Ian Hutchison
Biography
Captain Hutchison graduated from the Royal Military College in December 1960 and was allotted to infantry. He served with 2 RAR until January 1965 as a platoon commander in Malaya and later as OC Demonstration Platoon Jungle Training Centre Canungra and 21C Support Company.
Between January 1965 and February 1967 he was GSO3 (Trg) TF HQ, HQ 1 Div and later GS03 (Ops) HQ 1 ATF in South Vietnam.
The term ‘Red Rats’ was affectionately bestowed on the 1st Australian Task Force in Phuoc Tuy Province by the South Vietnamese peasants. Its derivation stems from the red kangaroo which was initially painted on all the Task Force vehicles. As the Vietnamese had never seen a kangaroo, and as there was therefore no comparable word for it in their language, they inevitably called it ‘the red rat’.
Contributions
| Title | Date Published |
|---|---|
| The ‘Red Rats’ and Phuoc Tuy |
