laststandonzombieisland

Private Peter Fyfe of Midway Point, Tasmania (pop. 2,000), assigned to the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australia Regiment (3RAR) refilling his canteen in a local waterway during operations in Phouc Tuy Province, Republic of Vietnam in April 1971.

Note Fyfe’s camouflaged weapon, the ubiquitous Springfield Armory-designed 40mm M79 grenade launcher. The single-shot break-action breechloader could be fired at ranges anywhere from 30 meters (the minimum distance to arm the grenade) out to 400 meters for indirect fire. It could be surprisingly accurate against bunker/vehicle-sized objectives.

Known by a host of nicknames among American troops in Vietnam including the “Thumper” and the “Blooper” (read “The Phantom Blooper” by Gustav Hasford), Ozzies tended to label it the “Wombat gun” for their own regional reasons.

From 1962 to 1973, more than 60,000 Australians served in the Vietnam War. Some 523 died as a result of the war (including no less than 28 men of 3RAR) and almost 2,400 were wounded