In October 1966 a group of 28 soldiers was chosen to form Australia's first specialist Reconnaissance Platoon in the vietnam War. One of this platoon's section commanders was a 20 year old regular soldier called Bob Kearney, who led a series of deadly patrols while the First Australian Task Force established its headquarters in South Vietnam. 1961-1975 - reconnaissance operations, vietnam war, 1961-1975 - personal narratives, australian, cpl bob kearney, 1st australian tast force

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 coloured photograph of Lt Mike Meehan of 161 (Indep) Recce Flight, at 1st Australian Task Force Base, Nui Dat, Phuoc Tuy Province, discusses local problems with the village chief at Xuyen Moc. The village had been allocated to 161 (Indep) Recce Flight as a civil affairs project for the unit.photograph, 161 reconnaissance flight, xuyen moc, 2lt mike meehan, gibbons collection catalogue, vietnamese people, nui dat, 1st australian tast force, village chief, 1st australian civil affairs unit, denis gibbons