this
operation, they were also tasked with running the boat. The two Sappers
are Darryl Lavis and Ted Podlich of 2 Troop 1 FD SQN. The rest of the
crew are Grunts from 5RAR. Their role was to patrol river tributaries along
the Mekong, and carry out nightly ambushes on river traffic suspected of
ferrying weapons and military supplies. “By morning we often found our-
selves stranded up in the mangroves like sitting ducks, due to the quick
changing tides,” recalls Darryl. “During daytime we transported the infantry
patrols into the mangroves looking for possible weapons and food caches.
We also searched and inspected fishing vessels,” says Darryl. “If there
was a lull in river traffic we tried our hand at fishing - using grenades!”
Ziggy catches some Zeeees
Holdfast
Magazine
Written and edited by Jim Marett
and published quarterly by the
Vietnam Tunnel Rats Association
43 Heyington Place
Toorak Vic 3142
Tel: [phone]
Mobile: [phone] When you were out on patrol with the Infantry, sleep deprivation was part of
[email protected] the deal, so the ability to nap at any opportunity was essential to survival.
www.tunnelrats.com.au Here 2 Troop Tunnel Rat, Ziggy Gniot (70/71) shows how its done, sleeping
like a baby during a short break while on patrol with 7RAR .
3 NOSTALGIA PAGES
“I’m out of here!” “That one definately can’t go!”
Tunnel Rat Kevin Connor of 2 Troop 69/70 is busy
censoring his 35mm slides before sending them
home. It’s not just war scenes he’s worried about,
but also certain scenes in the bars of Vung Tau
which may be misinterpreted by those at home!
This is how it starts
Tunnel Rat John Nulty (3 Troop) was wounded in action
on 19 April 1969. His wounds were serious enough to
Troop BBQs start off civilised but end up in utter
see him eventually evacuated by air back to Australia
mayhem. This photo is taken so early in the piece
(top photo). In happier times, we see John (above) en-
the guys are all sober and their shirts haven’t been
joying a brew while out on operations with the infantry.
ripped to shreds. From L to R: CAPT Jim Burrough,
That’s the spirit! Sappers Gerry Wallbridge, Greg Gough, Butch
Marsden and Kev Connor, all of 2 Troop 1969/70.
She’s not winking at you
Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. Vung Tau hooker, One-eyed Wai-Lin was notori-
In this case, for this soldier, it was important to keep ous for her foul temper and her ability to rip you off
the machine gun dry. A critical weapon in any enemy in dice games and currency changing. Some guys
contact, it was always a ‘tense moment’ if the the took her on because they enjoyed a challenge, but
M-60 stopped working. Over-heating or dirt collect- nobody was ever able to find out how she lost her
ing on the belt of ammunition were common causes. right eye. To ask was to risk life and limb.
NOSTALGIA PAGES 4
Is this the first selfie? Caribou does a little tailgating for fun
By the looks of the composition of
this photo, Sapper Marty McGrath
may have been the first person ever
to take a ‘selfie’. Marty was a Tunnel
Rat with 2 Troop in 69/70, and is seen
here out on operations with Infantry
in the swamps of the Rung Sat Se- Hank Veenhuizen, a Tunnel Rat with 3TP 69/70 was flying in an RAAF Car-
cret Zone. This was an inhospitable ibou from Saigon to Nui Dat after his R&R when the RAAF Caribou aircraft
maze of mangroves and mudflats, following them decided to see how close he could fly to them. Hank says
infested with mosquitoes. The en- the pilots were all smiles as they flew unbelievably close to the lowered
emy established camps in the zone, rear ramp of the aircraft he was travelling in. To add to the drama, Hank’s
figuring the Australian troops would aircraft nearly landed with its wheels still up, dramatically pulling up at the
never venture in there. We did go in, last minute to go around again for another approach, finally landing safely.
but never with any great success. Hank says the two crews were laughing their heads off on the tarmac.
The dream pub where Diggers from across the decades gather
How good would it be - if you could walk into a pub and share a beer and a yarn with Diggers from every conflict,
from the First World War to Afghanistan and Iraq today? And it would be even better of course if they were all Sap-
pers. The bar would never close, the beer would flow endlessly, the stories would grow to (almost) beyond belief,
and the comradeship would be unbreakable. Dreams are made of this. Let us know if you come across this place.
