O216204 Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt) Francis Patrick (Frank) Riley, DFC, of Goulburn, NSW, sits at ...

O216204 Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt) Francis Patrick (Frank) Riley, DFC, of Goulburn, NSW, sits at the controls of his No 9 Squadron, RAAF, Iroquois helicopter. Flt Lt Riley was commander of the helicopter detachment which participated in the ammunition drop to the beleaguered D Company, 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR) when they were running short of rounds of ammunition, during the Battle of Long Tan. On 18 August 1966, D Company, 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR) fought a battle against more than 2 000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops in a rubber plantation near the village of Long Tan. After fighting in torrential rain for four hours, and almost being overrun, they were supported by accurate artillery fire from the nearby Australian task force base, an ammunition resupply by two Iroquois helicopters from 9 Squadron, RAAF, and the arrival of infantry reinforcements carried by Armoured Personnel Carriers. Eighteen Australians were killed and twenty-four wounded as a result of this engagement, which became known as the Battle of Long Tan.