CSM WO2 Jack Kirby, D Coy 6RAR

Arguably the backbone and discipline of any infantry company is the Company Sergeant Major (CSM). These soldiers of Warrant Officer rank are part father figure, part teacher and part principle / headmaster. Almost all of the CSM’s I’ve come across have had very strong and unique personalities made up of steadiness, humour, discipline but ultimately a sense of fairness. In the case of D Company (Coy), 6RAR, the CSM was the 31 year old WO2 (Warrant Officer) Jack Kirby.

While the short and nuggetty Major Harry Smith, Officer Commanding (OC) D Coy and the young soldiers strode out on training runs, Jack Kirby was feeling his age and weight. Kirby was a Malaya veteran and naturally a big build. Unable to keep up on the runs, he nevertheless plugged along, always finishing and earning the respect of the soldiers. At the Battle of Long Tan he was to deepen and broaden their regard with his steadiness, bravery and humour.

Throughout the battle “Big Jack” Kirby disregarded his own safety while braving enemy fire to distribute ammunition. Kirby continuously exposed himself to enemy fire to carry wounded Australian’s over his shoulder back to the Company Aid Post. At a critical point in the battle Kirby rushed out of the D Coy perimeter to silence a wheeled enemy heavy machine gun which was setting up less than 50 metres away from the Australians. He knew in just a few moments this heavy machinegun would be able to strafe and decimate the Australians. Kirby killed the enemy machinegun crew, rushed back and continued to carry on handing out ammunition, moving around the entire company position and giving out words of encouragement to the D Coy soldiers.

Here are just some highlights of what CSM Jack Kirby was doing throughout the battle:

• The Australian choppers banked over the tree tops, kicked out the ammunition and it crashed down into the centre of D Coy’s position, only metres away from Kirby, but was securely packed in boxes. It was needed at once as many of D Coy’s soldiers were down to 15 rounds of ammunition each. Kirby and Sgt Rankin had trouble trying to break open the boxes to get at the ammo, it seemed to take ages. And firing could be heard to their front again…belts of machinegun ammunition and rifle ammo were carried back to the CHQ position and thrown to each group….magazines were refilled and firing at the enemy resumed.
• Kirby turned up near Private Brian Reilly’s position and called to the nearby diggers: “Do you know who that is? No? Well, shoot ‘im!”
• Kirby noticed a wounded machinegunner, Private Webb, and ran up to the exposed position, picked up the tall soldier and carried him back to the Company Aid Post. Webb’s M60 machinegun could not be retrieved so Kirby had to put it out of action by firing a few rounds into it.
• Out on the thin perimeter of D Coy, Corporal Laurie Drinkwater was watching the area to his front when Kirby came by and called : “Drinky, you can shoot anyone you don’t know!”
• Private Brian Reilly heard Kirby call out, pointing to a group of enemy, “Do you know who that is? No? Well shoot the bastard!”
• With the ammunition starting to run low again, Kirby went over to the three man New Zealand forward artillery party and took their unused magazines, leaving them one magazine each. Throughout the embattled D Coy position, Kirby continued to move around underneath the flights of bullets, steadying soldiers. A long standing joke in the company was Kirby’s insistence that Private Harry Esler was in fact Private Ralph, who had last been heard of on patrol in Malaya. “You remind me of the bludger”, Kirby would say to Esler; and on his journey around the perimeter that afternoon, Kirby would remark: “How are you Private Ralph?” And “You’re not going to get back if you don’t watch out”. Undismayed, Esler would reply: “I will. You make sure you do!”
• At a critical point in the battle Jack rushed out of the D Coy perimeter to silence a wheeled enemy heavy machine gun which was setting up less than 50 metres away from the Australians. He knew in just a few moments this heavy machinegun would be able to strafe and decimate the Australians. Jack killed the enemy machinegun crew and rushed back with the enemy firing at him all the way.
  

  2Lt Dave Sabben surveys the Long Tan battlefield on 19 August. Enemy dead lie beside their 7.62mm heavy machinegun which was silenced by CSM Jack Kirby.

