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30 September 1969
Ambush in at GR295873, but no contact with enemy since 27 September at GR341877.
0900hrs. Arrived LCT (Land Clearing Team) NDP at GS3087 by Iroquois. Waited in sun. Mike Gillooly in at NDP with D Company as protection party and with 2 HOLDFAST (field engineers). Orders - APACHE - move along GR287887 - GR300904 - GR300911.
1145hrs. Battery reported ready with 2 guns.
1150hrs. Battery reported all guns ready.
1435hrs. Moved off Nth 600 metres then East. Two deer ran alongside the OP party for a while then spooked when they noticed us and darted away.
Beautiful butterflies, purple wings, white spots, rimmed velvet black. Dragon flies, gold bodies, green heads, and all green with black lattice, 5 inches long. "Carpet" caterpillar yea wide/long, gauze green with outlined eye pairs on back lengthwise.
No contact with enemy.
1 October 1969
Move back to LCT. Briefed by team. On to position 4000 metres North along trail up into bush - hot, defoliated, 4 waterbottles in 3 hours. Clearing with 2 HOLDFAST for LCT. Down to Song Ca stream. Leeches, many - I got 4. Backed off and spent night. Firing all around. Someone using 155's 1K away.
2 October 1969
Cleared space for heli pad. Visited by CO, BC, LO(US).
Resupply by chopper - support packs, smokes, chewing gum, sweets.
Enemy camps found empty, bunkers, bunches of branches, hordes of morphine tubes, med kits, pair of plastic sandals, a barking monkey like successive screams of big sow.
Crossed Song Ca - more leeches. Assisted LCT making bridge. More tracks in bush. Found stream dammed and nice pool to settle water for water resupply, tooth clean and shave. Used sterilizing tablets.
Fired 2 DF tasks to assist other parties locstats. Killed 2 yellow snakes - threw first one well away to avoid possible mate, but it found us anyway. Tried new cam cream, dark brown and yellow/green. Maori makeup. Profusion of ants, lots of lianas, tall teak without knots.
Angus Rivers
Not a typical extract: Angus made these notes on his birthday.
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