5 NOSTALGIA PAGES
Weird stuff went on at Van Kiep 3 Troop troubadour
Sapper Barry Gilbert of 3 Troop
67/68 strums a tune while sitting on
Van Kiep was a highly secure base in our area of operations, down near the sandbags surrounding his tent at
Long Phuoc Hai. The place was a forest of aerials and entennas, and it Nui Dat. It’s a 12-string guitar so Bar-
was always a mystery as to what went on there. This photo shows a bun- ry must have been pretty skilled at
ker which housed a Decca Navigation system and that’s the Decca team the instrument. Wearing thongs he is
standing outside. The guy in the middle is ex-Australian Air Force, and probably multi-tasking, airing his feet
the guy on the far right is team leader Christopher Rose, a Decca techni- to dry up the footrot we all suffered
cian from the UK. Obviously they had some electronic navigation wizardry strolling through the bush for weeks
buzzing away in the bunker. Their choice of weapons is varied and they on operations with the Infantry.
look rather posed and awkward holding them, indicating they were desk-
Fond memories
jockeys rather then enjoying the delights of going out bush. No doubt they
got to know nearby Vung Tau very well though.
The art of stretching out a Smoko
This bar was pretty flash in Vung Tau
terms, coming complete with bar,
hotel and restaurant, and there was
These 3 Troop 67/68 Tunnel Rats are enjoying one of the great traditions even a rooftop bar on the top floor.
of the Australian Army, the Smoko. Senseless work around the base was It was well located too, on the cor-
always organised to keep us busy between operations out bush, but long ner of Tran Hung Road, right next to
the iconic meeting point, The Flags.
Smoko sessions helped kill the boredom of raking leaves or painting rocks.
Beers were slightly more expensive
Skilled Sappers could easily stretch a 10 minute Smoko to 30 minutes.
here, but this was compensated
Seen above (left to right) are: John Barker, Col Cuthbert and Gary Pohlner.
for by the exceptional quality of the
Can anyone help us name the other lads?
girls who worked the place.
NOSTALGIA PAGES 6
“Move you swine!” “WTF - Can you believe this!”
This pig was being led off to the Baria market by
the young girl, but it refused to cross the newly built
bridge (perhaps he was a bomb sniffing pig and had
some professional concerns). These two Tunnel Bruce Bofinger, a Tunnel Rat with 2 Troop 69/70 has
Rats offered their assistance but the pig reached a that look of someone who has just come in from op-
point where he wouldn’t budge another inch. That’s erations, only to find he is heading out bush again,
John Olsen of 3TP 69/70 leading the pig. Can any- real soon! Bruce has just checked the Ops Board in
one help us with the name of the brave Sapper sit- the Troop office. This board displays where Troop
ting on the pig? By the way, the pig eventually made members are allocated for each operation with the
his own way across the bridge as soon as the Sap- Infantry and Armoured units. The Troop staff who put
pers moved away! the board together, literally decided your fate.
Maximum fire power Woofers on a mission
This was seen on the perimeter of a
US Fire Support Base in Phuoc Tuy
The Tunnel Rats attached to Infantry in two-man Splinter Teams would some-
Province. It’s an ingenious adaption
times witness the great work done by tracker dogs. They weren’t trained to
of an aircraft mini-gun, capable of
sniff out explosives, but they were very effective at sniffing out the enemy.
firing 6,000 rounds per minute. Any
approaching VC would sure get a They were most often used after a contact to follow the trail of escaping en-
shock if this opened up on them. emy, or when enemy bunkers were encountered, where the dogs could pick
Photo: Hank Veenhuizen. up the smell of the enemy from items left behind by the occupants.
7 NOSTALGIA PAGES
A tribute to their troopmate
Sapper Ron Davies, a Tunnel
Rat with 3 Troop 1FD SQN was
killed in action on 28 May 1969
when he received fatal gunshot
wounds during an ambush while
on patrol with 9RAR. Ron was the
team leader or ‘Number One’ of a
two-man Splinter Team attached
to the battalion. Ron had a keen
interest in firearms, and during his
tour had managed to ‘souvenir’ an
enemy AK47 rifle in superb con-
dition. Following the loss of their
troopmate, members of 3 Troop
had Ron’s AK47 mounted onto a
polished display board along with
some AK47 rounds and an an-
graved metal plaque. The display
was then hung in the Troop lines
as a tribute to their lost comrade.
Several of Ron’s troopmates re-
call that Ron had premonitions he
was going to be killed, and had
spoken of this with them. Ron’s
‘Number Two’ in the team, Sapper
Richard Day also received gun-
shot wounds in the ambush, but
recovered in hospital and returned
to his troop. Sapper Day had only
been in country for six weeks at
the time of the incident.
Now, this is sexy Instant bridge drops out of the sky
The designers got it right when they The American land clearing team were working in the Australian area of
put this beast together. The Cobra operations, pushing down the jungle with their massive dozers to deny the
gunship was jaw-dropping when you enemy cover. When they came across this fast moving river and realised
first saw it . And it was awe inspiring they had to cross it they simply called up HQ and had a bridge delivered by
to see and hear in action. The sound skycrane (see inset photo). Hank Veenhuizen witnessed the event, and says
of the mini-guns firing was once de- the bridge was lowered into place by the helicopter, unfolded then bolted in
scribes as “the devil throwing up”. place and the dozers started crossing, all in under an hour!
