The other patrol was conducted by Corporal Jones, who, along with machine gunner Brian Bodley, rifleman Michael Nicholas and signaller Geoff Schifcofske, had a similar nagging suspicion that all was not as it seemed. They headed down the track leading south – they were to go no further than 1000 metres and return. Jones recalled that the plantation with its overhead canopy was silent and eerie. They soon came across fresh oxcart tracks, and a little further on they identified bloodstains on the track and on the lower parts of the tree trunks.15 Several times Jones believed he saw movement up on the slight rise to the east as they moved forward, but he couldn’t be sure. Soon after that, the patrol came across enemy recoilless-rifle pits.16 Jones radioed in his position as 469668. The area contained three weapons pits, each with eight 75mm shell cases; it was the position used by three recoilless-rifle teams. He also noted that the area had been hit by Anzac counter-battery fire from Nui Dat: along with shell holes they found discarded clothing with bloodstains, indicating at least two casualties.17 The corporal and everyone else knew it was unusual for the Viet Cong to leave anything behind – they recycled everything, even worn-out tyre treads to make sandals.
At this stage he and the others had the distinct feeling they were not alone and were under observation from the east. While none of them could see any signs of enemy activity, each had a nagging feeling that something was wrong. It was about noon. Jones advised Ford by radio of their findings, and soon the major approached to check it out for himself.18 Arriving with him was Lieutenant John O’Halloran. Three or four large rubber trees had been cut down, indicating to them that the recoilless rifles (RCLs) had been deployed there during daylight and the trees had been used for cover. During the night the trees had been cut down to provide a clear field of fire. However, the destruction in front of them indicated that the Anzac counter-battery fire during the early hours of 17 August had been effective. There were some body parts and bloodstained clothing, with empty shell cases strewn around that would normally not be left behind. Clearly at least one shell had hit the oxcart and those manning the position, and the enemy had left in a hurry.19 Jones told Ford he thought he had seen enemy movement out to the east, but his OC did not seem to believe him, which ‘pissed off’ Jones a bit. Ford checked the position and they quickly headed back to the north-east corner of the plantation, all feeling relieved to leave the area.20
At Nui Dat, two RAAF Iroquois helicopters from 9 Squadron, assigned to transport the Col Joye and Little Pattie group of entertainers to Nui Dat, had arrived. Captaining A2-1020 was Flight Lieutenant Frank Riley, with Flight Lieutenant Bob Grandin, Leading Aircraftsmen (LAC) Dave ‘Blue’ Collins, and George Stirling. A2-1022 was captained by Flight Lieutenant Cliff Dohle, with Flight Lieutenant Bruce Lane, Corporal William (Bill) Harrington, and LAC Brian Hill.21
Grandin remembered as a 25-year-old being excited about being assigned to transport the Australian celebrities. As the concert party arrived to be transported to Nui Dat, the flight crews were lined up waiting for them. The atmosphere was light-hearted and everyone, including the entertainers, was pretty excited about the day’s planned events. Jokes were flying around and there was much talking and laughing as they flew to Nui Dat. However, as soon as they landed, the army moved in and that was the last they saw of Col Joye, Little Pattie and the band. With nothing else to do, crew members stayed on the helicopter pad and set about going through their usual boring routine. As far as they knew, in a couple of hours the three planned concerts would be over, the entertainers and their gear would be packed on board the choppers, and they would be on their way back to Vung Tau. It would turn out to be anything but. Like the men of D Company, 6 RAR, they would soon be in the thick of the action.22
