It was a rainy day in 1965, when a single company of Australian soldiers fought off an enemy onslaught in a Vietnamese rubber plantation, and won the Battle of Long Tan.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Eighteen Australian diggers died, and the date of the battle on August 18th is now commemorated as Vietnam Veterans' Day, and veterans packed out the Launceston RSL on Thursday to mark the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, guest speaker, RAAF squadron leader (retired) Raylene Garwood, said there were many battles fought in Vietnam.
"But nobody talks about the longest running battle ... a battle that continues to this day. The battle that bows the shoulders of men that have already seen the horrors of conflict and come home to social disdain," she said.
"That battle is the battle for veterans welfare."
She said the modern generation of warriors owed much to the Vietnam veterans, who paved the way for the plight of returned servicemen to be recognised.
Patron of the Launceston sub-branch of the Vietnam Veterans' Association, Brian Harper, spoke of the lasting bonds of comradeship forged during war.
"Your fellow comrades in whichever unit you were in, they were your friends. They were there day to day, we were there for each other."
Launceston Mayor, Albert van Zetten, said it was important that the community never forgot the achievements and sacrifices of its local Vietnam veterans - of the 521 diggers lost in the war, 16 were from Tasmania.
"What they have done is made sure that for each of us, for myself and my family, my grandchildren, that we have the freedom that we have today. We should never lose sight of that," Mr van Zetten said.
At the memorial were Launceston comrades-in-arms, retired Australian Army sergeant, Bob Millwood, and retired RAAF sergeant, David Moles.
Both were professional soldiers that first saw combat in the earlier Malayan Emergency, in the early 1960s, before later arriving in Vietnam to lead the diggers conscripted under the National Service draft.
"Most of them were good lads, they did good work," said Mr Millwood, who served as an infantryman in the second battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment.
"But I never agreed with that type of National Service ... the ballot system in my head was wrong," he said.
Mr Moles, who is from Prospect and served in a helicopter crew in 9th Squadron, RAAF, said he spent the war evacuating casualties, bringing in supplies or providing fire support from the air.
His most vivid memory: "The day I walked into a minefield and picked up a dead digger and carried him back to the chopper," he said.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
