Horseshoe Base. 4720545 Trooper John Allan Gebhardt (left) and 313141 Trooper Rodney Wilden ...

Place Asia: Vietnam, Phuoc Tuy Province
Accession Number P04698.002
Collection type Photograph
Object type Negative
Maker Burton, Wayne Anthony
Place made Vietnam: Phuoc Tuy Province
Date made 21 May 1970
Conflict Vietnam, 1962-1975
Copyright

Item copyright: AWM Licensed copyright

Description

Horseshoe Base. 4720545 Trooper John Allan Gebhardt (left) and 313141 Trooper Rodney Wilden Lynch, both members of 3 Troop, A Squadron, 1st Armoured Regiment RAAC, check their Centurion Mk 5/1 (Aust) tank ARN 169036, with call sign 3A (three alpha), to ensure that it is in good working order. Later in the day, the two men, who were respectively the driver and gunner of the tank, participated in a combined armoured and infantry attack on an enemy camp and bunker system as part of Operation Concrete II. Located about 5 km northeast of Dat Do, the bunker complex was occupied by over 50 Viet Cong (VC) of C2 Company, D445 Battalion. During the attack, a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) penetrated the tank's turret, severely wounding Gebhardt in the head, back and legs. Lynch suffered minor shrapnel wounds. Although Gebhardt's colleagues did not expect him to survive, he eventually made a full recovery.