Hi all, I just noted this one. SAS soldier's remains identified in Vietnam - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) SAS soldier's remains identified in Vietnam The remains of an Australian soldier recovered in the Cam My District of Vietnam have been officially identified as Private David Fisher. Private Fisher was a member of the Special Air Services Regiment who fell to his death from a helicopter during the evacuation of his patrol in 1969. The Defence Department says plans are being made to repatriate Private Fisher's remains to Australia. The Minister for Defence, Warren Snowdon, says Private Fisher was buried by enemy soldiers after he fell. "I am very pleased that the remains of this brave soldier have now been accounted for and his family, mates and country can finally welcome him home to rest in peace," Mr Snowdon said in a statement. "Thankfully, Private Fisher's identification tags were not removed and this has been extremely useful during the recovery process. "Finding Private Fisher after nearly 40 years brings us near to the end of another chapter in the history of the Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War." Private Fisher's discovery completes the Army's recovery of four Australian soldiers lost during the Vietnam War.
He's home: Digger's remains return from Vietnam | NEWS.com.au - a fair bit of repetition so have posted what I think is the new info only:
So young ..... welcome home David ! Private David Fisher of the Special Air Services Regiment (SASR) fell from a rope beneath a Royal Australian Air Force helicopter during a hot extraction of his patrol on 27 September 1969. 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. Private David Fisher is the fourth and last Australian Soldier to be located and his return will complete the recovery of all Australian Army personnel who were lost on operations and not recovered during the Vietnam War. Lance Corporal Parker and Private Gillson were repatriated to Australian in June 2007 and Lance Corporal Gillespie in December 2007. Private David Fisher on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
The two remaining lost Aussies, the Canberra crew, are, of course harder to find. Still, local knowledge/memories can go a long way as was the case with Private Fisher.
Heres a bit more about the Canberra crew .... I hope they will be found too .... things happen in mysterious ways ! In 1970 two RAAF airmen were declared missing in action in Vietnam. Flying Officer Michael Herbert and Pilot Officer Robert Carver, both of 2 Squadron, RAAF, were believed killed when their Canberra bomber disappeared while flying a night bombing mission in the northern 1 Corps region of South Vietnam. On 3 November 1970 Herbert (the pilot and aircraft captain) and Carver (the navigator and bomb aimer) had taken off from Phan Rang at 7.00 p.m., heading for their target in Quang Nam province 65 kilometres south-west of Da Nang. The weather was relatively clear and the flight to the target was without incident. The Australians carried out their bombing run and released their bombs over the target area at 8.22 p.m. After acknowledging a radio message, they switched frequency for the return flight to Phan Rang. Shortly afterwards, the aircraft disappeared from the radar screen which was tracking it. American and Australian air units mounted an aerial search the next morning. The extensive search involved 67 sorties over an area of over 16,000 square kilometres but it was hampered by poor weather conditions. The search failed to find any trace of the aircraft or crew and was called off after three days. Pilot Officer Carver had served for only eight weeks in Vietnam. Flying Officer Herbert, who had qualified as a pilot at the age of 16, had only two months to go to finish his tour. The cause of the disappearance was never determined. Their aging Canberra bomber was flying well above the maximum range of enemy anti-aircraft artillery and there were no known North Vietnamese surface-to-air missile (SAM) launch sites near the flight path. Although discounted by a RAAF court of inquiry, the most likely explanation of the aircraft's sudden disappearance without trace remains the possibility of a catastrophic mid-air explosion caused by one or more bombs becoming hung up in the rack after release. For the parents of those lost, the term "missing in action" became increasingly difficult to live with. After years of uncertainty Robert Carver's parents eventually gave up hope that he would be found alive. Mr Sydney Carver had his son's name placed on the Toowoomba War Memorial. Every day he passed the memorial and never failed to look at the inscription. Mrs Joan Herbert continued to dream that her son Michael was alive and roaming the jungles of Vietnam, dreams that eventually became nightmares. Over the next decade she wrote more than 600 letters to Vietnamese and other political leaders enquiring about his fate. The families of both RAAF officers said they could not rest until the truth was known. www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/vietnam_mia/no_known_grave.asp