Meanwhile, Major Brian McFarlane, commanding C Company, 6 RAR, was doing his rounds checking on his men and decided to visit the makeshift concert stage that was located to the rear of 6 RAR’s position. He witnessed the band warming up and wondered what the Viet Cong would think when they heard the music blaring out of the loudspeakers and whether they would think the base was ‘trying to lure them to surrender to the wiles of the siren songs of Little Pattie’.23 He saw that a number of units had already parked trucks in ‘advantageous positions to act as viewing platforms, taking the place of private boxes in more civilized circumstances’.24 As he moved among the men he noticed a strange sense of relief had descended as they started to gather. He felt compelled to linger and chat with men from other units. All were happy to escape the tedium and constraints of army life, if only for a few hours. A small sense of normality prevailed.25 He later recalled that ‘for Col Joye and the Joy Boys, Little Pattie, and friends, it was going to be a day (and a night) to remember, but not for the concert, although that was a great success and tumultuously received by the audience’.26
Indeed, Little Pattie (Patricia Amphlett) recalled being surprised at how large the base was. It was ‘really quite exciting. And it was exciting because probably for the first time we’d have very big audiences, and, as performers, the more people that are enjoying the performance obviously the better. We’d experienced before quite a few Australian audiences in Vietnam, and they were just the best, they were terrific. So this was a good day, and it promised to be a great day for us. And for the fellas there as well.’27
Meanwhile, Major Smith could not help but notice how disappointed the men were at having to miss the concert and conduct a three-day patrol that had little prospect of achieving anything. Company No. 2 signaller Private William (Bill) Akell, attached to company headquarters (CHQ), recalled being ‘disappointed when being told “No concert – you have to go out to B Company”. . . we were all looking forward to attending the concert.’28 Some of Smith’s men could not help but think (incorrectly) that it was because of the strained relationship between Smith and the battalion CO that they ended up getting all of the ‘dirty jobs’. Smith gave their patrol the operational codename ‘Vendetta’ in revenge for the VC mortar attack of the day before. All of his platoons were below strength due to illness, R&C, odd attachments to other units, and involvement in language training: 10 Platoon numbered 32, 11 Platoon 28 and 12 Platoon 29, with CHQ at 19, including the three New Zealanders of the battery.29
Just after 11 a.m., Smith and D Company left the base, making their way east to link up with B Company. The average age of the men under Smith’s command was just 21. Private Alan Parr of 12 Platoon recalled as they left the base passing ‘through the wire in front of D Company’s position. We could hear the concert in full swing.’30 Lieutenant Geoff Kendall recalled: ‘We were moving out, just as we were walking up. We were all pretty cranky – it was just going to be a waste of time . . . we were going to miss the concert [for nothing] . . . we certainly didn’t expect to run into a huge [enemy] force.’31 Sergeant Bob Buick was in a similar mood, recalling as he left Nui Dat that the patrol would just be another hard slog through the scrub, with nothing of significance to show for it.32 Corporal John Robbins remembered most of the men, including himself, being ‘pissed off’ at having to miss the concert – everyone pretty much had ‘the shits’. It was the first entertainment to arrive at the base, and at the last minute they’re ordered to head out on a three-day patrol.33
At 11.25 a.m., Smith radioed in their position as 455674, about 2.5 kilometres west of B Company. There was no way they would be relieving them at midday, as planned. Smith opted for single file, with Lieutenant David Sabben’s 12 Platoon out in front; Sabben was good with a map. Smith told the young officer: ‘OK, Sabben, we want to get there. Go for it.’34 This formation would increase its speed through the already-searched low scrub, swamp and paddy fields between the Task Force base and B Company’s position. Sabben remembered that pushing quickly through the undergrowth, the heat and the machete work required to get through the 2-metre standing grass meant it was crucial that the lead section be relieved every 15 minutes – it was becoming a real slog. They had to cut their own path through the grass towards the plantation
for about half the total distance. He recalled that it was ‘stiflingly hot down in the long grass, with no breeze to carry the chaff and insects away. Add to this, there was the pressure of the OC to get to the rendezvous as soon as possible, as the Bravo group needed to return to base before nightfall. Behind us, the rest of the company enjoyed a slower pace and reported hearing the deep throb of the bass and drums plus the distant strains of music as the Task Force’s first concert got underway back at base.’35
