Operation Duntroon DPR/TV/770

Two of the most common sights in Phuoc Tuy Province, Vietnam, is the constant activity of helicopters and the patrolling by members of the 1st Australian Task Force. To this end the recently ended (Jan 18) Operation Duntroon was no exception. At the Luscombe airstrip at the Nui Dat Task Force base, troops of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, boarded Chinook and Iroqouis helicopters as a matter of routine. Ten minutes later they were at the Phuoc Tuy-Bien Hoa border where the Australians were to assist the Americans with a larger operation code-named Acron Five. On the ground orders were given and platoons moved off to their allotted areas in an attempt to block the Viet Cong's 274 Regiment. In the middle of Vietnam's dry season continued patrolling calls for frequent water resupplies and again it is the task of the helicopter - the work horse of Vietnam - to fulfil the requirement. Cleared areas are few in the north-west of Phuoc Tuy Province and resupplies are either thrown or lowered from helicopters as they hover above the treetops. Casualties have to be evacuated the same way. Between the brief visits by helicopters patrolling and searching continues. Sometimes with finds of caches, sometimes with enemy contacts, but usually just moving through the jungle hoping to find something before the next water or ration resupply by the helicopters. (Also identified: Lt Eric Pearson of Bedford Park, WA; Major Bill Carter of Brisbane, Qld; Major George Barnard of Dural, Sydney, NSW; Private Robert McMillan of Hyde Park, NSW; Signalman Pte Greg Morgan of Campbelltown, NSW; Corporal Jock Bishop of Rosebud, Vic; Pte Geoff Schwarz of Coorparoo, Brisbane, Qld.)