Stuart Paul Weir Brigadier Stuart Paul Weir DSO , MC ( 29 December 1922 – 3 December 2004 ) was a senior officer in the Australian Army , seeing service during the Second World War , Korean War , the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War . He subsequently commanded the 1st Australian Task Force in South Vietnam in 1969 – 1970 . Biography . Born on 29 December 1922 in Canterbury , Victoria , the son of a manager of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company , Weir spent his childhood in Fiji . He was subsequently educated at Camberwell Grammar School in Melbourne , Victoria . After joining the Australian Army in 1938 he graduated from the Royal Military College , Duntroon as a lieutenant in the infantry in June 1942 at the age of 20 . Transferring to the 2nd Australian Imperial Force ( AIF ) , he subsequently served in New Guinea during the Second World War . Weir married Loloma Green of Richmond in 1944 ; the daughter of a missionary , Green had also grown up in Fiji and the couple later had a son , Tony . Weir was later awarded the Military Cross for his actions as a platoon commander in the 2 / 3rd Battalion fighting against the Japanese near Wewak in February 1945 . A regular officer , Weir continued to serve in the post - war Interim Army . As a captain he was posted to Army Headquarters before being discharged from the AIF in 1948 following the establishment of the Australian Regular Army . As a major Weir commanded a company of the 1st Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment ( 1 RAR ) against Chinese forces in Korea in 1952 – 1953 , before holding instructional positions at Duntroon , the Staff College at Queenscliff and the UK Staff College , Camberley . He went on to command 1 RAR during counter - insurgency operations in the Malayan Emergency in 1960 – 1961 . Promoted to colonel in 1964 he was appointed Deputy Director of Military Operations and Plans at Army Headquarters in Canberra , a position he held until 1967 . From January to August 1969 he served as acting commander of the 1st Division in Sydney , New South Wales , as a brigadier . Weir took over as Commander 1st Australian Task Force ( 1 ATF ) in South Vietnam on 1 September 1969 . Believing that 1 ATF ' s primary role was to find and destroy Viet Cong main force concentrations and bases in the remote areas of the province , he moved away from the population protection operations of his predecessor and returned to earlier tactics which saw attrition of communist forces as paramount . Reflecting his aggressive approach , during his tenure the Australians conducted 21 major operations . These operations proved effective and the Viet Cong were unable to mount a major offensive in Phuoc Tuy Province during this time . Meanwhile , following signs that the main forces had left the province Weir pursued the local forces . By early 1970 the Viet Cong 274th Regiment in the Hat Dich no longer posed a threat to the task force , while D440 and D445 Provincial Mobile Battalions were reported to have left the province . After nine - months in command Weir handed over to Brigadier William Henderson on 31 May 1970 . Shortly after returning to Australia he suffered a heart attack and was medically retired from the Army in 1971 . He was later awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his command in Vietnam . Weir subsequently settled in Buderim , Queensland , with his wife , and in his later years enjoyed golf , historical research , gardening , painting and writing . He died on 3 December 2004 .