Viet Cong hammock : Sapper P M Cachia, 3 Field Troop, Royal Australian Engineers

Hammock made from US cargo parachute fabric. A panel consisting of a double layer of green nylon has been cut from the original parachute, and the fabric has been hemmed at each end. Lengths of paracord are passed through these hems and used for slinging the hammock.

Peter Michael Cachia was born in Oxfordshire, England in 1940. After emigrating to Australia in 1962 he worked in a variety of jobs before enlisting in the Regular Army Special Reserve on 10 December 1963 at Brisbane. After initial training he was assigned to 1 Field Squadron, Royal Australian Engineers with the service number 1410862.

Cachia deployed to Sabah in northern Borneo with his unit from December 1964 until June 1965. Upon his return to Australia he was posted to 3 Field Troop, which deployed to Vietnam in September 1965. This unit was one of several Australian units attached to the US 173rd Airborne Brigade based at Bien Hoa. It was on an operation during this period that Cachia acquired this hammock from a recently vacated Viet Cong bivouac. He subsequently used the hammock himself during the remainder of his service in Vietnam.

Cachia returned to Australia in September 1966, and was posted to 7 Field Squadron at Brisbane, Queensland until July 1967. After further training he was then posted to 2 Field Troop/11 Field Squadron, a joint Australian/British engineers unit. Cachia deployed to Malaysia with this unit from September 1967 until August 1969.

Upon his return to Australia, Cachia moved through a number of postings, including 22 Construction Squadron in Perth, a posting as an instructor at the School of Military Engineering in Liverpool, New South Wales, and postings with a number of engineering units around Sydney.

In March 1973 he was posted to the Papua New Guinea Defence Force Movements Unit. During this period Cachia transferred to the Royal Australian Corps of Transport, but remained in Papua New Guinea on his posting until April 1975. In August 1977 Cachia was posted to 9 Transport Squadron at Townsville, and the subsequent period of his service saw several postings across a variety of units in this region.

Peter Cachia was discharged from the Australian Army at Townsville in January 1984 with the rank of Sergeant.