7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
The 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a regular infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in 1965 as part of Australia's commitment to the Vietnam War and it eventually served two tours in Vietnam in 1967 and 1971. In 1973, following Australia's withdrawal from the conflict, the battalion was amalgamated with the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment to form the 5th/7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.
Members of 5 Platoon, B Company, 7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, 26 August 1967, an iconic photograph by Mike Coleridge featuring 7 RAR soldiers preparing to board US Army helicopters at the conclusion of an operation in August 1967. The photograph is now etched on the Vietnam Forces National Memorial.
7 RAR tracker dogs and their handlers in South Vietnam, 1967
A memorial plaque for members of 7 RAR killed in Vietnam 1967–68 and 1970–71. Shown at Regimental Square, Sydney, New South Wales.
A 7RAR soldier on exercise at Shoalwater Bay 2011
Military history of Australia during the Vietnam War
Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War began with a small commitment of 30 military advisors in 1962, and increased over the following decade to a peak of 7,672 Australian personnel following the Menzies Government's April 1965 decision to upgrade its military commitment to South Vietnam's security. By the time the last Australian personnel were withdrawn in 1972, the Vietnam War had become Australia's longest war, eventually being surpassed by Australia's long-term commitment to the War in Afghanistan. It remains Australia's largest force contribution to a foreign conflict since the Second World War, and was also the most controversial military action in Australia since the conscription controversy during World War I. Although initially enjoying broad support due to concerns about the spread of communism in Southeast Asia, an increasingly influential anti-war movement developed, particularly in response to the government's imposition of conscription.
Australian soldiers from 7 RAR waiting to be picked up by US Army helicopters following a cordon and search operation near Phước Hải on 26 August 1967. This image is etched on the Vietnam Forces National Memorial, Canberra.
Personnel and aircraft of RAAF Transport Flight Vietnam arrive in South Vietnam in August 1964
HMAS Hobart refueling from a United States Navy tanker while operating off Vietnam in 1967
1 RAR soldiers with a M113 armoured personnel carrier in August 1965