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1.Australian casualties in the Vietnam War, 1962–72
2. Terendak Garrison Military Cemetary Procedure for Access.
3. Work of Dr Bob Hall.
4. THE COLONEL
5. Wally Thompson RSMA.
1.These statistics were sourced from the appendix of On the offensive: the Australian Army in the Vietnam War 1967–1968. For details of the total number of Australians who died during the Vietnam War, 1962- 1975, please refer to Australians at war: casualties as a result of service with Australian units.
Statistics: Total Australian service casualties in the Vietnam War, 1962–72
Service Died Wounded-Injured-ill Total
Army---- 478 3,025 3,503
RAN 8 48 56
RAAF 14 56 70
Totals= 500 3,129 3,629
Note: The total of 500 deaths comprises 426 battle casualties and 74 non-battle casualties.
Totals by category
414 killed in battle, 2,348 wounded in battle
Non-battle casualties
Australian Regular Army National servicemen Citizen's Military Forces Total
Killed/died 49 15 0 64
Injured/ill 426 249 2 677
Australian Army casualties in Vietnam by year, 1962–72
BC = Battle casualty
NBC = Non-battle casualty
Deaths
Year BC- NBC- Total
1962 0 0 0
1963 0 1 1
1964 1 0 1
1965 11 5 16
1966 56 7 63
1967 70 11 81
1968 102 5 107
1969 95 9 104
1970 54 11 65
1971 28 12 40
1972 0 0 0
Total 417 61 478
Wounded - injured - ill
Year BC NBC Total
1962 0 2 2
1963 0 1 1
1964 8 1 9
1965 83 1 9
1966 226 62 288
1967 276 131 407
1968 529 170 699
1969 648 145 793
1970 422 69 491
1971 166 60 226
1972 4 5 9
Total 2,362 663 3,025
Source
Appendix F, "Statistics", Ian McNeil and Ashley Ekins, On the offensive: the Australian Army in the Vietnam War 1967–1968 (Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 2003)
Veterans and War Widows offered a free ride with Greyhound
♦
The Cemetery is currently undergoing extensive renovation work and there may be a disruption to those intending to visit the Cemetery. Visitors should first check with the Australian Embassy, Malaysia, before booking travel, and are reminded of the strict procedures to be followed before visiting the cemetery.
The following information is required to be submitted by anyone wishing to visit the Terendak Military Cemetery. This information is to enable the Defence Section of the Australian High Commission Kuala Lumpur to commence a "Request to Visit" process with the Ministry of Defence, Malaysia to obtain the appropriate approvals.
You will need the following information:
1.Photocopy of the front page of your passport (one for each person if in a group) showing passport number, expiry date, date of birth etc. Note: Ensure all copies can be clearly read.
2.Date and time of visit.
3.Purpose of visit.
4.Mode of transport to the cemetery.
5.Passport size photo.
The information is required 45 days in advance of the visit. Note: Notification of approval to visit the cemetery may take a few weeks.
Contact can be made by writing to either of the following addresses:
Defence Administrative Assistant
Australian High Commission – Kuala Lumpur
Locked Bag 40
Kuala Lumpur Bag
KINGSTON ACT 2604 or Defence Administrative Assistant
Australian High Commission
6 Jalan Yap Kwan Seng
50450 KUALA LUMPUR
MALAYSIA
You can also email the Defence Administrative Assistant.
♦
3.Work of Dr Bob Hall
In March this year, Bob took his team’s research to Vietnam where the Vietnamese government and veteran organisations were delighted to see and test the proof of concept and they've established strong links with Bob’s team. The team seeks your assistance in taking the next step - helping the Vietnamese to identify by name those KIA so their families will gain the closure that has been so important to us. We don't imagine that they'll be recovering the remains, but the comfort for the NOK is in knowing where their loved ones are buried.
More information and a feedback form are at http://www.vvaansw.org/VMIA.html
You can help by giving this email and the link the widest possible distribution - initially to the State Branches of your organisation, and through them, to Sub-Branches and individual members. A link on your web-site and in your publications(s) would be great too! Thank you for your help.
Best regards,
Clive
[8 RAR, 8/9 RAR, 6 RAR]
NSW President VVAA
Link to USAVeteransAffairs
http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/resources.asp
Leading the men of the 8th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment combined honour, duty and responsibility for Colonel Keith O'Neill, not just during its tour of operations in Vietnam in 1969-70 but until his final days.
Despite the torrential rain in Sydney on the past two Anzac Day marches, a steadfast determination propelled O'Neill to pre-dawn services and later to march through sodden Sydney streets, honouring bonds forged in conflict.