• Kirby again made it around to Esler, doling out the meagre ammunition available and asking Harry Esler, “You alright Private Ralph? Doing a good job?” Kirby then dropped twelve rounds of ammunition by Esler’s side.
• In the midst of the attacks, with no help in sight, one or two of the soldiers began to show signs of strain. Kirby would then place his large hand on the soldier’s shoulder saying, “Get a grip on yourself, son. You’re paid to kill these people and here’s your chance to earn your money. Get over there.” To many of the diggers that long afternoon, Kirby personified the traditional image of a Sergeant-Major. One of the diggers later likened Kirby to the imperturbable British Regimental Sergeant Major who told the redcoats to “do up your buttons, and never mind the spears”.
• On the morning after the battle there were many media and task force HQ personnel crisscrossing the battlefield and making thoughtless remarks about Australian casualties. Sergeant Bob Buick was about to explode when the observant Jack Kirby materialised beside him. Kirby quietly pointed out an area of rubber trees a short distance away: Buick was to be responsible for securing and searching it. This moved Buick away from the scene, gave him something to do, and allowed him to calm down.

CSM Jack Kirby, D Coy 6RAR the morning after The Battle of Long Tan

The tragedy of Jack Kirby’s story is that he was killed six months after the Battle of Long Tan in February 1967 by a friendly artillery salvo misdirected by an inexperienced New Zealand artillery officer.

CSM WO2 Jack Kirby was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) for his actions at Long Tan but many of the veterans, historians and his former commanding officer, Lt Col Harry Smith (RTD) agree that Kirby should have been cited and awarded a Victoria Cross. Unfortunately, immediately after the battle, Harry Smith was only given 18 hours to write and submit all of the citations for his men. Harry did suggest to 6RAR Commanding Officer Lt Col Colin Townsend that Kirby should have got a VC but Townsend said he would only sign a DCM citation.

There have been many precedents for the upgrading of gallantry medals to soldiers throughout all wars (recently some of the other Long Tan veterans) and we believe that Jack Kirby’s gallant and heroic actions at Long Tan are well deserving of a Victoria Cross. Lastly, not a single Victoria Cross was awarded to any soldier in the Task Force, despite 500 men being killed in action.

*Keith Payne, Kevin Wheatley, Ray Simpson and Peter Badcoe were awarded a Victoria Cross in Vietnam but they were part of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV) and not 1 Australian Task Force.

During the Vietnam War a secret radio intelligence and tracking unit from the Australian Army – 547 Signal Troop – was stationed at Nui Dat in support of 1 Australian Task Force (1ATF).

As you will see in the diagram below, believe it or not this secret Australian Army radio tracking unit was, for 16 days right up until 4 days before the Battle of Long Tan, tracking the radio transmitter of the Vietnamese 275 Viet Cong Regiment as it moved from its base area through to when it stopped just short of the Long Tan rubber plantation. This is the regiment comprising 2,500 soldiers who would fight against D Company, 6RAR during the Battle of Long Tan only a few days later on 18 August 1966. Intelligence indicating a possible enemy regiment of 2,500 men being in the vicinity of the Long Tan rubber plantation was not shared with Australian combat commanders like Major Harry Smith who led D Coy, 6RAR during the battle. However, it is important to remember that throughout all wars and conflicts intelligence assessments are just that, assessments. It is always easy in hindsight to say certain pieces of intelligence were proven after the fact but in this case most rational people would argue that this type of information should have been shared with combat commanders as it my alter their planned force disposition, tactics, routes and even the levels of ammunition they take out on patrol.

Click on image for larger version

The interesting aspect of this unit’s operation and the Battle of Long Tan is that the intelligence was only shared with Major Dick Hannigan (the task force operations officer), the two intelligence officers on the task force headquarters, and Brigadier Jackson himself. Information arising from these measures was available to battalion commanders such as Col Colin Townsend Commanding Officer of 6RAR, but they could not be told its source. Such security was maintained to prevent the enemy deducing that their radio traffic was being monitored. But the habitual secrecy also meant that officers other than those of the Intelligence Corps had no experience in interpreting, evaluating or even understanding the strengths and limitations of this form of information. Jackson, for one, had not been exposed to signals intelligence before. As a result his ability to use it, as far as the signals intelligence officer was concerned, was ‘very limited’. Commanders who had to act on the information were not able to assess its reliability for themselves.

