PARKER, RICHARD HAROLD JOHN Remains Return announced 06/2007
Name: Richard Harold John Parker Rank/Branch: E3/AUSTRALIAN ARMY Unit: 1RAR Date of Birth: Home City of Record: Australia Date of Loss: 08 November 1965 Country of Loss: South Vietnam Loss Coordinates: YT164234 Status (in 1973): Killed in Action/Body not Recovered Category: Acft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground Refno: 0188
Other Personnel in Incident: Peter R. Gillson, missing
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 October 1990 from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK, with information from Australia's Tony Blake, Vietnam Veteran 70-71, 7RAR. Updated 2007.
NOTE: Australians use the abbreviation PTE for Private, for someone with "no rank". PVT/PFC is a U.S. designation.
REMARKS:
Not held with US personnel.
SYNOPSIS: In 1984, the Australian government sent delegates to Vietnam to find fresh evidence on missing Australians. It was abandoned when the party failed to learn anything about the men's fate. Australian foreign affairs minister, Bill Hayden, recommended the cases be closed, that the Vietnamese government had cooperated fully with the search and the subject of the missing men, and it should no longer be an issue between the two countries.
Yet reports continue to be received in the U.S. from refugees and intelligence sources convincing many authorities that hundreds of servicemen are still being held captive. The veterans of Australia, like those of Canada and the U.S. refuse to accept their governments' dismissal of the issue.
At least five Australians are missing who were not directly associated with U.S. forces. Two of them are Pte. Peter R. Gillson and Pte. Richard H.J. Parker, lost on November 8, 1965. Parker and Gillson are the first two Australians listed Missing in Action.
Gillson and Parker were with a unit which came in close contact with the enemy during fierce fighting for the Battle of the Hump twenty-one kilometers northeast of Bien Hoa. The company came under heavy fire and Parker was last seen lying on the ground during the ambush. Although he was heard to groan, he did not answer calls.
Gillson, according to some sources, was injured about 9 kilometers northeast of Parker's location, but according to U.S. records, Gillson and Parker were lost at the same location. The unit was forced to withdraw. Gillson was thought to be dead, but Parker's condition was not really known.
Australian comrades were furious when U.S. orders prevented them from returning to the site to locate Gillson and Parker. Both men were listed presumed Killed in Action/Body Not Recovered.
While Gillson and Parker's military unit is not known, it is nearly certain that their unit was working with the 173rd Airborne Brigade at Bien Hoa, and they were possibly part of the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) which arrived in Vietnam in May 1965.
Gillson and Parker do not appear on most U.S. lists since they were not U.S. citizens. However, as thousands of U.S. veterans would confirm, the "Aussies" were welcome additions to any mission. Their bravery was well known, and they were well-liked. 47,000 Australians were sent to Vietnam between 1961 and 1971; 504 were killed and 2,500 were wounded. None were captured -- or were they?
The Australians sent their young men to help in a war that was not their own. It is fitting that Americans should include their missing in their quest for freedom for those still prisoner, missing or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia.
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http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Two-buried-at-site-of-Vietnam-action/2005/12/05/1133631178647.html
Two buried at site of Vietnam action
December 5, 2005 - 11:58AM
Two Australian soldiers whose bodies were never recovered from Vietnam are believed to have been buried near where they fell 40 years ago, making it easier to find them, a former soldier says.
Retired Lieutenant Colonel Jim Bourke, who has headed a team seeking the graves of Lance Corporal Richard "Tiny" Parker, 24, and Private Peter Gillson, 20, said his team had interviewed a former Viet Cong soldier who participated in the action in which the two men died.
"The salient piece of information that we obtained from the Vietnamese witness who was on the feature was that bodies were buried on the actual position and weren't carted away," he told ABC radio.
"I was concerned that maybe they had been carted away and buried elsewhere. He claims that they were recovered next morning and buried adjacent to the position."
Lance Corporal Parker and Private Gillson are two of the six Australians missing from the Vietnam conflict. Both were members of 1RAR which was involved in Operation Hump on November 8, 1965. Mr Bourke was also a member of 1RAR involved in the same operation.
This was a combined Australian-US attack on a feature known as Hill 82, 17km north-east of the city of Bien Hoa, under overall US command.
As Lance Corporal Parker patrolled into a small clearing, he was cut down by at least four Viet Cong machine guns. Massive incoming fire barred immediate recovery of his body but his colleagues organised an assault.
Private Gillson, carrying an M60 machine gun, was climbing over tangled tree roots when he was hit. He managed to kill two enemy soldiers but was struck repeatedly by enemy fire.
On three occasions, platoon Sergeant Colin Fawcett crawled forward but each time recovery of the body was thwarted by intense enemy fire.
The Australian infantrymen then withdrew to regroup but the US commander forbade any further recovery attempts. That decision reportedly caused great dissatisfaction among the diggers.
Mr Bourke said the former enemy soldier gave a description of the two Australians, their equipment and the circumstances of their death which coincided with what was known.
He also said the smaller soldier (Gillson) had been carrying a pistol as well as his machine gun.
