About the Book


The Book Covers:

  • Background to the Vietnam War.

  • Commitment of New Zealand troops to the War.

  • Pre-deployment training in New Zealand and Malaysia.

  • Detailed descriptions of active service operations.

  • Victor 3 Company Honours and Awards.

  • Post-Vietnam experiences and challenges.




Publication Date: May 2022

RRP: $50.00 NZD

Size: 180mm x 245mm

Extent: 258 pages

Illustrations: Photos and maps

Binding: Cased and dustjacketed

ISBN: 978-0-473-60064-8

“Boom! Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam! The claymores exploded and the M60 machinegun spread an angry hail of bullets onto the jungle trail. Frantic scrambling into positions, followed by carefully rehearsed ambushing drills. Silence again as the clearing group check the killing zone. Two dead Viet Cong soldiers.”

This extract from Courage and Comradeship describes a scene of sudden and violent death that became all too familiar to the small bands of New Zealand soldiers sent to fight in a deeply unpopular civil war in South Vietnam.

In 1967, bowing to heavy pressure from both the USA and Australia, the Holyoake Government agreed to despatch combat troops to fight alongside forces from the USA, Australia, South Korea, Thailand and The Philippines to assist the South Vietnamese in their struggle against Communist forces. Victor 3 Company was one of the New Zealand infantry units committed to the war in South Vietnam, fighting the well-trained and battle-experienced forces of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army from May 1968 until May 1969.

The author served as a platoon commander in Victor 3 Company for the whole of that period. This was a period when the US military were losing up to 500 men killed in action each week. Victor 3 Company’s clashes with the enemy in the jungles of South Vietnam were invariably fierce close-quarter battle firefights, with usually no more than ten metres separating the opposing forces. The unit’s battles and incidents are described in vivid and powerful terms by some of the soldiers who participated in those actions.

Courage and Comradeship tells how Victor 3 Company was formed, then received extensive jungle warfare training in Malaysia before deploying to South Vietnam. There it fought as an integral part of a joint Australian-New Zealand battalion – 4 RAR/NZ (ANZAC) Battalion which, together with two other Australian infantry battalions, an artillery regiment, plus a number of other combat and support units, comprised the 5000-man strong formation called 1st Australian Task Force, based at Nui Dat in the province of Phuoc Tuy.

Courage and Comradeship highlights the military training, physical and mental commitment, courage and comradeship that bound together this small band of Kiwi soldiers as they pursued and successfully dominated the enemy they met in South Vietnam.