Australians Missing in Action in the Vietnam War

Overview
No Australian servicemen remain missing in action from the Vietnam War.

At the end of the Vietnam War 6 Australians were among the 2,338 people then listed as missing in action in the Vietnam War. Four Australian army soldiers and two Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) were classified "missing in action" in four separate incidents with all six presumed to have been killed in action. All the remains of the servicemen missing in action have been found as of 30 July 2009.

Missing in Action

 * Lance Corporal Richard Harold John ("Tiny") Parker (24) and Private Peter Raymond Gillson (20), were both regular army soldiers with A Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment attached to the United States Army's, 173rd Airborne Brigade. On 8 November 1965, in fighting at Gang Toi during Operation Hump in Bien Hoa province, both soldiers were observed by their comrades to be hit repeatedly by enemy machine-gun fire at close range. Despite brave attempts by other soldiers, their bodies could not be recovered, owing to heavy enemy fire which pinned down their company. The remains of Lance Corporal Parker and Private Gillson were located in southern Vietnam in April 2007 and the remains were repatriated to Australia in June 2007.


 * Private David John Elkington Fisher (23), was a national serviceman serving with 3 Squadron, Special Air Service Regiment. On 27 September 1969 a SAS patrol which had contacts with parties of Viet Cong in Cam My district, about 35 kilometres northeast of the 1st Australian Task Force base at Nui Dat. During a "hot extraction" by a RAAF helicopter, Private Fisher fell about 30 metres into dense jungle from a rope attached to the helicopter. He was believed to have been killed and searches failed to recover his body. In August 2008, the Australian Defence Force reported that the possible location of Private David Fisher had been identified. On 11 September 2008, the Australian Defence Force advised that the remains found as part of the investigation had been positively identified as Private David Fisher and preparations were underway to return the fallen soldier with full military honours. "It is now known that Private Fisher died as a result of the fall and was hastily buried by enemy soldiers who discovered his body," Defence Science and Personnel Minister Warren Snowdon. Private Fisher was the last of the missing Australian army personnel to be located in Vietnam.


 * Pilot Officer Robert Charles Carver (24) and Flying Officer Michael Patrick John Herbert (24), of No. 2 Squadron RAAF, were both career air force officers based at Phan Rang Air Base. On 3 November 1970 on a night bombing mission their Canberra bomber, Serial No. A84-231, disappeared in the northern 1st Corps Tactical Zone region of South Vietnam after dropping its bombs near Da Nang. An extensive aerial search of the area failed to find any trace of the aircraft or crew and was called off after three days. On 21 April 2009, the Australian Defence Force reported that they have located the RAAF Mk 20 Canberra bomber wreckage in thick jungle in an extremely rugged, remote and sparsely populated area of Quang Nam Province, Vietnam, near the Laotian border. The Australian Government announced on 30 July 2009 that the remains of the airmen have been found in the wreckage of their crashed bomber and have been positively identified and are awaiting repatriation.


 * Lance Corporal John Francis Gillespie (24) was a helicopter medic with the 8th Field Ambulance. On 17 April 1971, during a "dustoff" operation in the Long Hai hills in Phuoc Tuy province to rescue a wounded South Vietnamese soldier. The Australian army/RAAF helicopter, Serial No A2-767, UH-1H Iroquois was hit by enemy ground fire and crashed. Gillespie had been pinned under the wreckage and his body could not be recovered from the burning wreckage. Three other soldiers also died in the crash. The remains of Lance Corporal Gillespie were located in February 2004, positively identified as those of Lance Corporal Gillespie in December 2007 and repatriated to Australia on 22 December 2007.