Captain John E D White, Australian Army Training Team in Vietnam (AATTV) took over command of 11 Mobile Strike Force (Mike Force) Company in Da Nang, Vietnam, in February 1968. He was 26 years old. The 2 NVA Division was moving from Laos into South Vietnam and his mission was to establish contact with the division and trace its movements south. In mid-March the company was air lifted to the Special Forces camp of Kham Duc, near the Laotian border. They used an old French Foreign Legion fort as a temporary base from which patrols could be sent out. White called it Ngok Tavak after a nearby mountain. Initially, patrols failed to find the enemy, but in late April a patrol clashed with the enemy. At the same time, White received intelligence that the NVA division was closing in. At night they could hear explosions in the distance heading toward them. White decided their best chance was to leave the fort and take to the jungle to adopt guerrilla tactics. However, in the meantime a platoon of United States Marine Corps artillery arrived bringing with them two howitzers and a stockpile of ammunition. To abandon the fort was to abandon the guns. White contacted Da Nang, explaining the predicament, and was ordered to remain where he was. A Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) platoon was sent to reinforce his numbers. This was a para military force comprised mainly of indigenous highlanders, trained by United States Special Forces. They also brought with them two mortars and their crews. At 3.15am on 10 May 1968 some members of the CIDG chose to assist the NVA to attack the fort instead of supporting Mike Force, and close hand to hand fighting followed, along with grenade attacks and heavy machine gun fire. Air support offered a brief respite from the NVA attack, and some NVA forces were pushed back outside the perimeter by counter attacks, but at 9am White contacted Da Nang to advise that his position was untenable. A second attack was imminent and they could not withstand it, so they would have to withdraw. The wounded were evacuated by helicopter (under orders from Major Mai, the NVA had not attacked the previous medical helicopters that collected the wounded under the cover of air strikes) and at 1pm the rest of the force evacuated east, into the jungle. The NVA did not notice their withdrawal, and continued mortar attacks on the fort for another ninety minutes. Seven kilometres from the fort White called for a helicopter withdrawal of his forces. The force was successfully lifted to Kham Duc and then Da Nang. (Credit AWM)A wooden shield painted grey/black celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Battle of Ngok Tavak. There are three messages from mates written in black on the back. The shield was presented to Capt John (Jed) White.Presented to Captain John White, AATTV from the men of the Mobile Strike Force, Danang, Vietnam, 1968.mobile strike force, capt john (jed) white, shield, battle of ngok tavak

On April 30, 1970, the situation changed. The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and the United States Army "invaded" Cambodia with full air support from the U.S. Air Force.vietnamese conflict, 1961-1975 - campaigns - laos, 1961-1975 - aerial operations - american, army of the republic of vietnam (arvn), united states armed forces, united states air force

The United States Special Forces, the Green Berets were often regarded as the elite of the American forces and their mobile strike force, the "Mike Force' , was considered the elite of these.australia. army. australian army training team, vietnam, special air service regiment (australian army), united states. army. special forces, green berets, mike force, the montagnards

Commemorating the 43rd Anniversary Of the Battle of Long Tan 18th august 1966 and Remembering the Battle of Binh Ba during the period 6-8 June 1969.vietnam veteran's day, melbourne shrine of remembrance, 43rd anniversary, battle of long tan, battle of binh ba, victorian branch of the vietnam veterans association of australia, royal australian infantry corps, 5th battalion, royal australian regiment, 1 armoured regiment, apc's, 3 cav regt, australian forces, the tiger battalion, brigadier colin kahn, 5 rar, major ian charles teague, 35803, australian army training team vietnam (aattv), 1st special air service sqnuadron

A light blue coloured cover with black information on the front. Top right hand corner reads 7610-66-023-8400. The booklet is held together with metal screws from the inside of the cover. The booklet is covered with a plastic cover.australia - armed forces - service manuals, australian army, division in battle, air, booklet

A light blue coloured cover with black information on the front. Top right hand corner reads 7610-66-023-8400. The booklet is held together with metal screws from the inside of the cover. There are stains down the right hand side of the cover. Inside the booklet is Amendment No. 1 which is loose.australia - armed forces - service manuals, australian army, division in battle, air, booklet

A faded light blue coloured cover with black information on the front. Top right hand corner reads 7610-66-023-8400 and the word Library is hand written in blue under this. Top left corner there is a label with the number 10 on it.. The booklet is held together with metal screws from the inside of the cover. australia - armed forces - service manuals, australian army, division in battle, air, booklet

A faded light blue coloured cover with black information on the front. Top right hand corner reads 7610-66-023-8400 and the word Library is hand written in blue under this. Top left corner there is a label with the number 10 on it.. The booklet is held together with metal screws from the inside of the cover. australia - armed forces - service manuals, australian army, division in battle, air, booklet

Articles all concerned with various ANZAC Day services in Melbourne as part of newspapers '4 pages for women' section.Newspaper clipping of articles on both sides, with some parts missing. One side has a black and white photograph of three woman wearing medals and holding a floral tribute. The other side has a black and white photograph of two women in Army nursing uniforms looking at the camera. There are a range of articles on both sides.'NC9' [crossed out in blue ink top right hand corner] 'NC11' [blue ink top right hand corner]edith cavell memorial, ida o'dwyer, agnes betty jeffrey, mary lougron, royal red cross, mrs a t noy, kathleen rogers, margaret grace caterson, helene joyce wilding, british commonwealth occupation forces, japan, korea, lou marshall, royal australian air force nursing service

A faded light blue coloured cover with black information on the front. Top right hand corner reads 7610-66-023-8400. The booklet is held together with metal screws from the inside of the cover. australia - armed forces - service manuals, australian army, division in battle, air, booklet

A faded light blue coloured cover with black information on the front. Top right hand corner reads 7610-66-023-8400 and under this is the number 18 handwritten in black texta. There are several orange tabs highlighting various sections of the booklet. The booklet is held together with metal screws from the inside of the cover. Inside the cover is an amemdment which is held together with a metal staple and there are two punch holes down the left hand side. australia - armed forces - service manuals, australian army, division in battle, air, booklet

Denis Gibbons (1937 – 2011) Trained with the Australian Army, before travelling to Vietnam in January 1966, Denis stayed with the 1st Australian Task Force in Nui Dat working as a photographer. For almost five years Gibbons toured with nine Australian infantry battalions, posting compelling war images from within many combat zones before being flown out in late November 1970 after sustaining injuries. The images held within the National Vietnam Veterans Museum make up the Gibbons Collection.A black and white photograph of a pallet load of 105mm artillery amunition explodes on impact with the ground after being dropped from an RAAF 35 Squadron Caribou aircraft. All the pallets exploded when their U.S. Forces parachutes failed to open.photograph, caribou, raaf, 35 squadron, gibbons collection catalogue, 105mm artillery, paradrop, royal australian air force, u.s. forces, denis gibbons