The Story of New Zealand's Victor 3 Company

Vietnam 1968-1969

Lieutenant Colonel (Rtd) Bob Kellett

In 1965 the Holyoake Government, bending to heavy pressure from the USA and Australia, committed New Zealand combat troops to the Vietnam War.

Victor 3 Company, a New Zealand Infantry unit, fought in South Vietnam as part of a joint Australian/New Zealand battalion, 4 RAR/NZ (ANZAC) Battalion. This unit saw active service in Vietnam from May 1968 until May 1969, which was a period when the US military were losing more than 500 men killed in action each week.

Victor 3 Company’s clashes with the enemy in the jungles of Vietnam were invariably fierce firefights fought at very close range. Nevertheless, these young New Zealand soldiers acquitted themselves particularly well, demonstrating high standards of courage and comradeship, earning Victor 3 Company the distinction of being one of the highest decorated New Zealand units in the Vietnam War.

This book tells the story of Victor 3 Company’s Vietnam War.