Australia to search for soldiers killed in Vietnam
Australia has approved a grant of $37,500 to help a mission to discover the burial sites of two Australian soldiers killed in action during the Vietnam War, AAP news agency reported.
Lance-Corporal Richard Parker and Private Peter Gillson were killed during fighting in the then Bien Hoa province in 1965, the Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence, Bruce Billson, has said in a statement.
"At the time of the battleÉ their bodies could not be recovered," Billson said.
Operation Aussies Home, established in Victoria by Vietnam veteran Jim Bourke, is searching for the bodies of six Australians listed as missing in action during the Vietnam War, the report says.
Last year the group visited the site of the November 6, 1965 battle with two Australian veterans and a Vietnamese veteran of the battle to try and pinpoint the likely burial sites of the two soldiers.
Mr Bourke and his team are finalizing plans to return to the site. The grant will help them apply insights gained from research to use advanced technology to locate physical evidence and remains, the minister said.
Source: AAP
Thanh Nien
Editor-in-Chief: Nguyen Cong Khe
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Thanh Nien is the tribune of VietnamÕs Youth Association
Publication permit No. 14/GP-BC, granted by Press Department, Vietnam Ministry of Culture and Information.
AND
Grant to help find burial sites of Aussie soldiers
THE Federal Government has approved a grant of $37,500 to help a mission to discover the burial sites of two Australian soldiers killed in action during the Vietnam War.
Lance-Cpl Richard Parker and Pte Peter Gillson were killed during fighting between A Company from the 1st Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR) and Vietcong forces in Bien Hoa province in 1965, the Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence, Bruce Billson, said.
ÒAt the time of the battle, the heavy weight of enemy fire meant that their bodies could not be recovered,Ó Mr Billson said.
Operation Aussies Home, established in Victoria by Vietnam veteran Jim Bourke, is searching for the bodies of six Australians - four army and two RAAF - listed as missing in action during the Vietnam War.
Last year, the group visited the site of the November 6, 1965, battle with two Australian veterans and a Vietnamese veteran of the battle to try and pinpoint the likely burial sites of the two 1RAR soldiers.
The non-profit group says Lance-Cpl Parker is listed as missing and for official purposes presumed dead. Pte Gillson is recorded as killed in action, body not recovered.
Mr Bourke and his team are finalising plans to return to the site. The grant will help them apply insights gained from research to use advanced technology to locate physical evidence and remains.
The Government will also continue to assist the team with in-country search approval from Vietnamese authorities, and in facilitating discussions with former Vietcong soldiers, Mr Billson said.
Welcoming the grant, Mr Bourke said: "These funds should go a long way towards achieving our goal of fully accounting for Parker and Gillson".
© 2006 The Border Morning Mail Pty Ltd.