Honour for our Battle of Long Tan war heroes was a long time coming

THE battle of Long Tan was an historic moment in Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War, but for the group of young soldiers who fought there struggled for recognition for years.

Australian soldiers during the commemorative service at the location of the Battle of Long Tan, on August 18, 1969.

THE sound of bagpipes playing a lament rang out from a clearing in a former rubber plantation in Vietnam. The pipers stood beside an honour guard of men from the 6th Battalion, Royal Australia Regiment, surrounding a freshly erected wooden cross.

The solemn ceremony took place on August 18, 1969, the third anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan. Some were veterans of the battle, all had come to honour the dead and remember the bravery of those who fought.

Long Tan saw the single biggest loss of Australian troops on one day in Vietnam. In 1987 the anniversary was officially adopted as Vietnam Veteran’s Day but, 50 years on, some of the men involved have only recently been decorated for their actions in that famous battle.

In the early hours of August 17, 1966 the Australian base at Nui Dat was shelled by the Vietcong. The Australians sent out patrols to try to find the source of the shelling. Intelligence had been received that a Vietnamese divisional headquarters was moving toward Long Tan, but that intelligence was ignored.

When D Company 6 RAR was sent out on August 18 to continue the search for the Vietnamese guns they ran into North Vietnamese troops at a rubber plantation near the abandoned village of Long Tan. The 108-man strong Australian force was up against an estimated force of between 1000-2000 Vietnamese, dressed in regular army green rather than the black normally favoured by the VC. With no immediate hope of reinforcements, unable to withdraw and unwilling to leave behind their wounded, the Australians held out against the Vietnamese in the pouring rain for more than four hours. They were aided by the artillery who had been called to lay down a curtain of fire to hold off the waves of attack by the VC. Those who made it through were mowed down by the Australians whose commander Major Harry Smith had fortunately put on a reverse slope.

17/08/2006 FEATURES: A commemorative cross is put in position in the area where Eleven Platoon soldiers were trapped in the battle at Long Tan. The ceremony took place on 18/08/60 (1969) when sixth Battalion were on their second tour of Vietnam.

When a company in armoured personnel carriers arrived, scattering the VC, the battle was over. The eventual toll was more than 20 Australians wounded and 18 dead. Officially the tally of VC dead was 245, but some accounts suggest that the VC had dragged away some of their dead and many of their wounded may have died later.

News of the battle reached Australia on August 19, broadcasting on radio and TV before the families of the dead had been notified. It was shocking news and the Minister for External Affairs Sir Paul Hasluck warned that “the present outlook is for a long and hard struggle”.

Although there had been Australian troops in Vietnam since 1962, the first major force of Australian conscripts only arrived in June 1965. Public opinion was still largely in favour of the war, but there were fears that such a large death could have a negative impact on public sentiment.

The North Vietnamese trumpeted a huge victory at Long Tan, saying they had killed 500 men and destroyed 21 tanks, even though Australian forces in Vietnam didn’t have tanks at the time.

Warrant Officer Jack Kirby (left) and Major Harry Smith fire an enemy gun captured from the Viet Cong.

It soon became apparent that the Australian troops had avoided a much worse toll in their stoic fight against overwhelming odds. After the battle, Smith recommended several of his men for medals for gallantry and even a Victoria Cross for Warrant Officer Jack Kirby, but the army was stingy with their honours. A quota system limiting the number of medals given out and the number given to particular companies resulted in some of the recommended medals being downgraded and some of the men denied any kind of decoration.

The South Vietnamese government even had to cancel a ceremony in 1966 to award the South Vietnam Cross of Gallantry to some of D Company when word came from the Australian government that accepting foreign military awards was not allowed. The men were given dolls and lacquered cigar boxes instead. Some refused to pose for a propaganda photo with their presents.

Army PR photo showing some members of D Company 6 RAR with dolls etc presented instead of medals. Other recipients were so disgusted that they refused to be in this propaganda photo Back Row Kendall, Buick, Peter, Moore (dead), Magnussen, Campbell Front Row Grimes, May, Akell, Bextram, Roche - Vietnam War australian armed forces Battle of Long Tan survivors

The battle was downplayed within the army for fear that making out the men of D Company to be heroes would make them unpopular with other troops. The ceremony of erecting the cross at Long Tan in 1969 gave some much-needed recognition to the Long Tan veterans and those who had fallen.

Smith fought for decades to have his men properly awarded and earlier this month 10 of them received medals or upgrades to existing honours. Unfortunately his request for a Victoria Cross for Kirby was denied.

Acknowledgment: The Battle of Long Tan by David W. Cameron, Penguin Viking, $35

Originally published as Honour for our Battle of Long Tan war heroes was a long time coming