The bloke in this photograph is believed to be Michael Turner and was taken in August 1970.

Michael Turner, ex 2793652 arrived in South Vietnam on 08 July 1970 as one of the many RA Infantry Reinforcements posted to the 1st Australian Reinforcement Unit.

Unlike many of the young infantry soldiers posted to Vietnam, Michael's tour of duty was short but dramatic and action packed, for want of better descriptive words.

During his initial settling in and acclimatisation period, Mike's tour was pretty routine stuff; the normal training and ambush "training" TAOR patrols; the Mess and piquet duties required via the roster system to guard the 1 ARU sector of the wire all seemed to flow into one another.

All this was due to change on the afternoon of 21 July 1970.

On that day Michael Turner was one of a patrol that was to set up an ambush under the control of a young CMF officer. The patrol moved out through the wire around about 1500 hours and moved only a short distance into an old cemetery area. There they set up a secure harbour position, had a meal and waited for the darkness of night to provide cover for them.

At roughly 1930 hours, when it was well and truly dark, the patrol commander called in Artillery beginning at 1,000 metres out and dropping 200 metre after each salvo of three rounds. In one of those unfortunate incidents of war, the artillery rounds landed on the patrol's position; killing two diggers and wounding approximately another five.

On the 30 July 1970, Michael Turner was one of three 1 ARU reinforcements who joined Defence & Employment, (D&E) platoon, all of whom are believed to have been present at the incident mentioned above.

On the 7 August 1970, as a result of previous work the platoon had carried out, D&E were given an opportunity to ambush in the area roughly bordered by the Warbies, Nui Nghe and Nui Dat. Trucked to a particular location, the platoon put to in a secure harbour position and waited till darkness fell.

It was one of those pitch black nights, where one could not see one's hand in front of one's face. As D&E Platoon moved off, the rain came down and continued for the rest of the night. Occasionally flashes of lightning lit up the whole platoon as they marched in single file. After marching many thousand's of metres they reached the desired area of operations.

Within days the tactics paid off. On the 11 August, the platoon initiated a successful ambush against a platoon sized local Viet Cong Unit.

By 15 August 1970, D&E Platoon had returned to Nui Dat. But there was no rest for the platoon.

August 29, 1970 saw the commencement of Operation Massey-Harris. Michael Turner was one of a number of D&E Platoon diggers who were sitting on the top of APC, callsign 13 A, and named "The Nympho" that ran over a mine, estimated to be 30 pound of explosive. The explosion killed the Bushman Scout who was accompanying them; eight D&E Platoon diggers received injuries to various degrees, and the APC Crew Commander was badly injured whilst his driver was okay.

Michael Turner was amongst those diggers returned to Australia, arriving on 9 September 1970, as a result of his injuries.