Cordon and search of Ngai Gia DPR/TV/880

During Operation Arunta, an Australian cordon and search of the village of Ngai Giao and other hamlets and villages in the surrounding area, Australian soldiers from 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, assisted by members of the South Vietnamese Army, were faced with the problem of checking the credentials of more than 2,000 villagers. The villagers left their houses, and even women, with babies in their arms, joined the throng as it moved towards the collection centre, where their credentials were to be verified. Empty houses were thoroughly checked by Australian soldiers and members of the Vietnamese Army. To ensure that no Viet Cong or draft dodgers escaped from the area, the Australian soldiers were supported by elements of the 1st Armoured Regiment with Centurion tanks, and by armoured personnel carriers from 3rd Cavalry Regiment. The search of every village and hamlet in the area was thorough, and some suspect Viet Cong and draft dodgers were detained. Meanwhile, the Australian Civil Affairs Unit had set up facilities in the area for any villagers with medical or dental problems to be examined. Their ailments were swiftly dealt with by the Australian medical and dental teams, and by the time that the military side of Operation Arunta had been completed, scores of villagers had been treated. (Also identified: Captain Dick Crane, a doctor with 1 RAF; Lieutenant Fred Greenway of Burwood, Vic; Captain Dick Prentice of Grafton, NSW)