Mr Bourke said he hadn't known that but former associates of Gillson in Australian confirmed he had indeed carried a handgun.
However, there's a one kilometre discrepancy between where the Vietnamese believe the action took place and where Australian records showed it happened.
He said he was more inclined to believe the Australian account because the Vietnamese were relying only on local knowledge and sketch maps.
Mr Bourke said there would need to be a forensic excavation of the burial site and the United States agency engaged in searching for the 2,000 Americans missing in Vietnam might be the best to accomplish that task.
---------------- http://www.awm.gov.au/database/roh.asp?surname=parker&conflict=VN Parker, R H J Number: 213963 Rank: Lance Corporal [L Cpl] Unit: 1 RAR (RA INF) Service: Army Conflict: Vietnam, 1962-1972 Date of Death: 08/11/1965 Place of Death: South Vietnam Cause of Death: Missing presumed dead (battle casualty) Memorial Panel: 4 Cemetery or Memorial Details: Next Of Kin: Wife - Mrs W K Parker Notes: Source: AWM153 Roll of Honour cards, Vietnam
RA
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Townsville Bulletin (Australia) August 30, 2006
Hope to get vets home
THE bodies of two 1RAR soldiers killed in Vietnam more than 40 years ago could finally be coming home.
Jim Bourke, a former Ayr resident and the man charged with leading a recovery mission to find the men, is tipping a better-than-even chance their bodies will be found.
Mr Bourke, a Vietnam veteran and president of the group Operation Aussies Home, said next year's mission would use ground-penetrating radar to search a site where it was believed Lance Corporal Richard `Tiny' Parker, 24, and Private Peter Gillson, 20, were buried in 1965.
They are two of six Australians missing in action from the Vietnam War. All were almost certainly killed, and their bodies remain unrecovered to this day.
Lance Corp Parker and Pte Gillson were shot dead by Viet Cong forces on November 8, 1965.
Intense enemy fire halted repeated attempts to retrieve their bodies and their mates reluctantly withdrew when ordered.
Mr Bourke said crucial information gained from a former enemy soldier earlier this year was that the pair had been buried the following morning a short distance from where they died.
A concern was that the bodies might have been moved some distance, then buried, or relocated after the war.
Mr Bourke said no one knew of them having been moved.
However, there is still a 1km discrepancy between Australian and VC accounts of where the action took place in jungle about 60km north-east of Saigon, renamed Ho Chi Minh City, after the war.
Mr Bourke believes the Australian accounts are more accurate and has narrowed the search to an 80m by 300m area.
The former enemy soldier recounted that the two Diggers were buried head-to-toe in a trench.
``If they are there, the probability of us finding them is pretty good,'' Mr Bourke said.
``If they were buried in a trench, (it) would have run across the hill along a contour line.''
Using a search pattern up and down the slope, the radar should be able to detect filled-in trenches from variations in earth density.
``If we have got the right area marked out, the probability of us finding them . . . is pretty good,'' Mr Bourke said. ``I'd say there is an 80 per cent chance.''
Mr Bourke said the two week expedition would be mounted during the Vietnamese dry season in January or February.
He said the ground-penetrating radar would be operated by an expert from the Australian National University in Canberra.
``We are furiously trying to raise money,'' he said. ``It's not all that expensive and I don't know why someone hasn't done it before.''
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Transcript This is a transcript from AM. The program is broadcast around Australia at 08:00 on ABC Local Radio.
You can also listen to the story in REAL AUDIO and WINDOWS MEDIA and MP3 formats.
Vietnam battle victims finally brought home PRINT FRIENDLY EMAIL STORY AM - Monday, 4 June , 2007 08:28:00 Reporter: Gillian Bradford
TONY EASTLEY: When Lance Corporal Richard "Tiny" Parker and Private Peter Gillson died during a fierce battle with the Vietcong in 1965 it was just too dangerous at the time to recover their bodies.
But finally, 42 years after they were killed in battle, the bodies of the two fallen Vietnam veterans will soon be on their way home.
Gillian Bradford reports from Hanoi.
GILLIAN BRADFORD: Even after all these years not a day has gone by when Trevor Hagan hasn't thought about the mates he left behind.
TREVOR HAGAN: Today is the 15,151 days since we lost Tiny and Peter Gillson and going back, to go back and bring them back is one of the greatest things I think will ever happen to me.
GILLIAN BRADFORD: Trevor Hagan was the Acting Platoon Sergeant the day Richard "Tiny" Parker and Peter Gillson were shot in the Gung Toi hills near the old Saigon back in November 1965.
A company of the 1st Royal Australian Regiment had hit a strongly defended Vietcong bunker system and came under a hail of machine gun fire.
Richard Parker fell just metres in front of an enemy bunker. Peter Gillson died when his platoon came in from the flank to try to help.
TREVOR HAGAN: It's an unwritten law that you never leave anyone on the battlefield. And we were forced, through circumstances, to leave two of our soldiers and especially Tiny, because Tiny was doing my job on that day, and I've always believed if things had been as normal I would've been lying where Tiny is and he would've been maybe searching for me.
The main thing is responsibility I think. We were responsible because they were soldiers of ours to bring them home to their families.
