You might be interested in this short item on fates of a few of our
former colleagues in Phuoc Tuy.

Best wishes

Ernie Chamberlain

PHƯỚC TUY COLLEAGUES – THEIR FATES

Phước Tuy Sector Headquarters (Tiểu Khu) – Bà Rịa

Many veterans might wonder what happened to senior ARVN colleagues that we served with in Phước Tuy during the Vietnam War. See the short summary below:

• Lieutenant Colonel Lê Đức Đạt: Province Chief 1964-67 – one of the last Province Chiefs appointed by President Ngô Đình Diệm before Diệm’s assassination on 2 December 1963. Đạt was born in Hanoi, and was a French and English speaker. Subsequently – ie after Phước Tuy, he served as 2ic of the 25^th ARVN Division and then as the Commander of the 22^nd ARVN Division. He committed suicide at the Battle of Tân Cảnh (Dak To) in late February 1972 as his command headquarters was over-run by the North Vietnamese Army’s 2^nd
• Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Bá Trước: Province Chief from September 1967 to September 1970. Lieutenant Colonel Trước (b. 1922) was an ARVN airborne/special forces officer. As a battalion commander (major), he was earlier awarded the US Silver Star for his unit’s defence against a prolonged NVA/VC attack in February 1967. During the Battle of Bà Rịa in early February 1968, he was wounded in the shoulder. In September 1970, following his service in Phước Tuy, he was posted to be the Chief of Staff (Colonel) of the 7th ARVN Division. Following the “Fall of Saigon” in 1975, he was detained by the communists and underwent re-education in a camp in Hà Nam Ninh Province (northern Vietnam) from early June 1975 until his release on 9 September 1987.  Soon after, he left Vietnam under the UNHCR’s Orderly Departure Program (ODP).  Together with his wife – Cao Thị Hồng Khiêm, he reportedly joined his son’s family in the Federal Republic of Germany. The ODP was created in 1979 by the UNHCR – by 1998, 623,000 had reportedly left Vietnam (about 74% went to the US, 3.1% to France – and 7.5% to Australia). On 20 October 1969, Australian Ambassador Ralph Harry handed-over Australian-gifted engineering and fire-fighting equipment to Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Bá Trước at a parade outside the Phước Tuy Province Headquarters – see Lieutenant Colonel Trước in the photograph at AWM PO4667.552.

• Major Bùi Trọng Nghĩa; Phước Tuy Province Police Chief – from April 1969. A close associate of 1 ATF’s Div Int Unit. Following the fall of the Saigon government in late April 1975, Major Nghĩa was imprisoned in communist re-education camps for 10 years. Released, he moved to France and died on 26 October 2007. In his later years, he moved to the Vietnamese diaspora community in Westminister, California.
• Captain Lê Bá Trừng – OC ARVN 10 ^th Military Intelligence Detachment (10 MID) at Vạn Kiếp from December 1965 – to late 1968. In April 1968, Brigadier R.L. Hughes (COMD 1 ATF) submitted an Australian AF W3121 recommendation for the award of the MBE to Captain Lê Bá Trừng – see: AWM2016.747.67/document/6253254.PDF. In October 1968 – as a major, Lê Bá Trừng was appointed District Chief of Phú Vang District, Thừa Thiên Province (near Huế.). He was reportedly killed in a VC vehicle ambush in Quảng Nam Province. Captain John Bullen – OC 1 Topo Svy Tp, noted that 10 MID under Đại Uý ((Captain)) Trừng “was a real force in the land”, and he “was of extremely high class for such a job ((ie OC 10 MID))” … he had been the “chief of police in Đà Nãng … survived three mine or grenade explosions, one of which cost him the sight in his right eye. … a true patriot. … he had backed the wrong coup two or three coups ago and sent to Van Kiep for a few years’ penance while his contemporaries rose to the ranks of colonel and general. However, it seems now that Trung has been forgiven and is on the way up again.” See: Bullen J. and Ham P. (Ed), Captain Bullen’s War, 2009, p.244, p.284.

Questioning a VC suspect – Hòa Long village, 5 August 1968  AWM ERR/68/0724/VN.

Captain Geoff Boscoe – centre, ARVN Captain Lê Bá Trừng (OC 10 MID) – right.

• Captain/Major Huỳnh Bá Phụng – OC ARVN 10^th Military Intelligence Detachment (10 MID at Vạn Kiếp from mid-1968; 10 MID personnel were integrated into Det 1 Div Int Unit at Núi Đất. In 1972, Captain Phụng was posted to a staff position in Saigon as a major. Detained after the fall of Saigon in April 1975, he was imprisoned in the North until 1982 – and “migrated” to Australia (Brisbane) in the early 1980s (greeted by three former OCs Det 1 Div Int Unit (ie: Jack L’Epagniol, Stan Bryant, and Alan Cunningham). Phụng remains active in Vietnamese-Australian associations and in the print media.

Acorn Intelligence Operations discussions at HQ 1 ATF Núi Đất – 1970

Left to right: Colonel J.G. Hooton – Commander 1 ALSG (former DMI-A); Brigadier S.P. Weir – Commander 1 ATF; Captain A.L. Cunningham – OC Det 1 Div Int Unit;

Captain Huỳnh Bá Phụng – OC 10 MID.

Huỳnh Bá Phụng and RVNAF veteran colleagues – Anzac Day Brisbane – 2012

Les Mullans is wanting to make contact with Bill Roon. Bill is a mate of Les’s brother who is near death. Les believes Bill served with 9RAR.

