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Demolishing the village of Long Phuoc
Vietnam, 1966

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The village of Long Phuoc had been depopulated by US forces before the ANZAC Bde took over at Nui Dat. 6 RAR was tasked with denying the buildings to any enemy in the area and, incidentally of course, discouraging the villagers from returning. Most of the dwellings were timber and thatch, so gave in easily to the torch.

This home proved tougher than any others, with concrete walls and heavy teak columns and beams inside. Engineers laid explosives as C Coy RAR stands guard . . .

. . . someone lights the blue touch paper, or whatever engineers use . . .

. . . and as the dust clears, little remains. Brian McFarlane, Coy OC goes forward to to inspect the damage, Peter Harris, 2IC at left. The timber in the building is virtually undamaged, but the shell is gone.

Later, from the air, the scale of destruction is more apparent.

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See other images from Vietnam:       Song Be    |    Bien Hoa    |    Nui Dat
Read about Establishment of the Gun Position at Nui Dat 1966
and New Zealand Artillery of the Vietnam War
161 Battery    |    16 Field Regiment

Photographs courtesy Captain Mike Dakin, RNZA, a New Zealand artillery forward observer attached to D/16 Armor with the 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) during the Vietnam War (1966).