Australians are marking Vietnam Veterans’ Day today, Tuesday, 18 August, which this year also carries the weight of a significant milestone: 60 years since the Battle of Long Tan.
On 18 August 1966, soldiers from Delta Company, 6th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, along with three New Zealanders from 161 Battery, Royal New Zealand Artillery, engaged a much larger Viet Cong and North Vietnamese force in a rubber plantation near Long Tan, in Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam.
“Today, on this 60th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, is an opportunity for Australians to pause, remember and acknowledge the service and sacrifice of a generation of Australians who served, and their families,” NSW Minister for Veterans David Harris said.
Heavily outnumbered and fighting amid torrential rain, the men were supported by timely New Zealand artillery, daring RAAF helicopter resupply sorties and a relief force. After around three hours of intense fighting, 18 Australians had lost their lives and 24 more were wounded.
“The Battle of Long Tan stands as a powerful reminder of the service and sacrifice of diggers during the Vietnam War, a conflict that spanned more than a decade and saw Australians serve on land, in the air and at sea,” Mr Harris said.
For years, Long Tan Day served as the unofficial annual commemoration for Vietnam veterans, before Prime Minister Bob Hawke formally named 18 August as Vietnam Veterans’ Day in 1987.
More than 60,000 Australians served in the Vietnam War over more than a decade, including almost 19,000 National Servicemen. The Australian War Memorial’s Roll of Honour records 524 service members who lost their lives due to their service in Vietnam, plus two others who died in Thailand while supporting Vietnam operations.
A number of services are being held around the region today.
Applications for the Long Tan Bursary also opened today, offering eligible children and grandchildren of Vietnam veterans up to $12,000 over three years towards tertiary education costs.
For more information about Vietnam Veterans’ Day, the Battle of Long Tan and commemorative resources, visit the Anzac Portal.
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