in a major construction program in Papua New Guinea. Clearly the Corps was well stretched and there were plenty of experiences to be enjoyed by anyone with a sense of adventure.
I imagine that some members of 3 Field Troop would find the use of the term adventure to be not quite appropriate as a description of their experiences. But their time with the 1RAR Battalion Group was certainly adventurous in many ways. More than that however, it was the most serious operational work, laying the base for the much larger Australian engineer effort to follow. We watched this field troop made up of all regular army soldiers approach its dangerous challenges with professional determination. It was a matter of some pride in the Corps that the combination of initiative and mateship, seen as the hallmark of the sappers, was being so overtly displayed. In this, they typified the Regular Army of that time.
I am pleased to say that I have served with many members of 3 Field Troop during my military career. A number of them gave a lot back to the Royal Australian Engineers over the years, drawing on these early experiences. Justifiably proud of their achievements, they were always ready to let anyone who would listen know that they were part of Australia's first major commitment to Vietnam.
There was always the risk of course that their contribution would be overshadowed by large scale Sapper effort which developed from April 1966 onwards. I am pleased to find that Alec (Sandy) MacGregor and his troops, with their typical good humour are not about to let us forget that they were there first, and that it wasn't all dangerous work – there was some fun in it as well.
John M. Sanderson
Lieutenant General
Force Commander
United Nations
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
27 July 1993.
PREFACE
There are few books about engineers at war, let alone one told from the soldiers' perspective about the war in South Vietnam. Australian soldiers' humour is priceless and it's wonderful to be around at any time; the way soldiers use it as a "pick-me-up" for dangerous, boring, or futile situations is a great credit to their psyche – it keeps them going, through thick and thin, and is an essential ingredient of their "mateship".
For me, telling the story of 3 Field Troop in Vietnam between September 1965 and September 1966 is the least I could do for them. They were young, crazy, reckless, foolhardy, brave, cheeky, cunning fighters that gave all that was needed and then some more.
They pioneered the way Engineers would operate throughout that futile war. They took on the Viet Cong at his most dangerous – in tunnels and with booby traps. Their story deserves to be told. It's a true story full of mischief – it will make you laugh and make you cry and make you hold your breath.
It's not intended to be, nor is it, a military history. It is written so that anyone can gain insights into what it was really like to be an Engineer in Vietnam. At the same time, a young NCO or an officer can appreciate what it's like for soldiers on active service.
The pressure was on my soldiers from Day One. We served two masters. 173rd Airborne Brigade, a crack United States unit, was based at Bien Hoa, just north of Saigon and had the Aussies of 1RAR Group under its command. 3 Field Troop were responsible at different times to 173rd Airborne Brigade and to 1RAR. That was for the first six months in Vietnam. Then 3 Field Troop moved to Vung Tau where we prepared the sand hills for occupation by 5RAR, 6RAR and 1 Australian Logistic Support Group. 3 Field Troop then went to Nui Dat where we started all over again with a new area to be occupied by the newly-arrived 1 Australian Task Force. For the last three months we served a new master – 1 Field Squadron, our parent unit.
Originally my story of 3 Field Troop was to have been told by Pat Burgess. Pat was an old friend – a reporter/journalist/war correspondent of renown, whom I first met in Vietnam. Pat, when allowed, would go out on patrol with the soldiers, he was at the second major tunnel we searched and blew, he was a soldier's man. Pat died a few years ago, before I'd gotten off my backside to do this book.
Through a string of coincidences, beginning with the promotion of my book Piece of Mind, radio producer, Toni Eates, suggested I talk to Selwa Anthony, an authors' agent. She in turn introduced me to an author – Jimmy Thomson. And that was a lucky break for me. Jimmy, in writing this story, adds a dimension borne in his Scottish wit. He gets right into the soldier's mind. So thank you, Jimmy, for a great job.
I've received a great deal of help with this book; thank you to:
– The men from 3 Field Troop whom we have interviewed in person and by telephone, and for their letters and their response to the written survey.
– My wife Sandra for her encouragement, her typesetting and her proof reading.
– Lieutenant General John Sanderson Commander of UNTAG in Cambodia for writing the Foreword during a very busy schedule ... but more than that ... for being a friend since 1958 at Duntroon and for being a great Engineer.
– Ian McNamara on ABC Radio 2BL for looking for "lost" members of the Troop through his program "Australia All Over".
– Dennis Ayoub for all his time and effort in reading the manuscript and adding accuracy to many stories.
– Pam McLachlan for her transcription of interview tapes.
– Warren Lennon for being such a great boss and for his interview on Taking Command – Chapter 16.
– Selwa Anthony for bringing together myself and Jimmy Thomson and for her advice throughout the production of No Need for Heroes.
– The Directorate of Engineers at the Engineer Centre at Casula (I used to know it as the School of Military Engineering) for the copies of the Engineer badge and the other unofficial badge (Facimus et Frangimus) which many engineers prefer.
– The War Memorial for providing better quality copies of photos that I originally forwarded to them. (If anyone wants copies of these photos they are available by quoting the numbers shown to the War Memorial).
– To my Uncle Bob and his wife Lilian for relating stories about his Dad – my Grandad.
Sandy MacGregor
Sydney September, 1993
PROLOGUE
It is well that war is so terrible;
else we would grow too fond of it.
General Robert E Lee
It's not that I always wanted to be a soldier, it's more that I never thought I would ever be anything else. And the day I was awarded a rifle for being the top Army Cadet at my school, was the greatest of my 14yearold life. It did not set my life on the course it later followed, it merely confirmed in my young mind that the Army would want me as much as I wanted it.
Three years later, when I joined the army, I chose the engineers. Or maybe they chose me. For I was drawn to them by a fascination for these men who live double lives. They are soldiers in the sense that they carry arms and know how to use them. But they are much more than that: they create as well as destroy and engineers are everywhere.
Ubique, – means everywhere, and is our official motto; Facimus et Frangimus – "We make and we break" –
