Seventh Battalion last operation DPR/TV/1374 & 1376

The Royal Australian Regiment's 7th Battalion, now on its way home from a 12-month tour of duty in South Vietnam, recently sallied forth into the jungle for the last time. Before leaving base for the May Tao mountain area the soldiers joked as they checked one another's equipment. The lift off of these men of the battalion's Delta Company, was by RAAF helicopters which were directed by the Company, Commander, Major Andy Matay of Bondi, NSW. After boarding the helicopters and making themselves comfortable the troops watched as the choppers lifted them high over the rugged terrain of Phuoc Tuy Province. As the landing zone drew near the helicopters lost height and swept low over the jungle before depositing the soldiers in the foothills of the May Tao's where the VC's D445 Battalion was believed to be hiding. Meanwhile, at the other end of the Province, the Battalion's Alfa Company, was conducting a joint operation with a Vietnamese Popular Force company. This operation is one of several undertaken by the Australians to improve the tactical expertise of the Popular Force men. In this operation the troops moved on Australian Armoured Personnel Carriers of 3rd Cavalry Regiment, dismounting periodically to sweep areas of scrub in their search for VC and hidden food and weapons. For Australian troops of the 7th Battalion, every step is one step nearer home. Also identified: 5717058 Private (Pte) George Richard O'Donnell of Balga, WA; 1735519 Pte John Peter Laffey of Caboolture, Qld; 16616 Sergeant Kevin Bertram (Kev) Harker of Beenleigh, Qld.