COURAGE AND COMRADESHIP
THE STORY OF:
NEW ZEALAND'S VICTOR 3 COMPANY
VIETNAM 1968 - 1969
Author:LIEUTENANT COLONEL (Rtd) BOB KELLETT
THE STORY OF:
NEW ZEALAND'S VICTOR 3 COMPANY
VIETNAM 1968 - 1969
Author:LIEUTENANT COLONEL (Rtd) BOB KELLETT
Synopsis:
Victor 3 Company, a new Zealand Infantry unit, fought in South Vietnam as part of a joint Australian/New Zealand battalion, 4 RAR/NZ (ANZAC) Battalion. This unit saw active service in Vietnam from May 1968 until May 1969, which was a period when the US military were losing more than 500 men killed in action each week. Victor 3 Company's clashes with the enemy in the jungles of Vietnam were invariably fierce firefights fought at very close range. Nevertheless, these young New Zealand soldiers acquitted themselves particularly well, demonstrating high standards of courage and comradeship, earning Victor 3 Company the distinction of being one of the highest decorated New Zealand units in the Vietnam War.
Publication Date: May 2022
Price: $65.00
Size: 180 mm x 245mm
Extent: 258 Pages
Illustrations: 65 B/W and Colour Photos
Binding: Cased bound & dust jacketed
ISBN: 978-0-473-60064-8
Victor 3 Company, a new Zealand Infantry unit, fought in South Vietnam as part of a joint Australian/New Zealand battalion, 4 RAR/NZ (ANZAC) Battalion. This unit saw active service in Vietnam from May 1968 until May 1969, which was a period when the US military were losing more than 500 men killed in action each week. Victor 3 Company's clashes with the enemy in the jungles of Vietnam were invariably fierce firefights fought at very close range. Nevertheless, these young New Zealand soldiers acquitted themselves particularly well, demonstrating high standards of courage and comradeship, earning Victor 3 Company the distinction of being one of the highest decorated New Zealand units in the Vietnam War.
Publication Date: May 2022
Price: $65.00
Size: 180 mm x 245mm
Extent: 258 Pages
Illustrations: 65 B/W and Colour Photos
Binding: Cased bound & dust jacketed
ISBN: 978-0-473-60064-8
BOOK REVIEW
Courage and Comradeship
The Story of NEW ZEALANDER'S Victor 3 Company VIETNAM 1968-1969
Reviewed by Captain Jeremy Seed ED, MIR, BA(Hons)
Published in: New Zealand Army News, April 2022
Courage And Comradeship comes hard on the heels of two recent publications by Lt Col (Rtd) Tony Howell (Jungle Green Shadows and Vietnam ANZACs) about Kiwi infantry in Vietnam. Like Howell’s publications, Courage And Comradeship is a welcome addition to this previously sparsely covered period of New Zealand military history.
Bob Kellett was a platoon commander in Victor 3 Company and his book tells the story of that unit, literally from start to finish. The raising, training, employment, then eventual disbandment of the company is covered in detail. The early chapters provide a high-level strategic overview of post WW2 conflict in Vietnam and how it eventually morphed into what we know as the Vietnam War, and how New Zealand became involved.
Subsequent chapters are each dedicated to a specific operation undertaken by Victor 3 Company. The author has a clear, concise style in which events are outlined simply and in a straightforward, easy to follow but very readable way. The chapters are broken into smaller blocks which flow well but break up the overall text into easily digested bite sized chunks. This format, combined with the writing style, makes for a quick but informative and entertaining read.
Kellett has also made use throughout the text of personal recollections of specific incidents from other members of Victor 3 Company. These cover everything from light-hearted, off-duty moments to intense experiences during contacts and certainly add a human perspective to the narrative.
Something that quickly becomes obvious is the professionalism and skill levels of Victor 3 Company. This unit’s members were highly trained and clearly skilled at close country combat operations. High levels of proficiency at tracking, movement, daily routine and ambushing all played a significant part in their success….and you can’t help but be in awe of the huge number of claymores they had to carry, and clearly used to significant effect.
This book not only fills a notable gap in our military history by detailing the operations of Victor 3 Company, but it will also become a taonga to the whanau of any Victor 3 veteran. Whether Grandad, Dad, Uncle or other family member told you a lot about what he did, or never mentioned a thing about Vietnam, this book will take the reader into his world. Courage And Comradeship explains what he did and how he did it, and it provides an insight into why he may have chosen to consign Vietnam to his past and never talked about it.
Courage And Comradeship is thoroughly recommended. Anyone with an interest in post WW2 New Zealand Army operations, close country operations, or more specifically; exactly what Victor 3 Company did in Vietnam, will find plenty here. Bob Kellett has done a superb job telling the unit stories and created a worthy record of their service for future generations to understand and appreciate.
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