Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

TERENCE MICHAEL DOYLE, 2794720, Lance Corporal, My Brother.
As he was an apprentice, he had his National Service deferred until after he had finished his carpentry Course then it was off to Puckapunyal for 10 weeks of basic training 2 RTB, D COMPANY, 16 PLATOON, 2 Intake, 4 Section and in that 10 weeks he only had two sessions on the grog as after the first drinks there was an almighty punch up between New South Wales, Western Australia and Victoria.
Core training was next up at the school of military engineering SME. Jungle Warfare Training Centre Canungra. It was a wonderful place walking over snakes laying in trenches not being able to move for hours being told to go forward as you were chosen to be their early warning and being given a roll of string to tug on, straight after that it was off to the Vietnam between October 1970 to October 1971.
17th Contraction Squadron was involved in the construction of the Woomera Rocket Range from 1950 to 1954. In 1953 it was also involved in the site construction for project "Two Zero Zero", an atomic weapons test site. Between January and October 1953, the squadron worked to prepare the site ahead of the detonation of the first atomic weapon exploded on the Australian mainland, which took place in October 1953 under the guise of Operation Totem.1970 saw the squadron heavily committed to Project 399, the civil aid program involving the construction of housing for Regional Force soldiers and their families throughout Phuoc Tuy province. The squadron built a total of 410 houses at sites such as Baria, An Nhut, Dat Do, Ong Trinh and Duc Thanh. On 20 September, the unit celebrated its 21st birthday. Later that year, John Sanderson was appointed Officer Commanding. It was at about this time that the unit adopted the "Little Bear" symbol and the motto, "A Little Bear will Fix It" which is well known on Norton's Bear Brand Tape. The little bear was created in the mid-1950s by Sydney cartoonist Syd Miller and has been in extensively since that time. Quarrying me operations during 1970, with the squadron operating Hadfield and Aveling-Barford crushers at three sites. Throughout 1971 several major road projects were completed, as was a 36-metre-long (118 ft) bridge over the Song Rai River. The squadron subsequently returned to Australia, where it moved to Enoggera, Queensland.
Medals Awarded: Australian Active Service Medal 1945-1975 with Vietnam Clasp, Vietnam Medal, Australian Defence Medal, Anniversary of National Service 1951-1972 Medal and Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Unit Citation