BLACKHURST, Thomas Douglas
| Service Number: | 19983 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV) |
| Born: | Belmont, New South Wales, Australia, 14 October 1946 |
| Home Town: | Belmont, Lake Macquarie Shire, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Soldier |
| Died: | Killed in Action, South Vietnam, 17 April 1971, aged 24 years |
| Cemetery: |
Belmont Cemetery, NSW Cof E ,Row E, Lot 24, |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Canungra - The Grove - AATTV Row of Memory, Grafton Clarence Valley Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Kallangur Vietnam Veterans' Place, Kurri Kurri War Memorial, Port Pirie Vietnam Veterans Honour Wall, Seymour Vietnam Veterans Commemorative Walk Roll of Honour |
Vietnam War Service
| 12 Apr 1967: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Corporal | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Apr 1967: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), 19983, 7th Battalion The Royal Australian Regiment (7RAR) | |
| 21 Jan 1970: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), 19983, 1st Australian Reinforcement Unit, Vietnam | |
| 21 Jan 1970: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Corporal | |
| 28 Feb 1970: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Corporal | |
| 28 Feb 1970: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), 19983, 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR) | |
| 28 May 1970: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Corporal | |
| 28 May 1970: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), 19983, 1st Australian Reinforcement Unit, Vietnam | |
| 22 Oct 1970: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Corporal | |
| 22 Oct 1970: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Corporal, 19983, Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV) |
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19983 Temporary Corporal
Thomas Douglas Blackhurst
Australian Army Training Team Vietnam
Killed in Action when Dust-off Helicopter crash landed on top of him.
Also the 9 Sqn RAAF Chopper that went down they were declared MIA's for quite a while in the case of the 2 Army members on board - NOTE - Cpl Blackhurst was only recently returned to Australia after his body was located in Vietnam.
A memorial in Newcastle's Civic Park to local soldiers killed in Vietnam includes the names of Private Stephen Dickson, Corporal Tom Blackhurst, and Private ‘Ziggy' Trzecinski
Information from Find a Grave Memorial
Two Australians were killed and four wounded when an RAAF medical evacuation helicopter was shot down by a Vietcong rocket-propelled grenade in South Vietnam on Saturday.
The Helicopter was hovering over a landing zone with four RAAF crewmen and a Australian medic on board, when it was shot down.
An Australian soldier who was directing the landing operation, Corporal Thomas Douglas Blackhurst, of Westmead, NSW was killed.
Another soldier, Lance-Corporal John Francis Gilespie of Riverstone, NSW, a member of the 8th Field Ambulance, was also killed. He was inside the helicopter when it crashed.
Information from The Sydney Morning Herald Newspaper April 20 1971 page 2
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