VIETNAM VETERAN AND GEMLIFE BRIBIE ISLAND HOMEOWNER PETER JACKSON REMEMBERS IT AS IF IT WERE YESTERDAY.
Every second Thursday, Peter joins his fellow Ex Servicemen at the resort to talk about whatever anyone wants to discuss, and this year the group is holding their third year Anzac Day lunch, funded by the HOC and prepared by the social club ladies.
Peter joined the Navy in 1964, serving as a mechanical engineer and did 11 trips between 1965 and 1972 aboard HMAS Sydney (III), a former aircraft carrier, later converted to a fast troop transport, destined to become the mainstay of naval logistics support operations for Australian forces in Vietnam.
“While on the HMAS Sydney (III), we saw a lot of the Americans doing bombing runs over VC Hill, near where we were anchored in Vung Tau Harbour, South Vietnam,” he said.
The HMAS Sydney (III) transported the 1st Battalion RAR and equipment to Vietnam, unloading at Vung Tau in early June.
“We had to deliver equipment on barges initially, meaning we had to anchor for four days at a time, but after the first couple of times, and with more advanced technical support, we were able to get it down to a matter of hours,” he said. “We always had to be on the lookout for enemy saboteurs.
“We had divers, but tides were so severe in Vung Tow Harbour, they couldn’t stay in the water for 24 hours, so our boats and the escort’s boats circled the ship and dropped scare charges until divers could search the anchor chain and the hull of the ship for explosive devices.”
Between 1965 and 1972, HMAS Sydney (III) undertook 25 voyages to Vietnam and transported 16,094 troops, 5753 deadweight tons of cargo a day, and 2375 vehicles, according to the Royal Australian Navy website.
Peter was also a crew member on the HMAS Yarra (III) in 1966 for one voyage.
The Yarra III launched 30th September 1958, and was one of six Modified Type 12 frigates built by Williamstown Naval Dockyard in Melbourne between 1957 and 1971, later redesignated by the Royal Australian Navy as destroyer escorts.