DAWSON, Peter
| Service Number: | 38077 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 4th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (4RAR) |
| Born: | South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 30 October 1942 |
| Home Town: | South Melbourne, Port Phillip, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Soldier |
| Died: | Killed in Action, South Vietnam, 7 March 1969, aged 26 years |
| Cemetery: |
Fawkner Memorial Park Cemetery, Victoria CofE Compartment S Grave 776 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Grafton Clarence Valley Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Holsworthy 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment - Holsworthy Memorial, Kallangur Vietnam Veterans' Place, Port Pirie Vietnam Veterans Honour Wall, Seymour Vietnam Veterans Commemorative Walk Roll of Honour |
Vietnam War Service
| 21 May 1968: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Lance Corporal, 38077, 4th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (4RAR) | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 May 1968: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Corporal, 38077 | |
| 7 Mar 1969: | Involvement AIF WW1, Corporal, 38077, 4th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (4RAR) |
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Corporal Peter “Blue” Dawson, aged 24, from South Melbourne, Victoria enlisted in the Australian Regular Army in August 1963. He was posted to 4RAR and served with D Company in Malaysia and Borneo. Whilst serving in Borneo, Blue participated in secret Claret operations into Indonesia. He sailed with the Battalion to South Vietnam in May 1968.
Blue was a member of the 4RAR/NZ Military Advisory Team (MAT) which moved into Dat Do village in Phuoc Tuy Province on 15 December 1968 to live with and to train the local Regional Force and Popular Force soldiers based in the village. On the night 06-07 March 1969, Blue and two other members of the team accompanied a platoon of 612 RF Company on a night ambush about 150 metres from the tree line that marked the southern edge of Dat Do. Fifteen minutes after the ambush was in place, the rear element came under fire from the tree line killing the squad leader and forcing the platoon to withdraw through platoon headquarters. A burst of machine gun fire struck Blue in the head as he covered their withdrawal and he died soon after.
Information from 4 RAR Associations of Australia
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