VIETNAM VETERANS DAY – 18th August
This year, the national commemoration to mark Vietnam Veterans Day will be held at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington.
161 Battery, Royal New Zealand Artillery was the first New Zealand combat unit to go to Vietnam in July 1965. It was based at Bien Hoa airbase with the US 173rd Airborne Brigade until June 1966.
161 Battery moved under 1ATF control in June 1966. The 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) was based at Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy province.
In August 1966, 161 Battery, participated in the Battle of Long Tan.
Between May and June 1968 New Zealand, Australian and United States forces were involved in a series of actions at Fire Support Bases Coral and Balmoral, around 20 kilometres north of Bien Hoa city. Based at Coral and nearby Coogee, 161 Battery helped fight off several strong attacks from North Vietnamese forces in this area.
In May 1971, 161 Battery RNZA was withdrawn from Vietnam.
The battery was involved in 17 major operations during their time in Vietnam. It was the longest serving Allied unit in South Vietnam after the 173rd Airborne Brigade, having been continuously deployed for six years, ten months and 21 days.
Approximately 750 members of the 161st Battery served in Vietnam with a loss of 5 killed and 22 wounded.
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
-
61.7% Summer
-
36.7% Winter
-
1.6% Other - I'll share below
Loading…
