Distinguished Conduct Medal : Warrant Officer Second Class R S Simpson, Australian Army Training Team Vietnam

Distinguished Conduct Medal (EIIR). Impressed around edge with recipient's details.

Rayene Stewart 'Ray' or 'Simmo' Simpson was born in Redfern on 16 February 1926 to Robert William and Olga Maude (nee Montgomery) Simpson. He worked as a labourer before enlisting in the Second AIF on 29 February 1944 at Newtown. In June he was posted to 14 Infantry Training Battalion based at Cowra NSW. On 5 August he was with a detachment sent to the Cowra prisoner of war camp following a mass breakout by Japanese internees. Simpson later saw service in Morotai and Tarakan in 1945 before returning to Sydney in June 1946. He was discharged from the AIF on 20 January 1947.

On 17 January 1951, for reasons that are not clear, he enlisted in the Australian Regular Army using his brother's name and birth date. This was corrected by a Statutory Declaration on 31 May when he was posted to 1 Royal Australia Regiment (1RAR) at Ingleburn. On 20 June he was transferred to 3RAR reinforcements and joined the regiment in Korea on 9 July.

After transferring to 2RAR in August 1954, Simpson served in Malaya until October 1957. After returning to Australia, he transferred to 1 Special Air Service Company remaining with unit until July 1962 when he commenced duty as a warrant officer with the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV), arriving in Saigon on 3 August. His first tour of duty in Vietnam ended in July 1963 when he returned to Australia as an instructor at the Officer Cadet School, Southern Command.

In July 1964, Simpson rejoined the AATTV in Saigon for his second tour of duty. He was posted to Danang as part of 'A' Team together with United States and South Vietnamese Special Forces. Based at Kham Duc in the Quang Nam Province, Simpson was instrumental in the training and organisation of a new patrol base at Ta Ko, a rugged and remote village close to the Vietnamese/Laos border. The base was designed to control cross border penetration of enemy troops.

On 16 September, he was on patrol with a Vietnamese Special Forces platoon when they were ambushed by a unit of the People's Liberation Armed Forces (Viet Cong). When the Vietnamese commander of Simpson's platoon became a casualty, Simpson, though seriously wounded in the leg, assumed effective command of the unit. Though suffering from blood loss, he organised the platoon into a defensive position and held on until reinforcements arrived. For his actions during the fighting he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. The citation for the award reads in part:

'[While on patrol], led by a Vietnamese Special Forces Officer the platoon sized group was intercepted by a superior Viet Cong Force. The Vietnamese leader was an early casualty. Warrant Officer Simpson was severely wounded by rifle fire in the right leg. Despite his wound, he rallied the platoon, formed a defensive position, contacted base by radio, and, by personal example and inspiring leadership, held off repeated assaults by the Viet Cong force, until, with ammunition almost exhausted, and himself weak from loss of blood, the relief force he had alerted arrived at the scene. Even then, not until he was satisfied that the position was secure and the troops of his patrol adequately cared for did he permit himself to be evacuated.'

Simpson's wounds were such that he was not released from hospital until mid May 1965. He returned to Australia the following month and was discharged from the army at his own request in May 1966. In May the following year he travelled to Vietnam and re-enlisted in the army, again joining the AATTV. By May 1969, Simpson was commanding 232 Company, 3 Battalion of Mobile Strike Force Command. For his actions during fighting on 6 and 11 May in Kontum Province, near the Vietnam/Laos border, Simpson was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC).

He was discharged from the army on 5 May 1970 and in 1972 took up an administrative position with the Australian Embassy in Tokyo. Simpson died in Japan on 18 October 1978. His VC and medals came into the Memorial's National Collection in 1981.