Informal portrait of 5714249 Private (Pte) Ronald John Bell from Albany WA, the second eldest of ...

Informal portrait of 5714249 Private (Pte) Ronald John Bell from Albany WA, the second eldest of six children, Pte Bell, a National Serviceman served in Vietnam with 2RAR/NZ (ANZAC) (The ANZAC Battalion comprising 2nd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment and a component from the 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Regiment). Between 23 November 1967 and 5 January 1968, under the code name Operation Forrest, 2RAR/NZ (ANZAC) was conducting operations in Phuc Tuy Province to deny the Viet Cong (VC) access to the rice harvest. The battalion was operating in a wide area east of Route 2. During the later part of November 1967 A and C Company were operating immediately north of Route 23 and were in action against the VC. On the 30 November 1967 a patrol from A Company suffered ten casualities from what was thought to be a command detonated mine. Pte Bell was killed instantly, and another National Serviceman, 6708488 Pte Francis Hyland, of Wynyard, Tas, later died of wounds.