An unidentified Australian soldier from 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR), ...

Accession Number P05565.034
Collection type Photograph
Object type Negative
Maker Flynn, Sean L
Date made c 18 November - 3 December 1966
Conflict Vietnam, 1962-1975
Copyright

Item copyright: Unlicensed copyright

Description

An unidentified Australian soldier from 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR), using a right angle torch to conduct a search of a Viet Cong (VC) bunker, (reputedly used as a hospital by the VC), which was found by patrolling Australian Infantry in Phuoc Tuy Province during Operation Ingham. Some of the items found in the bunker include roughly constructed furniture (tables and benches), a two-man saw and a quantity of ordinance (including a mortar bomb and artillery shells). During Operation Ingham the Australian patrols discovered and destroyed 27 VC camps, which ranged in size to accommodate a small squad right up to a battalion. The smaller camps consisted of rough huts and small food stores, while the larger camps consisted of underground and camouflaged bunker systems which could store and hide tons of food and accommodate hundreds of VC.