About an hour after leaving Nui Dat, the regimental signaller, Corporal Graham Smith, who had the critical role of maintaining communications between the company and the Task Force base, recalled passing the two platoons of B Company heading in the opposite direction making their way back to the base and Vung Tau for R&C. He said ‘G’day’ to a couple of friends as they passed by.36 Likewise, Private Parr recalled passing the men from B Company as they were returning to the base. The men from D Company pushed on, with the sounds of the concert blurting out behind them, heading for B Company, which was now represented by just one composite platoon.37
Meanwhile, A Company, which was close to completing its three-day patrol, radioed its position as 474683, placing it about a kilometre north of B Company. Captain Mollison stated that they had come across a very old cache of rice and salt. At 11.31 a.m., he radioed in his new position as 461681, indicating that he had crossed the western branch of Suoi Da Bang. He reported hearing ‘voices to his SOUTH – investigating’.38 Fifteen minutes later, Mollison radioed in that Lieutenant Peter Dinham’s platoon had detained a woman and two children with no identification cards who were acting suspiciously. They were ordered not to move further south and to sweep back to base and bring in the Vietnamese. This last order was not appreciated, as it meant some of the men from Dinham’s platoon would now be burdened with carrying not only their own gear but also the heavy bunches of bananas the Vietnamese were collecting. Regardless, these men could begin thinking about the imminent prospects of a shower, clean clothes and a cold beer.39
Mollison was satisfied with the results: they had made contact with an enemy force; killed two and wounded three Viet Cong; and captured two weapons, much ammunition, clothing and equipment, and a quantity of very valuable documents, with no casualties to A Company.40 He radioed through to his company quartermaster sergeant (CQMS), Staff Sergeant Ron Morritt, to arrange for a hot meal for his men on their return. Unbeknown to him, however, the company cooks were already preparing a feast to congratulate the men on their successful patrol.
Just before midday, Major Smith radioed in D Company’s position as 458672 – still west of the Suoi Da Bang, about 1.5 kilometres from the edge of the plantation. They had suffered their first case of heat exhaustion.41 In the distance the men could hear the ‘beat of the drums and the occasional strains of song pushed out by loudspeakers as the patrol moved further from Nui Dat’.42 The hot, stifling and humid weather, combined with the company moving at a fast pace, added to the men’s foul mood. Private Terry Burstall of 12 Platoon was pushing through the scrub with sweat oozing from every pore. The terrain was flat, but the bush was thick and a lot of low areas were very wet. He and others tripped over tangled roots with mud clinging to their boots, which sucked hard with every step. Several times on the way out they were ‘drenched by sharp sudden storms. At times we could hear the concert music beating through the fetid air – it seemed to come in quick smashing blasts of sound that stopped suddenly with hardly an echo.’43
The men from A Company, heading back to base, could also hear the band; some of the more musical among them mimicked the performers, using their rifles as mock guitars. However, those carrying the increasingly heavy bananas were in no mood for any tomfoolery, and likely let the other blokes know it.44
Going in the opposite direction, the men from D Company soon came up to the Suoi Da Bang. The stream was flowing pretty rapidly and it was difficult to get across with their packs and weapons. Even so, the crossing was made relatively quickly and safely, with everyone wringing wet. They took it in their stride – just another wet, muddy patrol – but even so, were acutely aware of the dangers, and their fingers remained on their trigger guards. The rubber plantation was becoming visible from the stream, so they knew they were close to making contact with the remainder of B Company. The men of 12 Platoon were still at point and headed for the plantation, pushing through the thick long grass until they came to the edge of the plantation.45 Lieutenant Sabben recalled being relieved to reach the relatively cool shade at the edge of the rubber and meeting up with their brother company.46 Having led the way, the men of 12 Platoon were thankful that their time at point was over. When moving out again, they would be placed as the reserve platoon so they could recover from their gruelling and nerve-racking time at point.
