New Zealand V3 South Vietnam Rifle Company

Victor 3 company weapon pit in South Vietnam

Reunion - 2011
Queen's Birthday weekend, June 3 - 6.
Greymouth, New Zealand

Web page introduction

This web page is for Victor 3 Infantry Rifle Company from the First Battalion Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment, 1 RNZIR, that served in South Vietnam during 1968 and 1969 as a military sub unit within the First Australian Task Force, 1 ATF, based in Nui Dat located in Phuoc Tuy Province.

A reunion for V3 vietnam veterans

A reunion is being held for personnel of Victor 3 Infantry Rifle Company over the Queen's Birthday weekend in 2011, at Greymouth, New Zealand.
Reunion main base The reunion base is at the Greymouth RSA Memorial Cub situated at 181 Tainui Street, Greymouth.
Greymouth township The township of Greymouth is located on the west coast of New Zealand's South Island with a population of about 10,000 people. The other main centres along the Coast is Westport to the north and Hokitika to the south. See the Google map for Greymouth to get your bearings and plot your routes.. The regions average temperatures are 17°C for summer and 9°C in winter. The weather remains mild until early July with nil snowfall and frosts not being constant due to the northerly airflow that prevails. The West Coast has been numbered amongst the "Top 10 Coastal Drives of the World" by the publication Lonely Planet, the largest travel guide book and digital media publisher in the world.
The Kotuku bird The West Coast is best symbolised by the native Kotuku bird, known as a white heron, a sight beholden by all on the West Coast. The Coast is the only region in which the Kotuku bird breeds with the actual breeding location for this magnificently graceful bird being considered a secret.

What's happening?

Main activities

The outline of proposed events and activities will be entered here as they are confirmed. Preliminary planning includes:

Local Monteiths brewery tour

The Punakaiki Pancake rocks

Barrytown pub [the webmaster farmed at Barrytown many moons ago]

Shanty Town Heritage Park

Blackball RSA and Memorial

Jade Workshop tour

Hokitika RSA

Punakaiki blowholes.

Photo source: www.punakaiki.co.nz/photos

H hour, assembly area, and start line

To start the weekend, assembly of personnel is on Friday 3 June 2011, at approximately 1700 hours in the Greymouth RSA premises located at 181 Tainui Street. The evening meal is to be a hot buffet dinner and dessert at the Jade Boulder Gallery Cafe just along from the RSA. This is followed by return to the RSA premises for which a band, suitable for the 'generation' group, is being sought to play on that night.

Supporting Activities

The Hokitika RSA will provide support and help with the reunion activities. The principle V3 organiser has ensured a 50kg supply of whitebait, plus two buckets of muttonbirds, all consumable garden veges will be home-grown locally.

A hangi will be put down by a supportive friend of the organisers. A pig has been invited down from Kaitaia for the hangi and the animal will be joined by puha and watercress, among other things.

The 'Coast', being abundant with seafood, ensures mussels will always be in ample supply, local fish will also be sought for the occasion.

Local transport

Events being arranged are a good distance from the main base, therefore buses may be contracted for transport of personnel to various locations.

The pictured Iriquois [Huey] DUSTOFF helicopter is unavailable due to unreliability of pilot and crewmen to understand simple instructions. Instructions were for some of V3 Company personnel to be winched from the rim of a B52 bomb crater that was surrounded by splintered jungle. It is believed, from anecdotal reports, the helicopter was from 45th Medical Company (Air Ambulance), that was based at Nui Dat to support the 1st Australian Task Force requirements for casualty/sick medical evacuations. The pilot endeavoured to land instead of using the winch, a simple enough task.
Result:

B52 bomb crater tree stumps - 1

US Army DUSTOFF helicopter - 0

Photo source: Larry Southern, MFC, V3.

Progressive objectives

The weekend progresses on Saturday and Sunday with trips to Blackball RSA and Memorial, Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blowholes, Barrytown Pub, On Yer Bike - off road quad, buggy and hot tracks hire, History House, Shantytown Heritage Park, Hokitika RSA, Jade Tour (Workshop), Brunner Mine Disaster site/memorial, plus one other to be confirmed.

Accommodation for V3 vietnam veterans

The early choices for accommodation are shown below, the list will be added to so keep checking this page.

Victor 3 Vietnam veretans 2011 reunion accommodation in Greymouth

Name	Type	Cost	Description	Contact
Gables Luxury Motor Lodge	Studio One Bedroom Two Bedroom	$115.00 $140.00 $160.00	$20 per extra person in all units. Spa Bath in some suites.	84 High St, Greymouth. Freephone - 0800 809 9915 Email - info@gablesmotorlodge.com Website www.gablesmotorlodge.com
Recreation Hotel	Single room Double room	$70.00 $90.00	Separate from the main hotel, restaurant and bar are 30 self-contained studio units, and with their secluded location off the main highway.	68 High Street, Greymouth. Phone: 03 7685154 Fax: 03 7687024 Website - www.rechotel.co.nz
Greymouth Motel	Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 Unit 5 Unit 6 Unit 7 Unit 8 Unit 9	$160.00 $170.00 $100.00 $170.00 $150.00 TBA $180.00 $100.00 $150.00	Sleeps 5 Sleeps 6 Sleeps 2 Sleeps 6 Sleeps 4 Unsure Sleeps 6 Sleeps 2 Sleeps 4	195 High Street, Greymouth. Freephone - 0800 220032 Fax - 03 768 6300 Email - greymouthmotel@actrix.co.nz Website - www.greymouthmotel.co.nz

About Victor 3 Infantry Rifle Company

The Victor 3 Vietnam veterans have a Yahoo Group to which former members can subscribe, click here to see the Groups' Yahoo Page.

The Company [V3] was comprised of personnel who were members of the 1st Battalion Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment [1 RNZIR], garrisoned at the time in Terendak Military Camp, about 15 kilometres north of Malacca on the Malay peninsula. 1 RNZIR was a highly-trained, combat-ready unit, well able to fulfil the roles envisaged in various SEATO contingency plans and as well as combat operations in South Vietnam.

Extensive training programs culminated in testing operational exercises designed to assess the Company's preparedness for active service.

Given that early training had commenced in New Zealand this was followed with more intense training on the Malay peninsula where New Zealand infantry troops had been stationed since 1955. Some of the V3 soldiers and many of the junior and senior NCO's were experienced in the techniques of jungle warfare in Malaya and Borneo, the most recent prior to Vietnam being during the Indonesian Confrontation in the mid-1960's. Such experience was to hold V3 in good stead in South Vietnam during its deployment from May 1968 to May 1969.

The V3 sub unit ultimately had 172 personnel posted to its strength in South Vietnam, two were killed in action. The rotation of Australian infantry battalions saw V3 attached as a rifle company for a short period of time with the 2 RAR/NZ [ANZAC] Battalion. The remainder of its tour of duty was with attachment to the 4 RAR/NZ [ANZAC] Battalion. Both battalions were integral components of the 1st Australian Task Force garrisoned at Nui Dat in the Phuoc Tuy province.

The following comment from Brigadier Ian Thorpe, a former second-in-command ot a 2 RAR/NZ [ANZAC] Battalion sums, up the conribution of V3 personnel:

'If there is one element in the New Zealand military ethos that is worth emphasis. it is, to me, the attitude that, in the international field where we have always served and planned to serve, we are always a small increment in a larger force, and therefore can only make our mark through quality — and I think that amongst regulars there has been the recognition that quality does not fall like manna on the chosen but results from serious study and hard training.'

Source: The Australian Army and the Vietnam War 1962-1972.

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