The Lakes Entrance RSL held their Vietnam Veteran’s Day service last Tuesday, which marked the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, the event in history’s page that led to the eventual day of commemoration of Australian participation in the Vietnam War.
LE RSL president Peter Tunnage spoke of how the veteran’s of all three services were involved and served the nation with honour, courage, dignity, and above all else mateship.
“This war was also fought alongside their Kiwi mates from across the ditch, indeed several of the serving battalions carried the prefix RARNZ combined,” he said.
“We were there due in part to the politics of the time driven by the rhetoric of McCarthyism, which was severely anti-communist and espoused the Domino theory as a possibility for the communist takeover of South East Asia and eventually Australia.
“Key historic milestones leading into the conflict – September 2, 1945 Ho Chi Mihn declared Vietnam independent in Hanoi following the August revolution.
“1946-1954 fought the first Indochina war against the French concluding with a victory for the DRV at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.
“In 1954 the Geneva Accords temporarily partitioned Vietnam at the 17th parallel, leaving the DRV in control of the North and a power vacuum of several successive very corrupt governments.
“American involvement was present in the form of military advisors and equipment from the early fifties on until a major escalation in 1964 leading to a full-scale deployment of combat troops following the Gulf of Tonkin Revolution after US Navy destroyers were attacked.
“Australian involvement began in 1962 when a team of military advisors were deployed. This team had the acronym AAATV and at times there were as many as 7600 personnel on deployment.
“In total 60,000 Australians served, resulting in over 500 deaths and some 2400 wounded. 1965-66 saw the establishment of an Australian Base at Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province with 161st RNZA Batteries located close by.
“On August 18, 1966, at around 1600, DCoy 6RAR whilst on patrol in a rubber plantation encountered large numbers of NVA regulars and elements of the Viet Cong and so ensued a four hour long battle that became known as the Battle of Long Tan in which 18 Australians lost their lives.
“The search of the battle ground revealed upwards of 250 enemy soldiers dead along with countless blood trails leading into the dense undergrowth. This was the first major encounter for the Australian and New Zealand Armies with more to come – Operation Bribie 1967, The Battle of Coral Balmoral Fire support bases, The Battle of Binh Ba in 1969, and the final major action was the Battle of Nui Le in 1971.”
In the spirit of the words Lest We Forget, Peter then did a roll call of those who lost their lives as a result of the action at the Battle of Long Tan.
It was poignant to note that they were 22 years old or younger.