In his 85th year, O'Neill was particularly proud of the fact that he was the last of his contemporaries to march, twice refusing a ride in a Jeep over hilly parts of the parade route.
That commitment was reciprocated by his former troops, who gave him a rousing cheer as they disbanded this year. It was the last time those comrades will march together.
Keith John O'Neill was born in Warwick, Queensland, on September 25, 1926, and went to St Mary's College in Toowoomba, where he excelled as a swimmer and was a lieutenant in the college's army cadet unit. He then completed his final year of schooling at Nudgee College in Brisbane.
Although his family had encouraged a legal career, his time with the cadets drew O'Neill towards the military. He entered the Royal Military College at Duntroon in the closing days of World War II then served in Australia and overseas, including postwar Japan (1948-50), Korea (1953-54), Malaya (1959-61) and Cambodia (1965-66), as well as Vietnam.
One of those under O'Neill's command was Michael Jeffery, later the governor-general.
''Keith was a superb commanding officer of the Grey Eight,'' Jeffery said. ''It was in my view the best-trained battalion to go to Vietnam, with an esprit to match.''
Commanding the 8th RAR, known as the Grey Eight, during its 12-month tour in South Vietnam from late 1969 was the highlight of O'Neill's military career. Under his leadership, the battalion distinguished it self with its patrolling and ambushing and it was awarded a citation by the South Vietnamese government. O'Neill was appointed as a member of the Distinguished Service Order and awarded the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm.
The command of the 8th RAR also provided the low point of O'Neill's army career, with 18 of his soldiers dying in action, eight of them killed or dead of wounds in a horrendous mine incident in the Long Hai Mountains on February 28, 1970. However, without O'Neill's tactical nous, the casualty count would have been higher.
''In action, Keith read the situation perfectly,'' Jeffery said. ''Through skilful, well-thought-through tactics, his battalion was highly successful and achieved that with minimum casualties.''
On returning from a posting in England, O'Neill met Elizabeth (Lisa) Gilmore and the couple married in 1952.
O'Neill's military career also included time in Canberra, engaged in intelligence and strategic and international policy with the Department of Defence. But with a young family to support, O'Neill left the army in 1977 and moved to Sydney, where he could focus on his other passions - social justice, thoroughbred horse racing and good food and wine.
O'Neill began his post-army career with the Knights of the Southern Cross, which provided a framework for serving others. This spearheaded his work for the Australian bishops and the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, from which he retired as chief executive officer in 1997.
O'Neill had many friends and he never shied away from a robust discussion about politics, morality, philosophy, religion, food, wine or life in general.
He was absolutely convinced of the superiority of everything French, despite on many occasions being presented with examples to the contrary.
He was a member of the Australian Jockey Club for many years and could usually be found in the Derby Room at Royal Randwick Racecourse during Saturday meetings.
Lisa and Keith O'Neill were committed to their local parish of St Canice's for nearly 40 years, particularly to work with the poor and homeless around King's Cross.
O'Neill was a man of enormous Christian faith, despite seeing many instances that would cause a person to question that faith, including the sudden deaths of two of his daughters: Mary, 32, from an aneurism in 1987 and Liz, 37, in a plane crash in Indonesia in 2007.
Keith O'Neill is survived by Lisa, his sister Rita, children Frank, Tim and Kate and grandchildren Sam, Alice and Lucinda.
Ron Goward
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/obituaries/commander-and-committed-christian-20110628-1goy3.html#ixzz1QcnI86FN
5. Wally Thompson
2. Terendak Garrison Military Cemetary Procedure for Access.
3. Work of Dr Bob Hall.
4. THE COLONEL
5. Wally Thompson RSMA.
1.These statistics were sourced from the appendix of On the offensive: the Australian Army in the Vietnam War 1967–1968. For details of the total number of Australians who died during the Vietnam War, 1962- 1975, please refer to Australians at war: casualties as a result of service with Australian units.
Statistics: Total Australian service casualties in the Vietnam War, 1962–72
Service Died Wounded-Injured-ill Total
Army---- 478 3,025 3,503
RAN 8 48 56
RAAF 14 56 70
Totals= 500 3,129 3,629
Note: The total of 500 deaths comprises 426 battle casualties and 74 non-battle casualties.
