Dat Do protection DPR/TV/1108

Australian Army engineers and Vietnamese Government Regional Force troops are working together to provide a new defensive system for the village of Dat Do, about 4 miles South East of the Australian Task Force at Nui Dat. The village was recently infiltrated by Viet Cong elements, and the decision to improve its defences, formerly a matter for the local force, was taken. Bulldozers manned by men of 1st Field Sqn RAE, recently began pushing away the bund round the village, improving access roads and clearing fields of fire for a series of bunkers which will eventually ring Dat Do. The operation is being directed by the OC 1 Field Sqn, Major Rex Rowe of Redcliffs, Vic. As the machinery of the field squadron clears scrub and gauges out holes for the bunkers, villagers of Dat Do work in their fields using more primitive means of moving minor scrub (weeds). Once the bunker holes are dug, RF soldiers from the local company, come in and, under Australian guidance erect the bunkers and fill in sandbags for the final protective wall. In South Vietnam, co-operation between Australian and Vietnamese aims at providing more security from infiltration by the VC for the villagers of Dat Do.