FIRE SUPPORT BASE ANDERSEN 8
A grim time of fallen Sappers and exceptional bravery
in the little known battle of Fire Support Base Andersen
Early 1968 was a period of tragic losses for the Tunnel Rats of 3 Troop 1 Field
Squadron Royal Australian Engineers. On 17 February ten of their Sappers were
sent to form an overnight Listening Post 300m out from Fire Support Base An-
dersen. By early next morning four of these men had been killed in action and three
had been wounded in action, leaving just three of the ten Sappers unhurt. To add to
the tragedy, two of those unhurt would be killed in action in a mine incident just one
month later. The following story is told by the Sappers who were there.
During the Tet Offensive place several months later, but ABOVE: A small time for mourn-
of 1968, the Viet Cong and little has been said and even ing lost mates: (Left to right)
North Vietnamese Army made less has been entered into the Cpl Merv Dodd, Spr Chuck
Bonzas, Spr John Hoskin,
three fierce attacks against Fire history books on the Battle of
Spr Lyndon Stutley, Spr Barry
Support Base (FSB) Andersen Fire Support Base Andersen.
McKay (partially hidden).
near the village of Trang Bom For the Australian Sap-
Photo: Spr Peter Macdonald
on the north-eastern outskirts pers who served at FSB An-
of Saigon. Andersen was an dersen, this omission and the
Australian base with additional resulting lack of recognition
New Zealand and American el- adds unnecessary weight to launch sites, and engaging
ements, and as part of Opera- the tragic losses they suffered enemy soldiers as they threw
tion Coburg, the Australian Task on the first of those three as- themselves against the wire.
Force (1ATF) had deliberately saults. The night saw seven Austra-
established the base astride During the battle on the lian soldiers and one American
predicted lines of movement night of 17/18 February fierce killed in action, with dozens
for the communist forces. grenade, mortar and rocket at- more wounded.
Attacks on the base tacks were launched at Ander- These casualties include
were expected, and the NVA sen by a tenacious and well those suffered by the overnight
and VC fulfilled those expec- trained enemy. The defending standing patrol or listening post
tations, with three assaults on Australians, Kiwis and Ameri- sent ‘outside the wire’ of Ander-
FSB Andersen between Febru- cans were no less tenacious, sen by the FSB defence com-
ary 18 and 28 1968. Much has pouring artillery, mortar, ma- mand. The ten Sappers com-
been written on the battles of chine gun and small arms fire prising that patrol were from 3
Coral and Balmoral which took onto enemy mortar and rocket Troop 1 Field Squadron, Royal
9 FIRE SUPPORT BASE ANDERSEN
Australian Engineers, and were “When 3 Troop arrived Four Tunnel rats
performing an infantry role that on FSB Anderson it was obvi- Killed in Action
night. ous someone had been there 18 February 1968
The knoll they were sent before us as the perimeter was
to was outside of the protective fenced in barbed wire and the
barbed wire defences of the base was generally untidy,”
base and was compromised in says Sapper Peter Macdonald.
that it had been used previous- “Even at this early stage I pon-
ly as a listening post. The Sap- dered our purpose, it appeared
pers were ordered to take up our role on FSB Anderson was
a fixed position and their role to act as infantry. We were
was to provide an early warning combat engineers who work
listening post aimed at detect- with infantry, we were not fully
ing advancing enemy forces. infantry trained.”
The terrain was rocky making It was around this time
it impossible to dig pits as pro- that the first sappers were
LCPL John Garrett
tection from mortar, rocket or utilized at FSB Andersen to
grenade attacks. Though their mount the standing patrol out-
role was an important one for side of the wire, at a listening
base defence, the patrol had post originally established by
been placed in a dangerously the Americans, some 300m to
isolated and exposed area. the west of the base.
