| Accession Number | NAVYM0858/29 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Negative |
| Maker |
Houldsworth, John Henry |
| Place made | At sea, Vietnam |
| Date made | 1 February 1971 |
| Conflict |
Vietnam, 1962-1975 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Viet Cong prisoners on board the RAN guided missile destroyer HMAS Perth, off the coast of ...
Description
Viet Cong prisoners on board the RAN guided missile destroyer HMAS Perth, off the coast of Vietnam. While the Perth was patrolling off the U Minh, a fishing boat attracted her attention. On the previous night the fishing boat had been hailed by a group of seven Hoi Chanh (Viet Cong wishing to defect to the South Vietnamese Government). The men surrendered to HMAS Perth, and were in turn transferred to a Vietnamese Navy (VNN) patrol boat which took them to the Market Time coastal zone headquarters at An Thoi, Phu Quoc Island. Here R39659 Chief Petty Officer Coxswain Kevin William Joseph Saville lights a cigarette for one of the prisoners. (The details of this incident can be found on HMAS PERTH (II) [Charles F. Adams (Modified Perth) Class Guided Missile Destroyer]: Reports of Proceedings; Series AWM78 292/8 held at the AWM, and the HMAS Perth log book entry held at the National Archives of Australia: Series - SP1249/1 (Box 19); Item - Bundle 1142 HMAS Log Books: Title - HMAS Perth 1 February 1971.)