Farewell for Vietnam adviser DPR/TV/531

In the Vietnamese village of Binh Gia a few miles north of the Australian Task Force base, an Australian adviser last week was given a farewell which became the biggest occasion for festivity the village had seen in years. But there was a tinge of sadness underlying the gaiety of the village councillors who had gathered to say goodbye to Warrant Officer Bob King, of Holsworthy NSW, who for four months had lived alone in the village with two other Australians and an American. At the farewell dinner the village chief read an address which was translated by one of the three Roman Catholic priests who attended. The chief told the gathering that Warrant Officer King would never be forgotten by the people of Binh Gia for his help to the sick and his untiring efforts to protect them against Vietcong terroism. After the meal Warrant Officer King puffed at a water-cooled bamboo pipe... and sampled a locally made rice wine. His reaction to both was cause for much amusement. During his 12 months in Vietnam, Warrant Officer King was presented with the Vietnamese cross of gallantry after he had single-handedly fought off Vietcong who had overrun a small jungle outpost earlier this year.