A fence in Vietnam DPR/TV/596

Three miles south of the Australian Task Force base, troops of the 5th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, are building a fence which will be a Viet Cong barrier unique in Vietnam. Stretching for thousands of yards south of a fortified hill known as 'The Horseshoe', the fence eventually will provide a permanent barrier between several villages and miles of Viet Cong infested jungle. Alpha Company soldiers have built much of the fence, and are working on this section. An armoured personnel carrier has two jobs here: protection for the work party...and a handy platform from which to hammer in steel pickets. Corporal Brian Wood, from Holsworthy, NSW, and Private Neil Twyford, of Eltham, Victoria, know how hot and heavy the work is as they hammer steel pickets into the ground. Children from nearby Phuoc Loi village come out to say hello...and give the Diggers a hand. For children like these, the fence could be start of a new era in their lives. This fence is designed not only to keep Viet Cong out of the villages, but to prervent village sympathisers and others on whom the Viet Cong have a hold, from entering the jungle to supply the enemy with food and information. When completed, the fence will be patrolled continually by South Vietnamese Government troops. [Also identified in dope sheets are: L/Cpl. Bruce Mason of Campbelltown, NSW; Pte Jim Crowther, of Gosford, NSW; Private Kevin Merrion of Newcastle, NSW.]