GILLIAN BRADFORD: The men of A Company never gave up on the idea of finding their mates. But it took a determined Vietnam veteran, Jim Bourke, to break through walls of bureaucracy. He arranged several trips back to the site, with the latest search and rescue technology, and found an old Vietcong soldier who confirmed he'd buried the Australians close to where they fell.
Clive Williams is now a renowned terrorism expert, but in 1965 he was a platoon commander with A Company.
CLIVE WILLIAMS: The Australian Army's official position was 400 metres away from the actual position and the VC's estimate of where it was, was something like 1,400 metres different. So the thing was to pin it down.
I went and had a look at what the Australian official position was and it was nothing like the terrain that we fought on. So what we did was we went back to the route that we had taken going into the area, 'cause we knew where we'd harboured the night before, and we retraced our steps.
And it became fairly obvious when we got to the position that that was the right place.
GILLIAN BRADFORD: It's been a surreal journey to Vietnam for Robert Gillson. He never met his father and after 42 years he's finally able to bring him home.
ROBERT GILLSON: Mostly excited because it's been blessed with the opportunity to bring my father home. It's something I thought that I'd never get the opportunity to do. And now that it's finally here, it's, well, surreal.
Up until recently I didn't know that we'd have an opportunity to do this and although it's been a fair few years coming in this case it's certainly better late than never.
TONY EASTLEY: Robert Gillson ending that report by Gillian Bradford.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070605/wl_asia_afp/australiavietnamwarsoldiersmissing_070605063555
Australian Vietnam War dead return home 40 years on
Tue Jun 5, 2:35 AM ET
The bodies of two Australian soldiers killed in the Vietnam War arrived home Tuesday, more than 40 years after they were listed as missing in action fighting the Viet Cong.
Lance Corporal Richard Parker, 24, and Private Peter Gillson, 20, were shot dead by Viet Cong forces during an action codenamed Operation Hump on November 8, 1965.
Their fellow soldiers were unable to recover their bodies at the time, despite several attempts, because of intense fighting.
But their remains were finally found by a group of Vietnam veterans in April, following a tip off from a Viet Cong veteran.
A defence department spokeswoman said the bodies arrived in Dawin from Hanoi early Tuesday.
It is believed family members spent some time in private with the remains before they were flown to Sydney for an official ceremony Wednesday.
Four Australian soldiers remain listed as missing in Vietnam and the government concedes the prospects of finding and repatriating them are remote.
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http://wauchope.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?story_id=592598&src=topstories
Four remain missing from Vietnam war By Max Blenkin
As the bodies of two Australian soldiers killed in Vietnam in 1969 begin a belated repatriation, four others remain missing from the conflict which ended three decades ago.
Veterans Affairs Minister Bruce Billson is in Hanoi, officiating at a ceremony from which the bodies of Lance Corporal Richard "Tiny" Parker, 24, and Private Peter Gillson, 20, will be brought home to Australia.
Mr Billson said work was continuing to try to locate the remains of another soldier, Lance Corporal John Gillespie.
He said the prospects of locating other servicemen still missing remained distant, but fresh information was still being sought about another missing soldier and two RAAF officers whose bodies were never found.
National serviceman Private David Fisher, 23, of the Special Air Service Regiment, fell from a rope as he was evacuated by helicopter on an operation in September 1969. Despite an intensive search, his body was never found.
Pilot Officer Robert Carver and Flying Officer Michael Herbert were crewmen aboard a RAAF Canberra bomber which disappeared without trace on a mission in November 1970.
There was no distress call and the aircraft simply vanished from the radar screen, crashing in an unknown location.
Lance Cpl John Gillespie, a member of 8 Field Ambulance, was aboard an RAAF Iroquois helicopter shot down in April 1971.
The helicopter was engulfed in flames and no trace of his body could be found in the wreckage.
However the crash site is known and the government is assessing the feasibility of conducting a full scale excavation.
Lance Corporal Parker and Private Gillson were shot dead by Viet Cong forces in an action codenamed Operation Hump, on November 8, 1965.
Intense enemy fire halted repeated attempts to retrieve their bodies and their mates reluctantly withdrew when ordered.
But they never forgot and a search conducted by the group Operation Aussies Home located their bodies in April.
Their remains will board a RAAF C-130 Hercules transport aircraft in Hanoi later on Monday for the trip back to Australia.
The aircraft will stop in Darwin to allow family members time for private refection ahead of the official welcome home ceremony to be conducted at RAAF Richmond at 10am Wednesday.
Mr Billson said for other soldiers involved, Operation Hump had never really ended.
"It will be finished when their mates have returned back to their homeland," he said from Hanoi.
"To be able to spend time with family members and some of the men that served with the two individuals is very moving.
"Family members are grappling with extreme mixed emotions - elation at the thought that after so many years they are finally being able to reconnect with their loved ones."
Mr Billson said this was particularly true for Robert Gillson, who never knew his father, Private Peter Gillson.
"There is a great deal of interest amongst the veterans' community," he said.
"They vividly explained to me how important this was for them that the brotherly bond between soldiers means this for them is unfinished business."