The Northern Territory news Thu 21 Apr 2011
NT news
The Northern Territory news; NewspaperNT
2011-04-21
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English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin; Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin
Nationwide News Pty. Limited
Darwin
Copyright. Made available by the publisher under licence.
Nationwide News Pty. Limited
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/232267
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/664628
20 NT NEWS. Thursday, April 21, 2011. www.ntnews.com.au P U B : N T N E W S D A T E : 2 1 -A P R -2 0 1 1 P A G E : 7 2 0 C O L O R : C M Y K Jim Cole JIM Cole was only 19 when he went to Vietnam. Many of his comrades were killed. Jim volunteered as a reinforcement to 1 RAR from 2 RAR and served in Bien Hoa with the US 173rd Airborne Brigade. He says his service got off to a bad start when he was sent to Hobo Woods in war zone D, known as the Iron Triangle. It was a real hot spot, he says. We lost seven Australian soldiers in 12 days, two from my platoon on the first day. Jim says his outfit landed at the enemys command HQ, which included 13kms of underground tunnels. He was wounded in action but not bad enough to prevent him returning to duty within a month. He says 1RAR lost 23 men killed in action in the 1965-66 tour. Jim, who lives in Darwin, survived a second tour. He also served with 3RAR from December 1967 to December 1968 and was involved in the Tet Offensive. 3RAR also lost 23 men during that tour. Not surprisingly, he says theres nothing glamorous about war. Clockwise from right: Jim Cole and Thommo Thompson at Nui Dat. - The gate to 3rd Battalion at Nui Dat. - Jim Cole and comrades with Prime Minister John Gorton in Vietnam in 1968. We werent particularly impressed with him coming, Jim says. We were in a jungle war zone and had to get dressed up for him. - Jim Cole returned with old comrades to Vietnam in 2009. Here they are at the Long Tan Memorial.