But, as you will read in the extract below there were also some other human and personality factors involved in the whole intelligence story behind the Battle of Long Tan. This intelligence also partly or fully explains why Brigadier Jackson delayed sending the relief force comprising soldiers of A Coy, 6RAR and the APC’s for more than hour to assist D Coy during the battle. In his position of overall commander he would be worried about a direct attack on the task force base as the intelligence also indicated another enemy regiment, 274 Regiment also comprising 2,500 soldiers was to the North West of Nui Dat and therefore sending any reinforcements to D Coy would weaken the Nui Dat defences even further.

You can download an (.PDF) extract outlining the fascinating background to the intelligence relating to the Battle of Long Tan below as well as a good document outlining the history of the Australian Army’s 547 Signal Troop during the Vietnam War:

• Battle of Long Tan Intelligence Outline (.PDF 505K) – extracted from Ian McNeill’s book ‘To Long Tan: Australian Army and the Vietnam War, 1950-66 (Official History of Australia’s Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts, 1948-75)’ Allen & Unwin Australia, 1993.
• History of 547 Signal Troop, Australian Army (.PDF 794K)

This information was not known to Lex McAulay who wrote the first book about the Battle of Long Tan back in 1986 or the majority of Long Tan veterans until some 25 years after the battle.

In making of our award winning Battle of Long Tan documentary we simply couldn’t cover this topic as it is a story in its own right and we would have had to sacrifice other content. However, we will be including this fascinating aspect of the Long Tan story in the storyline of the upcoming movie.

Click on this link to download The Battle of Long Tan Fact Sheet (.pdf document).

Here is just a sample of some of the Facts & Figures:

A wounded Corporal Buddy Lea from, 10 Platoon, D Company in hospital shortly after the battle. He was shot twice while helping the injured Sgt Paddy Todd back to the D Company aid post.

NVA and VC

It was actually minus 3 degrees Celsius this day and Palmerston North had the worst snow storm in living memory the day before we scheduled to film these scenes. These amazing gunners actually did the scene recreations for the entire day in the freezing cold with cold water being poured over them from an Army fire truck!

Capt. Morrie Stanley who was the Forward Artillery Observer during the Battle of Long Tan was there with us while we filmed which really spurred on the NZ gunners!

The Artillery piece is a M101A1 105mm L1A1 Howitzer and it was firing blanks.

Just imagine that 18 of these artillery guns were each firing 6-8 rounds per minute for more than 5 hours non stop in a lightning monsoon storm in support of D Company 5km’s away in the heat of the battle!

Emotional 60 Minutes story on the Battle of Long Tan from Red Dune Films on Vimeo.

Background

The background to this amazing story is a mini event in its own right! It took me many, many months of tough discussions and negotiations, some directly with the Vietnamese Government but also many conversations through the Australian Consul General in Ho Chi Mihn City, Mal Skelly and the Australian Military Attache in Hanoi, Capt John Griffith. Once I secured permission from the Vietnamese government to film in Vietnam, we tracked down the former Viet Cong commanders who fought against the Australians through some amazing local Vietnamese contacts Al and Ahn Davis based in Vung Tau. Ahn’s Uncle was actually in the Viet Cong.

It was an amazing and humbling experience to film in Vietnam as well as spend so much time with the very brave and hospitable Vietnam veterans of the Battle of Long Tan. We had representatives of the Vietnamese Government with us at all times but they were very friendly and very supportive. This great experience allowed us to pass on these contacts to the 60 Minutes team.

Producer Hamish Thomson from 60 Minutes had been in contact with me for some time after we announced the movie project back in 2005. In preparation for our 40th Anniversay activities, Graham Cassidy and I met with Hamish and John Westacott and agreed to organise a trip to Vietnam with two of the former Australian Long Tan commanders. After speaking with the commanders it was agreed that Dave Sabben former platoon commander of 12 Platoon and Bob Buick former platoon sergeant for 11 Platoon would go.

We also organised for a reporter and photographer from The Australian to go on the trip as well.

I won’t give away the ending of the 60 Minutes story, suffice to say it was totally unexpected and it made the front cover of The Australian newspaper the weekend before the 60 Minutes story aired. The 60 Minutes story went to air on Sunday 13 August, just 3 days prior to the premier of our documentary on The History Channel.

Postscript – August 2008

In addition, here is the 60 Minutes postscript from 17 August 2008. This story recaps the original story and also covers the recently announced Federal Government review and subsequent upgrade of the medals for the Long Tan veterans:

60 Minutes Battle of Long Tan Postscript Story from Red Dune Films on Vimeo.