Phuoc Tuy farewell parade DPR/TV/1470, 1472 & 1473

A representative group of soldiers from the 1st Australian Task Force attended a farewell parade in Baria, the province capital of Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam, this week signifying the end of six years of military and civil action in the Province. The Diggers, drawn from units throughout the Task Force, took part in a march past after the Phuoc Tuy Province chief had personally thanked the Task Force for providing the Province with the security it currently enjoys. The Task Force Commander, 3392 Brigadier Bruce Alexander McDonald, was presented with a Vietnamese ceremonial costume and a plaque commemorating the presence of Australians in the area. The parade was watched by a large Vietnamese crowd including hundreds of school children, many of whom go to school in Australian built classrooms throughout the Province. Diggers representing each unit were presented with a garland of flowers by Vietnamese girls and then the Task Force parade marched past under the Australian and Vietnamese flags for the last time. The ceremony marked the last time Australian troops will appear formally in Phuoc Tuy Province, the last combat troops having been withdrawn from the old Task Force headquarters at Nui Dat two weeks ago.