Boy Soldiers and Advisers 164 Battalion

At Vung Tau airfield, 276640 Captain Terence John (Terry) Smith stands beside a Cambodian boy soldier of 164 Battalion Chasseur of the newly formed Forces Armées Nationale Khmer (FANK). The boy is wearing a freshly issued uniform, including boots, that had been scrounged mainly from items abandoned by US soldiers as they were leaving Saigon to return home. The boy had probably only had the boots for a few days and, before that, had worn rubber thongs or Bata boots. At this time, Vung Tau airfield has been largely abandoned and consequently security around the perimeter is low. AATTV was the last Australian unit to leave Vietnam, at the end of 1972. In its final months in the country, its advisers helped to train Cambodian soldiers of FANK for the fight against the Khmer Rouge, as well as continuing to train South Vietnamese soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN).