Australian medical aid to villagers after Viet Cong attack DPR/TV/1042

The village of Ngai Giao, seven miles north of the Australian Task Force Headquarters at Nui Dat, was devastated during heavy fighting between South Vietnamese soldiers and an estimated company of Viet Cong on March 18. Australian soldiers entered the village after the action and administered medical aid to two Vietnamese civilians wounded in the fighting. The Australian medical team was led by Major Ray Atkinson of Parramatta, NSW, who treated the wounded Vietnamese on the spot and prepared them for evacuation. While the medical team was working, Vietnamese forces were still searching the village and surrounding countryside for fleeing Viet Cong. Because of possible Viet Cong action against the evacuation helicopter, the patients were taken by Land Rover to an area just south of the village where another group of Australians had secured a landing zone. The wounded Vietnamese were then safely lifted out and flown to hospital. Major Atkinson is a member of the 1st Australian Civil Affairs Unit, which is often called upon to undertake "mercy missions" of this nature. Operating out of 1st Australian Task Force Headquarters at Nui Dat, the Civil Affairs unit carries out a continuing war against disease among Vietnamese villagers in the Australian area of responsibility in Vietnam under the joint Medical Civil Aid Programme (MEDCAP) and Dental Civil Aid Programme (DENTCAP). They also have been responsible for assistance in the fields of education, agriculture and other community projects. This is a continuing project for the unit. (Also identified: Corporal Colin O'Neill of Preston, Vic.)