Attending the Vietnam Veterans Day commutation service at ST MARYS RSL CLUB. Lest we forget. On this day 48 years ago, the men of Delta Company, 6th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment withheld an enemy attack in a rubber plantation at Long Tan in Vietnam. Vastly outnumbered against their Viet Cong opponents, the Australians would lose 18 men in battle that day. It was a defining battle in Australia’s 10 year engagement in Vietnam. And its anniversary has become the day when a nation now acknowledges, with grateful thanks, those men who served their nation in the Vietnam War. Thanks, it should always be acknowledged, that was far too long in coming. Five hundred and twenty one Australians were killed in action in Vietnam. Three thousand were wounded in action and they returned home carrying the scars of the battle – both physical and emotional. Those who returned home were never properly honoured for their work serving their nation at their nation’s request. The physical and mental scars left by the war are still evident for many of those who served and their families. Long overdue, the welcome home parade for Vietnam Veterans in 1987 saw the genesis for this Memorial here in our nation’s capital, a perpetual and ever-lasting reminder of the service and sacrifice of the almost 60,000 Australians who served in the Vietnam War.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 08:42:06 +0000
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