Sometime after 2 p.m., D Company reached the small group of B Company, now represented by a composite platoon, on the edge of the Long Tan rubber plantation, about 4 kilometres from Nui Dat.* The men of D Company took up their defensive position while majors Smith and Ford discussed the situation. The men could hear the distant concert, now well and truly underway, while they brewed up their meagre combat-ration packs of tinned meat and biscuits. Captain Stanley came across his fellow New Zealand FOO for B Company, Captain Pat Murphy, and they compared notes, with Murphy informing him of the tracks they had found and suggesting some possible directions for further patrolling.47
Ford briefed Smith on what they had found and showed him the weapons pits. Smith recalled years later looking at the Viet Cong position and seeing that it was obvious that the Anzac artillery had hit something there. The Ho Chi Minh sandals and bits of equipment distributed randomly about indicated to him and others that there had been some casualties and that the survivors had fled in a hurry towards the north-east. Smith gave quick orders to his platoon commanders that they would soon be heading out towards the north-east in a one-up formation.48 He recalled Ford summarising the situation as being ‘quiet’. They had reconnoitred the area up to the tapper’s hut about 1000 metres to the east and agreed that the Viet Cong mortar and RCL squads had done the usual shoot-and-scoot operation, fleeing in small groups.49 Indeed, D Company had patrolled the plantation a few days before (on 15 August); A Company had been patrolling the area just north of their position over the last three days with some contacts but nothing indicating enemy presence in any strength; and B Company had nothing of significance to report.
Most of the men eating their rations and boiling up a brew had come to the same conclusion: that the enemy had ‘pissed off’ as per usual. Private Brian Reilly, D Company, 12 Platoon, had come across some mates from B Company who told him, ‘There’s nothing out here.’ He went to take a look around, not overly impressed at having missed the concert for nothing: ‘it was fairly mundane . . . we had a look around at the mortar base plates, and that was it’.50 Corporal Robbins took the opportunity to have lunch with a newly arrived private, Frank Topp, who had joined his section the night before. Robbins recalled: ‘I knew everyone else but I didn’t know Frank, so I had lunch with him and got to know him a bit. I put him at ease as it was his first time out.’51
Meanwhile, Lieutenant O’Halloran of B Company recalled sharing his lunch with his friend Lieutenant Gordon Sharp. They had grown up together in Armidale, NSW and had played rugby and hockey together in the same school team; their parents had been married on the same day and hence shared their wedding anniversaries; they were called up together in the first intake and graduated from the Officer Training Unit at Scheyville; and both were assigned to command infantry platoons in 6 RAR.52 It would be the last meal the boyhood friends would share. O’Halloran recalled sadly: ‘Delta Company arrived sometime after 1330 hours and shared their rations with us. During lunch, which I had with . . . Gordon . . . we could occasionally hear the guitars of the Col Joye show playing in the base. As we departed Gordon’s last words to me were “It’s all right for you to be going back to listen to the music while we have to stay
out here and face the music.”’53
Another who would lose a good friend that day was Private David A. Thomas of B Company, who was assigned to carry an enemy artillery cleaning rod and brush that had been found in the area. He remembered as he was leaving how his mate Private Topp (they had completed basic training together) laughed at him as he headed back to Nui Dat, telling him, ‘You’re a warrie [stories of glory and valour] bastard, Thommo.”’ Thomas replied, ‘If they get hold of you out there, you will be too.’ ‘Poor Frank was killed later that same afternoon.’54
Back at 1 ATF base the Anzacs were being entertained. It was only a few months ago that these young men had left Australia and New Zealand, but that seemed a lifetime ago. As they relaxed, 6 RAR intelligence officer Bryan Wickens was arranging for a 161 Recce Flight using an Australian Army Sioux observation helicopter, commonly called a ‘bubble’ because of its cockpit appearance, to conduct reconnaissance over the area to the east of 1 ATF. It would be piloted by Lieutenant Rob Rich. Wickens was keen to identify trails or any other signs that would show the likely escape route taken by the Viet Cong weapons team.
The Battle of Long Tan Page 10
