Oliver David Jackson Brigadier Oliver David Jackson DSO , OBE ( 24 November 1919 – 7 May 2004 ) was a senior officer in the Australian Army , seeing service during the Second World War and the Vietnam War . After graduating from the Royal Military College , Duntroon , in 1939 he served in the Middle East and New Guinea during the Second World War . Later , he commanded the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam ( AATTV ) and the Australian Army Force Vietnam ( AAFV ) in 1965 – 1966 . In 1966 , he became the first commander of 1st Australian Task Force ( 1 ATF ) in South Vietnam . He subsequently filled a number of senior command and staff positions before retiring in 1974 . He died in 2004 . Early life . Jackson was born in London , England , on 24 November 1919 . The youngest son of Robert Jackson , a professional soldier , and his wife Edith Marguerite ( née Vautin ) ; his siblings included an older brother born in 1915 in Surrey , England , and a sister . Named after his uncle , David , who had been killed at Gallipoli in 1915 while attempting to rescue a wounded soldier , Jackson was known throughout his life as either " O . D . " or David . His father had been commissioned in the Permanent Military Forces ( PMF ) in 1911 , serving in Western Australia . With the outbreak of the First World War Jackson ' s father had joined the Australian Imperial Force ( AIF ) in November 1914 , embarking as adjutant of the 10th Light Horse Regiment . On 29 May 1915 he was wounded at Gallipoli and after recovering in England held a number of staff appointments with the 3rd Division on the Western Front in 1917 – 1918 . Following Jackson ' s birth the family returned to Australia in 1920 so that his father could resume his military career . He subsequently attended a number of schools , completing his secondary education at Scotch College , Melbourne in 1936 , where he was a member of the athletics and rugby teams . Military career . Second World War . Jackson subsequently joined the Australian Army in March 1937 as a regular officer in the PMF . His older brother , Donald , was also a professional soldier , having entered the Royal Military College , Duntroon in 1934 and later also reached the rank of brigadier . After completing his own training at Duntroon , Jackson graduated into the infantry as a lieutenant in December 1939 , following the outbreak of the Second World War two months earlier . Transferring to the 2nd AIF for overseas service , in July 1940 he took up his first appointment commanding a platoon in the 2 / 25th Battalion where he saw action in the Middle East in North Africa and Syria . Meanwhile , Jackson ' s father had been appointed to command Northern Command in May 1940 and was promoted to major general in July . However , the following year he was posted to Western Command and believed that he had been passed over for a combat command after opposing the Brisbane Line strategy , subsequently retiring in early 1942 . By late 1942 Jackson ' s battalion returned from the Middle East , and he later served in New Guinea fighting the Japanese at Gona , as well as in the Ramu Valley , the Finisterre Ranges and the New Guinea north coast . He was subsequently posted to Headquarters 18th Brigade as a major during the period 1943 – 1944 . In June 1944 , he took up a position as an instructor at the Canadian Staff College in Kingston , where he remained until the end of the war . Returning to Australia , Jackson filled a number of staff positions , including postings to the Royal Military College , Army Headquarters and Headquarters Western Command . His father died of pneumonia at Heidelberg , Victoria , on 24 November 1948 . Jackson was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1949 and to colonel in 1951 . On 21 June 1956 , Jackson assumed command of the 1st Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment ( 1 RAR ) in South Korea deployed as part of the UN garrison which had remained there following the end of the Korean War and oversaw the battalion ' s final operational activities before its return to Australia . He subsequently took up a two - year appointment in the United States as Australian Military Attache in Washington . In 1959 he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire ( OBE ) in recognition of his service to the Australian Staff Corps . Vietnam War . In 1961 , he took up the position of Director of Infantry at Army Headquarters . He subsequently commanded the 3rd Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment ( 3 RAR ) in 1963 , before serving as the commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment ( 2 RAR ) in 1963 – 1964 . Ultimately , Jackson was the only officer to command all three of the original battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment . Jackson took over command of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam ( AATTV ) on 5 February 1965 . Following the arrival of Australian ground forces in South Vietnam in May 1965 , he was promoted to brigadier and assumed command of the new headquarters in Saigon , known as the Australian Army Force Vietnam ( AAFV ) . In March 1966 , the Australian government further increased its commitment to the Vietnam War , announcing the deployment of a two - battalion brigade with armour , aviation , engineer and artillery support , designated the 1st Australian Task Force ( 1 ATF ) . Jackson was subsequently appointed as its first commander . Based in Phuoc Tuy Province , South Vietnam , 1 ATF was involved in counter - insurgency operations against the Viet Cong . During his period in command the task force was successfully established at Nui Dat , clearing a security zone around the base and conducting offensive operations to the edge of the Tactical Area of Responsibility , while a number of significant actions were fought , including the Battle of Long Tan , which established 1 ATF ' s dominance over the province . Jackson was later awarded the Distinguished Service Order ( DSO ) for his command of 1 ATF during this period . In June 1967 , Jackson returned to Australia having served nearly two years in Vietnam , and subsequently served on the staff of Australian Headquarters . His final posting was as the Chief of Staff at Headquarters 1st Division , before retiring with the rank of brigadier in May 1974 . Later life . Settling in Sydney in his later life Jackson enjoyed sailing and gardening . Married to Dorothy Honor , the couple had a son and two daughters . Jackson died in Burradoo , New South Wales , on 7 May 2004 , aged eighty - four .