Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan
On this day 55 years ago, 21-year-old Corporal Peter 'Pete' Clements died on 27 August 1966, died from the wounds he received manning a .50 cal machine gun of his M113A1 APC - callsign 23A at the Battle of Long Tan. Peter E Clements was from Cunderdin, Western Australia. He was nine when his father died, so he was brought up by his mother. In April 1962, when he was 17 years old, he joined the Australian Army and according to his mother, Mrs. Mollie Martin, ‘He couldn’t wait to go to Vietnam’, where he became a crew commander with 3 Troop, 1 APC Squadron. In the late afternoon of 18 August 1966, while relieving troops at the Battle of Long Tan, Corporal Clements was fatally wounded and died nine days later at 36 U.S. Evac Hospital in Vung Tau.
His service number was 54570 and he had only been in Vietnam for 95 days.
Lest We Forget.
25 May - 11 June 1966. 54570 Corporal (Cpl) Peter Edward (Pete) Clements, 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron, sits on top of an APC on the deck of HMAS Sydney (en route to Vung Tau). Cpl Clements died on 27 August 1966, aged 21, from wounds received at the Battle of Long Tan
Peter Arnall I never knew that sandals were army issue.
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