Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

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On the 19th July 1969, Cpl Peter Bunn was the Company medic in 'C' Company of the 9th Battalion when 7 Platoon, led by 2Lt Bruce Osborn was ambushed in a Viet Cong bunker complex.
The entire first section of the platoon (led by Cpl Andrew Ochiltree MM) immediately came under heavy small arms fire- and seven of the section’s eight men were wounded. The forward scout- Pte Ray Kermode, was killed.

Three men from the platoon’s second section (Pte Greg Salmon; Pte Don Tate; and Pte John Walker) were ordered to move forward into a storm of enemy fire (involving heavy machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades) to bring fire to bear on the enemy bunkers that had pinned the remnants of Ochiltree’s section down.

Pte Walker and Pte Tate were also wounded during this movement, both severely, while Pte Salmon gained the cover of a small tree and began sustained covering fire for which he was eventually awarded a Military Medal.

Cpl Peter Bunn made his way forward into the killing field and began to carry some of the wounded men back down the slope to safety on his shoulders at great personal risk- including Pte Tate. While others also moved forward to assist in due course, Cpl Bunn’s actions during the heat of battle undoubtedly prevented some of the wounded men from being killed.

One day after the 9th Battalion returned to Australia at tour’s end in December of that year, Peter Bunn was killed in a car accident.