Totals by category
414 killed in battle, 2,348 wounded in battle
Non-battle casualties
Australian Regular Army National servicemen Citizen's Military Forces Total
Killed/died 49 15 0 64
Injured/ill 426 249 2 677
Australian Army casualties in Vietnam by year, 1962–72
BC = Battle casualty
NBC = Non-battle casualty
Deaths
Year BC- NBC- Total
1962 0 0 0
1963 0 1 1
1964 1 0 1
1965 11 5 16
1966 56 7 63
1967 70 11 81
1968 102 5 107
1969 95 9 104
1970 54 11 65
1971 28 12 40
1972 0 0 0
Total 417 61 478
Wounded - injured - ill
Year BC NBC Total
1962 0 2 2
1963 0 1 1
1964 8 1 9
1965 83 1 9
1966 226 62 288
1967 276 131 407
1968 529 170 699
1969 648 145 793
1970 422 69 491
1971 166 60 226
1972 4 5 9
Total 2,362 663 3,025
Source
Appendix F, "Statistics", Ian McNeil and Ashley Ekins, On the offensive: the Australian Army in the Vietnam War 1967–1968 (Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 2003)
Veterans and War Widows offered a free ride with Greyhound
♦
Procedure for Visiting Terendak Military Cemetery
Renovation work at the cemetery
The Terendak Military Cemetery is situated within the perimeter of Terendak Camp, Malacca, an operating military base.The Cemetery is currently undergoing extensive renovation work and there may be a disruption to those intending to visit the Cemetery. Visitors should first check with the Australian Embassy, Malaysia, before booking travel, and are reminded of the strict procedures to be followed before visiting the cemetery.
The following information is required to be submitted by anyone wishing to visit the Terendak Military Cemetery. This information is to enable the Defence Section of the Australian High Commission Kuala Lumpur to commence a "Request to Visit" process with the Ministry of Defence, Malaysia to obtain the appropriate approvals.
You will need the following information:
1.Photocopy of the front page of your passport (one for each person if in a group) showing passport number, expiry date, date of birth etc. Note: Ensure all copies can be clearly read.
2.Date and time of visit.
3.Purpose of visit.
4.Mode of transport to the cemetery.
5.Passport size photo.
The information is required 45 days in advance of the visit. Note: Notification of approval to visit the cemetery may take a few weeks.
Contact can be made by writing to either of the following addresses:
Defence Administrative Assistant
Australian High Commission – Kuala Lumpur
Locked Bag 40
Kuala Lumpur Bag
KINGSTON ACT 2604 or Defence Administrative Assistant
Australian High Commission
6 Jalan Yap Kwan Seng
50450 KUALA LUMPUR
MALAYSIA
You can also email the Defence Administrative Assistant.
♦
3.Work of Dr Bob Hall
While the Vietnamese Government and Armed Forces were helping Australian veterans to find, identify and repatriate our Australian MIAs, Dr Bob Hall (ex-8 RAR) and his research team from UNSW@ADFA were identifying from our military records the burial sites of some 3,700 VC/PAVN Killed in Action against Australian troops, linking grid references of 1ATF contacts in which a VC/PAVN soldier was killed, to Google Earth maps.
In March this year, Bob took his team’s research to Vietnam where the Vietnamese government and veteran organisations were delighted to see and test the proof of concept and they've established strong links with Bob’s team. The team seeks your assistance in taking the next step - helping the Vietnamese to identify by name those KIA so their families will gain the closure that has been so important to us. We don't imagine that they'll be recovering the remains, but the comfort for the NOK is in knowing where their loved ones are buried.
More information and a feedback form are at http://www.vvaansw.org/VMIA.html
You can help by giving this email and the link the widest possible distribution - initially to the State Branches of your organisation, and through them, to Sub-Branches and individual members. A link on your web-site and in your publications(s) would be great too! Thank you for your help.
Best regards,
Clive
[8 RAR, 8/9 RAR, 6 RAR]
NSW President VVAA
Link to USAVeteransAffairs
http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/resources.asp
Commander and committed Christian
June 29, 2011
Keith O'Neill, 1926-2011
Leading the men of the 8th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment combined honour, duty and responsibility for Colonel Keith O'Neill, not just during its tour of operations in Vietnam in 1969-70 but until his final days.
Despite the torrential rain in Sydney on the past two Anzac Day marches, a steadfast determination propelled O'Neill to pre-dawn services and later to march through sodden Sydney streets, honouring bonds forged in conflict.
In his 85th year, O'Neill was particularly proud of the fact that he was the last of his contemporaries to march, twice refusing a ride in a Jeep over hilly parts of the parade route.
That commitment was reciprocated by his former troops, who gave him a rousing cheer as they disbanded this year. It was the last time those comrades will march together.
Keith John O'Neill was born in Warwick, Queensland, on September 25, 1926, and went to St Mary's College in Toowoomba, where he excelled as a swimmer and was a lieutenant in the college's army cadet unit. He then completed his final year of schooling at Nudgee College in Brisbane.
