Possums and Bird Dogs: Australian Army Aviation's 161 Reconnaissance Flight in South Vietnam

265 Pages·2006·2.18 MB·English

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PETER NOLAN
AUSTRALIAN ARMY AVIATION’S
161 RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHT
IN SOUTH VIETNAM
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First published in 2006
Copyright © Peter Nolan 2006
All rights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced or
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National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:
Nolan,Peter Edward,1940– .
Possums and bird dogs :Australian Army Aviation’s 161
Reconnaissance Flight in South Vietnam.
ISBN 1 74114 635 6 (pbk.).
ISBN 1 74175 042 3 (limited edition HB)
1.Australia.Army Aviation Corp.Reconnaissance flight,
161 – History.2.Vietnamese Conflict,1961–1975 –
Personal narratives,Australian.3.Vietnamese Conflict,
1961–1975 – Aerial operations,Australian.I.Australia.
Army Aviation Corp.Reconnaissance flight,161.II.Title.
959.7043394
Maps by Winifred Mumford
Typeset in 12/14 pt Adobe Garamond by Midland Typesetters,Australia
Printed by CMO Image Printing,Singapore
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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This book is dedicated to the Australians and
New Zealanders of 161 Reconnaissance Flight,especially
those who did not return or did not grow old
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Contents
Foreword by Brigadier Bill Mellor ix
List of maps xiii
Preface xv
Prologue xvii
Part 1: Deployment to Bien Hoa 1965–66
1 161 Recce Flight:Formation and deployment 3
2 Bien Hoa:Fitting in 10
3 Learning the ropes:October 1965–May 1966 20
Part 2: Joining the Task Force
4 The 1st Australian Task Force 39
5 Vung Tau:May 1966–March 1967 52
6 Relocation to Nui Dat 67
7 Nui Dat:March–December 1967 85
Part 3: The Tet Offensive
8 The Tet and Second General Offensives:
January–July 1968 105
9 The aftermath:August 1968–February 1969 126
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Part 4: Pacification: March 1969–September 1971
10 Pacification:March–December 1969 139
11 Maintaining the effort:January–December 1970 158
12 The final challenge:January–September 1971 175
13 The end phase:August 1971–March 1972 193
Epilogue 203
Appendix 1:161 Reconnaissance Flight/161 (Independent)
Reconnaissance Flight:Nominal Roll 1965–72 204
Appendix 2:Honours and awards 211
Glossary of terms and acronyms 216
Notes 221
Bibliography 231
Index 233
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Foreword
Ambrose Bierce, in his bitingly satirical book, The Devil’s Dictionary,
defines history as ‘an account mostly false,of events mostly unimpor-
tant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers
mostly fools’. It is a cynical view, quite devoid of any understanding
of the role of the reader in determining the success or otherwise of a
historical account. No doubt there are many well-regarded histories
of knavish rulers and foolish soldiers,but those that are inaccurate or
irrelevant do not survive for long.
There are many accounts of the Australian involvement in the
Vietnam War, ranging from analyses of the strategic direction of
the war through to the detailed examination of a single battle. On
return from South Vietnam,each battalion that served there produced
an account of the tour,which has served as a contemporary record of
the people,places and events that contributed to the Vietnam experi-
ence. Other units and organisations have done the same, sometimes
following the passage of many years,and the gaining of much perspec-
tive.In nearly all of these accounts,the service and achievements of the
small Army Aviation contingent that supported the various units has
been at least acknowledged and more often lauded. While this
has provided a thin and disjointed view of Army Aviation in Vietnam,
nowhere has there been a complete account of the Vietnam experience