On 8 November, 1965 during a brigade sized operation, Operation HUMP, 14/65, conducted by 173rd Airborne Brigade from 4 to 9 November, 1965 about 18 km northeast of Bien Hoa (See Diagram) the Officer Commanding A Company "Major John Healy directed Sergeant Gordon Peterson's platoon to take up the lead" of the A Company advance. "The road now took a turn before going up onto Hill 82. Lance Corporal 'Tiny' Parker took a bearing with his compass to the top of the hill and signalled to his scout, Private Ted Townsend, to move in that direction.
The lower slopes of the hill had been cleared and there were several clusters of wooden benches signifying a training area close to a camp. Townsend and Parker emerged from the jungle into the cleared area.
Private Geoff Cave told reporters later:
I was the third man in the lead section and was carrying the machine gun. We were probing thick jungle and were coming up to a ridge. The two blokes in front of me [Townsend and Parker] were in a clear patch and I was just going into it when the Viet Cong opened up. They were using at least four machine guns from a distance of 20 to 30 yards [18 to 27 metres] from in front and both sides. The other two guys were hit. I returned fire, but I think my machine gun was hit because it stopped. I scrambled up to Townsend and started firing at the enemy using his rifle. He and I started to crawl back. I took a hit in the head but kept crawling.
Townsend and Cave were able to crawl back safely to the remainder of the platoon in the tree line. The second section had moved up at the sound of firing and its commander Corporal Danny Hayes fell with a wound to his arm and his scout, Private Tom Baxter, also fell with wounds to the arm and lower back. The remainder of the platoon had closed up and were now exchanging fire with Viet Cong positioned in bunkers. Sergeant Gordon Peterson and the acting Platoon Sergeant, Corporal Trevor Hagan, quickly ordered those not pinned down by enemy fire into a hasty defensive position. First aid was being administered frantically to Townsend, Cave, Hayes and Baxter. The Diggers of 1 Platoon were unable to manoeuvre because of the crossfire of machine guns sited to each flank and on the crest of the hill.
The pressure was now on John Healy. He had crawled forward and was in time to stop Hagan leading what would have been a suicidal assault to take out the bunker that faced them and recover Parker who had been firing his rifle but had been silent for a few minutes." …"Healy had assessed that the bunker system his men faced was too extensive for his company to take alone. His plan was to extract Peterson's men using fire support from another platoon and artillery; the other platoon would have to assault from a flank to take out the bunker directly threatening Peterson's men. He ordered Peterson to keep his men where they were and return fire until he could relieve the pressure so they could withdraw safely with their casualties. If possible he hoped the pause in enemy fire would be long enough for members of the platoon to recover Parker as well.
Healy ordered Williams to move his platoon up to the left of the bunker firing on Peterson's men, and take it out from that flank. Williams' soldiers moved quickly and reached a position 300 metres from the bunker. They shook out into an extended line and assaulted. The line of men had only travelled 50 metres when they were engaged by machine gun fire from other bunkers. As Private Peter Gillson was climbing over a great entangled mass of roots between two trees, the Viet Cong shot him. He fell over and two Viet Cong ran over to take his M60 machine gun. He was still conscious and at point blank range lifted the heavy gun and riddled them with bullets.
Williams now attempted to work his men forward using fire and movement within sections. Groups of men covered the rush forward of other groups but the fire was too heavy .The assault stalled and stopped. A machine gun had opened fire from the left rear of the platoon and several khaki-clad soldiers had been seen moving in that area. Williams' platoon was being outflanked.
While Williams reported his situation to Healy by radio, his Platoon Sergeant, Col Fawcett, crawled forward to where Gillson lay wedged in the buttress roots of a large tree. Fawcett could see bullet holes where rounds had exited through the back of Gillson's pack. He got close enough to take Gillson's pulse: there was none. Every attempt Fawcett made to recover Gillson's body was met with prolonged bursts of machine gun fire. Gillson was being hit again and again. With tears of anger and frustration in his eyes, Fawcett gave up his heroic efforts and crawled back to the remainder of the platoon. He was to return twice more to try to get Gillson's body back but each time the firing was too intense."
Trevor Hagan reported that nobody actually had the opportunity to confirm that Parker was dead, as Fawcett had done in the case of Gillson. Parker went to ground where he had been wounded and returned fire for a period of time. After no more firing came from the area where Parker went down, it was assumed that he was dead.