Welcome parade at Dong Ba Thin, 1972

Submitted by Stephen Twiss on
Welcome parade at Dong Ba Thin, 1972

New Zealand's Minister of Defence, Allan McCready [centre], and Ambassador to (South) Vietnam Sir Leonard Thornton attend a welcome parade at Dong Ba Thin, home of the New Zealand Army Training Group Vietnam, March 1972. I'm carrying the flag in the foreground.

Reference

Image courtesy Stephen Twiss

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Submitted by mike.wicksteed on Tuesday, 8 November 2022 - 9:19am

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Sir Leonard Thornton (15 October 1916 – 10 June 1999) had an army career spanning the years 1934-1971. He was commissioned from Duntroon as an RNZA lieutenant in 1937 and retired as Chief of Defence Staff in the rank of lieutenant general. He was appointed NZ Ambassador to SVN in 1972 and returned to NZ in 1974. The officer behind and to his left was the NZ Army's Chief of General Staff, Major General Les Pearce (22 January 1918 – 21 December 2002). He enlisted as a private in 1937 and was the first soldier to rise through the ranks to head the NZ Army as a major general. Both served in 2 NZ Division during WW2.

How to cite this page: ' Welcome parade at Dong Ba Thin, 1972 ', URL: https://www.vietnamwar.govt.nz/photo/welcome-parade-dong-ba-thin-1972, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 14-Nov-2022