If you know Bill please give Les a call on 03 6344 9082 (Launceston) and pass on any information you may have on Bill.

ED: Request sent by 9RAR.

RUSSIAN VIP air travel is currently fraught with unexpected mystery outcomes.

Flying home to St Petersburg for a well-earned bit of battlefield R&R, oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin provided new meaning to an old Russian proverb, “ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if the devil don’t get you Vladimir must”.

All 10 passengers and their golf clubs perished.

Other leaders were historically more cautious.

CLICK LINK to continue reading …

Cautious tyrants take slow road to infamy | Australian Defence History, Policy and Veterans Issues (targetsdown.blogspot.com)

U.S. and Australian Army soldiers fighting side by side with Afghan nationals against a large group of Taliban

Northern Territory, Australian Senator, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.

Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs

Speech at the National Press Club

One hour including questions worth listening to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrinfhtFDlc

The 2 RAR Historical Collection is actively reaching out to the relatives or friends of QX26788 and 1/280 SSGT Ron ‘Chad’ Hansen.

We hope you will share this incredible story on your Frontline website and distribute it via email.

We came across an insightful article in our collection, specifically within the 2nd Tour of Malaya (1961-1963) folder. It narrates the journey of a remarkable individual who holds the record for the longest service duration in the Battalion.

Before his illustrious tenure with the Battalion, Hansen proudly served in WW2 with the 63rd Bn, followed by the 2/15 Bn. His subsequent journey began with the 66 Battalion (which later evolved into 2 RAR). This journey took him to various significant locations such as Puckapunyal, Korea (where he distinguished himself as the Sniper SGT), Enoggera, the 1st tour of Malaya, Holsworthy, and then his final mission during the Second Tour of Malaya. Astoundingly, Hansen dedicated a consecutive 17 years to the Battalion, witnessing its formation and all its significant transitions, wars, and relocations.

The article attached indicates that after an impressive 20 years, he retired during the Second Tour of Malaya and made his way back to Brisbane. For those who might recognize the names, Hansen hailed from Moorooka and was originally born in Kilcoy.

We earnestly request anyone who might be related to or knows Chad to get in touch with us. His narrative represents a monumental chapter in the Battalion’s history and deserves to be shared and celebrated.

ED: If you can help, please contact Jason Harrison curator of 2 RAR Historical Collection Email: [email protected]

Jason’s Mobile: 0419 749 198

ED: This 82nd Airborne Choirs was sent to me I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Our revamped Frontline website is now back online. While we’ve adopted a new name, I’m sure that you will not notice many changes with the majority occurring behind the scenes.

• Our official website address is frontline.asn.au
• For any reason, feel free to email me at [email protected]

Our core mission remains unaltered: delivering vital news and information to veterans, including current events, obituaries, and you still have an opportunity to comment.

Please ensure that you change my email address to:  [email protected]  my previous address is now closed, and mail will be rejected.

If you have any info, stories, articles, reunions etc. please send them through to me.

Regards

Ray Payne OAM

When browsing through my posts, kindly approach them as you would with a newspaper: read topics that interest and feel free to skip the ones that don’t interest you.

The Ukrainian forces carried out a missile strike on a Russian naval base in Sevastopol, located in Russian-occupied Crimea. While the exact method of the attack remains uncertain, reports from the Ukrainian Telegram channel Insider UA suggest that aviation might have played a role. The Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Oleshchuk, hinted at this but stopped short of revealing specifics about the weapons used. Given his comments, there’s speculation that either the UK’s Storm Shadow or France’s SCALP long-range missiles might have been involved, as they are the only two known air-launched cruise missiles in Ukraine’s arsenal. However, the vagueness of Oleshchuk’s statement might be a strategic move to keep Russian defense forces in the dark.

Furthermore, it’s known that Ukraine has been developing its own range of long-range cruise missiles, including a version of the R-360 Neptune anti-ship missile and the Korshun and HRIM-2 missiles, modern successors of the Soviet-era Kh-55. Any of these could have been deployed in the attack.

The strike had a significant impact on the Russian Black Sea Fleet, igniting fires across a drydock reportedly holding two warships. If not controlled promptly, the fleet risks losing more of its already dwindling number of large ships, especially with the Bosphorus Strait’s closure that prevents Russia from replacing these assets.

The Black Sea Fleet has faced numerous challenges, including multiple successful attacks by Ukrainian forces on its ships. Among the notable casualties are the Saratov, Moskva, Vasily Bekh, and Olenegorsky Gornyak, with the latter possibly being out of commission for good. In addition to these major losses, the Ukrainian navy has inflicted damage on several Russian patrol boats and landing crafts and reclaimed Ukrainian oil platforms that the Russians had occupied.

Despite the setbacks early in the war, where Ukraine even scuttled its only frigate, the Ukrainian navy remains a formidable force. With a combination of domestically-produced Neptune anti-ship missiles, Western-made Harpoon ASMs, missile-armed TB-2 drones, and drone boats, the Ukrainian navy continues to exert pressure on the Russian Black Sea Fleet, frequently pushing it back. As the Ukrainian forces expand their arsenal, including potentially introducing a new thousand-mile cruise missile and possibly acquiring ballistic rockets from the U.S., the Russian fleet’s challenges are only set to increase. The continued successful strikes on Russian ships underscore the efficiency of Ukrainian intelligence in tracking these vessels.