General News
30 August, 2025
Vietnam Veterans Day
August 18 was Vietnam Veterans Day. We thank our Vietnam veterans from our area for their service, which continues in the community to this day.
Horsham still has a group of veterans who meet regularly at Horsham RSL Sub-Branch, have a stall and sell Anzac and Remembrance Day badges at Coles with their partners and friends.
Ray Harris compiled a loop video of our Vietnam veterans which runs each Vietnam Veterans Day.
James Clyde McMillian and Norman Hawker, both from our area, lost their lives while on duty in Vietnam.
On July 31 1969 Private James Clyde McMillan made the ultimate sacrifice when he was killed in action in Vietnam.
Born in Albury in 1948, James served in C Company 5 Royal Australian Regiment (5 RAR) as a national service reinforcement following heavy losses to 7 Platoon.
In the late afternoon of July 31, C Company fought a company-strength enemy force in a well-defended bunker system.
James died during the close-quarter battle in the face of heavy fire from RPGs and machine guns.
He is buried in Horsham cemetery and is remembered for his raw courage and loyalty to his fellow soldiers.
He was 20 years old.
Horsham RSL Sub- Branch has a room named in James’s honour.
We also remember Barry Edward Fountain.
Private Barry Edward Fountain was born in Horsham on October 12 1949.
Barry is buried in Cohuna and commemorated on the Cohuna Vietnam War Memorial in Gannawarra Shire.
Barry’s service number was 3798485.
He served in Vietnam with the Detachment 131 Divisional Locating Battery from March 4 to August 20 1971 and with 12th Field Regiment from August 21 to October 30 1971.
He served 241 days in total as a gunner.
He had been called up under the national service ballot.
He served in the Australian Army Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery Corps.
Barry was part of 12th Field Regiment's second deployment to South Vietnam in 1971, with A Field Battery, serving until the withdrawal of 1st Australian Task Force in November 1971.
A Field Battery celebrated its centenary while in South Vietnam on August 1 1971.
National service (also known as conscription) involved mandatory military service for young men.
It occurred in two main periods: 1951-59 and 1964-72.
The 1964 scheme, which included service in the Vietnam War, was particularly controversial due to the birthday ballot system and its impact on young men's lives.
In 1951-59 all 18-year-old males were called up for training in the navy, army or air force.
In 1964-72 the scheme targeted 20-year-old men who were selected through a birthday ballot system.
Those selected were required to complete two years of full-time service in the army followed by three years of part-time service in the army reserve.
National servicemen were liable for "special overseas service", including combat in Vietnam.
The scheme was criticised for its unfairness, the impact it had on individuals and the use of conscription for the Vietnam War.
The 1964 scheme was suspended by the Whitlam Labor government in December 1972.
The detachment formation remained in South Vietnam until May 1971 and was disbanded on July 31 of that year.
Its role in South Vietnam had roots back in World War I when the task to identify enemy artillery became more necessary, then with the establishment of its predecessor, 31 Battery, in 1954 the world of locating took on a professional edge.
The Battery in the 1960s continued the development of enemy artillery detection with various methods and equipment along the lines of observation through outposts called listening posts where muzzle flashes and suspicious movements were noted and bearings from the LP were relayed to the artillery intelligence centre for collation and response action.
Radar became an integral part of early-warning and tracking of enemy hostilities, along with sound ranging using a system of microphones to track the same activities.
The 12th Field Regiment was raised at Holsworthy, New South Wales, on April 18 1966, comprising a Headquarters Battery and 102 and 104 Field Batteries.
Warned for service, it deployed to South Vietnam from March 1968 to March 1969.
The Regiment was involved I Operation Tang Thoan 1 at Fire Support Base Coral in May-June 1968 during which the 102nd Field Battery came under heavy direct assault by a regimental-sized North Vietnamese army attacking force that overran the neighbouring 1 RAR Mortar Platoon and threatened to do the same to the battery.
Desperate action by the gunners, including firing point blank at the attackers with Spikintex and HE rounds, prevented what could have been a disaster, and a counterattack mounted by the battery recovered a gun lost in the initial assault.
Members of the 12th Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery worked inside the artillery tactical command post tent, which had been set up on top of Courtenay Hill in support of Operation Overlord (conducted between June 5 and 14 1971).
Vietnamese army and Viet Cong units in the Suoi Nhac area near the intersection of Route 2 and the Long Khanh-Phouc Tuy provincial border (about 24km north-northeast of Nui Dat).
With thanks: Sally Bertram, RSL Military History Library. Contact Sally at sj.bertram@hotmail.com or call 0409 351 940.