US and Australian Army “Andersen was larg-
Intelligence advised that ele- er than a normal FSB due to
ments of the North Vietnamese the presence of the US Artil-
Army and Viet Cong were flow- lery Battery and the APCs,
ing through the area, moving so it needed more protection
to and from their targets in and and of course patrolling than
around Saigon and Bien Hoa. a smaller FSB,” says the for-
The decision to continue the mer Company Commander, A SPR Allan Pattison
listening post patrols on the Company 3RAR, now Major
night of 17/18 February was ex- General (retired) Brian ‘Hori’
tremely risky, and in the words Howard. “The patrol program
of one of the survivors, Sapper would have been worked out
Jack Lawson, they were “hung by the 3RAR Battalion HQ not
out to dry”. 1ATF and I would have been
During the first enemy surprised if the Engineer troop
assault on FSB Andersen, had not been included in it. Af-
shortly after midnight, in the ter all, their stated secondary
early hours of 18 February, the role was to operate as Infantry.
listening post on the knoll re- However, be assured that they
ceived direct hits from enemy weren’t tasked as Infantry but
mortar and RPG (rocket pro- as well as Infantry.”
pelled grenade) fire, devastat- MAJ Geoff Cohen, the 2 SPR David Steen
ing the patrol and destroying I/C of 3RAR was put in charge
their radio. of the defence of FSB Ander-
Recently arrived in Viet- sen. He had approximately 500
nam, 3RAR was slotted into the troops under his command and
end of Operation Coburg. The dug in at the base. In addition
battalion had inherited FSB An- to his Infantry, his force com-
dersen, with all its faults, from prised a troop of APCs, two
1ATF who took the original de- mortar tracks from A Sqn 3 Cav
cision to expand a base initially and the 3 Troop Engineers.
established by the Americans. The knoll situated outside the
This was the battalion’s first perimeter was an area of con-
major operation in-country and cern to Major Geoff Cohen and
its first opportunity to work with he insisted it would have to be
SSGT Colin McLaughlin
the Sappers of 3 Troop. covered. He reinforced the pe-
FIRE SUPPORT BASE ANDERSEN 10
rimeter facing the knoll with ex-
tra claymores. He also left in-
structions for a standing patrol
to be positioned on the knoll to
give early warning in the event
of an attack.
Though there are numer-
ous opinions, it is not clear who
originally committed the Tunnel
Rats of 3 Troop to this task.
“The standing patrol task
was accepted by the Engineers
as within their capabilities, as
one of the shared responsibili-
ties of base defence,” said Lt
Colonel John Kemp AM in late
2016. As Major Kemp in 1967-
1968, John was the Officer
Commanding 1 Field Squad-
ron. “As it transpired, the level
of combat training of whoever
was on the standing patrols
had nothing to do with the out-
come. It all came down to fate
and circumstance.”
The first Section strength
standing patrol provided by the
3 Troop Engineers was on the
night of 16/17 February (the
night prior to the attack), and
after the toss of a coin, was pro-
vided by 10 Section under CPL
Frank Sweeney and included
(among others), Sappers Norm The knoll today, the site of the listening post where four Sappers lost
Cairns, Vic Underwood, Chuck their lives and three Sappers were wounded on 18 February 1968.
Bonzas, John Hoskin and Bri-
an Hopkins. Their night on the Sapper Barry Gilbert was fore dark for the knoll, and in
knoll was scary but uneventful. at FSB Andersen in a Splinter plain sight of the villagers of
They returned to FSB Anders- Team with A Coy 3RAR, mainly Trang Bom, not that this mat-
en on the morning of 17 Febru- conducting reconnaissance tered as the enemy had known
ary. patrols. Barry had been trained for some time where the lis-
LCPL Barry Swain of as a radio operator and when tening post was located.
the 3RAR Antitank and Track- he learned his Troop mates The patrol comprised
er Platoon recalls that on that had been tasked to do standing ten Tunnel Rats from 3 Troop
day (17 February) they we patrols out at the listening post, 1 Field Squadron: Staff Ser-
were warned out by LT Colin he volunteered to go out with geant Colin McLaughlin age
Clarke that it was their turn the radio. However Lance Cor- 38, the radio operator Lance
to go out to the knoll. “We got poral John Garrett, who was Corporal John Garrett age 20,
ready with ammunition, rations scheduled to be on the patrol Sapper David Steen age 21,
and a radio,” says Barry. “The that night, said that he would Sapper Allan Pattison age 19,
Section commander was CPL take the radio as Barry had al- Sapper Geoff Coombs age
Dan Shine, with LCPLs Hans ready had his turn outside the 22, Sapper Vince Tobin age
Vanzwol and Barry Swain, and wire with 3 RAR. Barry was un- 24, Sapper (later LCPL) Mur-
Privates Bruce Critchlow (M60) derstandably devastated when ray Walker age 22, Sapper
Ron Cruise, and Giuseppe the boys were hit that night, not Robert Creek age 22, Sapper
Lacava. Then at about 1700h least at the realisation it could Jack Lawson age 18 and Sap-
we were stood down and told have been him but for the ges- per Lyndon Stutley age 21.
that Engineers were to provide ture by John Garrett. “John Garrett had been
the patrol that night.” So, the patrol set off be- instructed to radio to base any