Although his family had encouraged a legal career, his time with the cadets drew O'Neill towards the military. He entered the Royal Military College at Duntroon in the closing days of World War II then served in Australia and overseas, including postwar Japan (1948-50), Korea (1953-54), Malaya (1959-61) and Cambodia (1965-66), as well as Vietnam.
One of those under O'Neill's command was Michael Jeffery, later the governor-general.
''Keith was a superb commanding officer of the Grey Eight,'' Jeffery said. ''It was in my view the best-trained battalion to go to Vietnam, with an esprit to match.''
Commanding the 8th RAR, known as the Grey Eight, during its 12-month tour in South Vietnam from late 1969 was the highlight of O'Neill's military career. Under his leadership, the battalion distinguished it self with its patrolling and ambushing and it was awarded a citation by the South Vietnamese government. O'Neill was appointed as a member of the Distinguished Service Order and awarded the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm.
The command of the 8th RAR also provided the low point of O'Neill's army career, with 18 of his soldiers dying in action, eight of them killed or dead of wounds in a horrendous mine incident in the Long Hai Mountains on February 28, 1970. However, without O'Neill's tactical nous, the casualty count would have been higher.
''In action, Keith read the situation perfectly,'' Jeffery said. ''Through skilful, well-thought-through tactics, his battalion was highly successful and achieved that with minimum casualties.''
On returning from a posting in England, O'Neill met Elizabeth (Lisa) Gilmore and the couple married in 1952.
O'Neill's military career also included time in Canberra, engaged in intelligence and strategic and international policy with the Department of Defence. But with a young family to support, O'Neill left the army in 1977 and moved to Sydney, where he could focus on his other passions - social justice, thoroughbred horse racing and good food and wine.
O'Neill began his post-army career with the Knights of the Southern Cross, which provided a framework for serving others. This spearheaded his work for the Australian bishops and the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, from which he retired as chief executive officer in 1997.
O'Neill had many friends and he never shied away from a robust discussion about politics, morality, philosophy, religion, food, wine or life in general.
He was absolutely convinced of the superiority of everything French, despite on many occasions being presented with examples to the contrary.
He was a member of the Australian Jockey Club for many years and could usually be found in the Derby Room at Royal Randwick Racecourse during Saturday meetings.
Lisa and Keith O'Neill were committed to their local parish of St Canice's for nearly 40 years, particularly to work with the poor and homeless around King's Cross.
O'Neill was a man of enormous Christian faith, despite seeing many instances that would cause a person to question that faith, including the sudden deaths of two of his daughters: Mary, 32, from an aneurism in 1987 and Liz, 37, in a plane crash in Indonesia in 2007.
Keith O'Neill is survived by Lisa, his sister Rita, children Frank, Tim and Kate and grandchildren Sam, Alice and Lucinda.
Ron Goward
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/obituaries/commander-and-committed-christian-20110628-1goy3.html#ixzz1QcnI86FN
5. Wally Thompson
Wally's journey through the ranks
Wally Thompson was Regimental Sergeant Major of the Army from January 1983 - January 1987.
1950 – 1954 - Citizen Military Forces and conscripted under the National Service Scheme.
1954 – Enlisted in the Australian Regular Army and posted to the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, serving with the battalion on operations in Malaya.
1961 – 1963 – Posted to the British Army Jungle Warfare School.
1963 – 1964 – 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment.
1964 – 1965 – Australian Army Training Team – Vietnam.
1965 – 1967 – Sydney University Regiment.
1967 – Headquarters 10 Task Force (Company Sergeant Major Headquarters Company).
1968 – 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (Company Sergeant Major C Company).
Second tour of duty in South Vietnam and fought in the Battle of Coral. Wounded and returned home.
1969 – 1970 – Infantry Centre, Company Sergeant Major Battle Wing.
1970 – 1973 – 4th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, Regimental Sergeant Major. Third tour of duty in South Vietnam.
1973 – 1974 – Jungle Training Centre Regimental Sergeant Major (renamed Land Warfare Centre during Wally’s tenure).
1975 – 1979 – Regimental Sergeant Major of the School of Infantry.
1979 – 1981 – Regimental Sergeant Major of Training Command.
1981 – 1982 – Headquarters 1 Task Force Regimental Sergeant Major (renamed Headquarters 1st Brigade during Wally’s tenure).
1983 – Appointed first Regimental Sergeant Major of the Australian Army.
1987 – Retired after 37 years service to Army and our Nation.