The Battle of Long Tan

Here in the good ole USA we tend to forget that a number of other nations had forces in Vietnam, but there were troops there from several other countries, including Australia.

Now a group of Australian veterans of the now-almost-forgotten Battle of Long Tan are petitioning their government for medals honoring the bravery and sacrifice of the Diggers of Delta Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, as the 40th anniversary of that battle approaches. The Australian forces were outnumbered by at least 20-to-1, yet fought steadily over a two-day period to repel an advancing force of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong guerillas.

The Australian government has steadfastly refused to honor their service with appropriate medals for bravery, even though later firefights that were less costly and more routine resulted in medals for the participants.

The History Channel has scheduled a documentary about the Battle of Long Tan for August 16th -- it ought to be worth watching, to get another view of the Vietnam War.

I picked up a copy of the book when I visited the Australian Vietnam Veterans Museum when I was in Australia in early 2004, and it is a fascinating read.

BTW, the Diggers, like their American counterparts, also had extreme difficulties in getting their own PTSD issues recognized by the government, as demonstated in yet another book I picked up in Australia, The Battle After the War, by Ambrose Crowe.

The Australians unfortunately have a long history of being used and abused as the instruments of Empire -- you don't have to look any farther than The Battle of Gallipoli for proof of that.

So it would seem from all this that veterans everywhere have a hard time getting the proper respect and acknowledgement from their own governments.