Today is the 50th anniversary of the battle of Long Tan. Sadly the Vietnamese Govt has at the last moment cancelled the homage for veterans families and friends from paying their respects.
We honour our diggers for their bravery and sacrifice and hope that all who have made the difficult return to Vietnam find comfort and solace.
Lest we forget, I lost a few mates in that battle.
aussie_paul said
11:06 AM Aug 18, 2016
Lest we forget.
Aussie Paul.
Desert Dweller said
07:20 PM Aug 18, 2016
It's their country & their call. Would we want a load of foreigners coming over here celebrating a war loss? Probably not.
We seem to be addicted to celebrating our worst military losses. How about turning things around & enjoying a win for a change?
NeilandRaine said
07:24 PM Aug 18, 2016
Desert Dweller wrote:
It's their country & their call. Would we want a load of foreigners coming over here celebrating a war loss? Probably not.
We seem to be addicted to celebrating our worst military losses. How about turning things around & enjoying a win for a change?
Long Tan was a win. Sad thing is Australia never lost a battle in Vietnam but lost the war. I blame the beginning of the leftie influence for that
We let foreigners celebrate whatever they like in this country.
Izabarack said
06:06 AM Aug 19, 2016
I don't see 18 dead as a win. The anniversary is an opportunity to remember the dead and the sacrifice of all those who have served. Let's leave it at that and keep any discussion of politics out of any comments.
Iza
NeilandRaine said
09:15 AM Aug 19, 2016
Izabarack wrote:
I don't see 18 dead as a win. The anniversary is an opportunity to remember the dead and the sacrifice of all those who have served. Let's leave it at that and keep any discussion of politics out of any comments.
Iza
We remember the dead and celebrate their courage. 100 men defeating 2000 is a win in my books and that is what makes Long Tan so important.
goldfinger said
09:42 AM Aug 19, 2016
Without diminishing the ultimate sacrifice made of these gallant Australians.....it was our Australian Artillery with its cover fire that saved the day for us....if the Vietnamese had Artillery as well, things would no doubt have been drastically different....not really about 100 against 2000 IMO....my brother was Artillery Gunnery Sergeant in Vietnam /105 Battery.....I don't think the Vietnam conflict can ever be discussed in terms of winning or losing.....we were in' their' Country..they weren't in ours...similar situation to Gallipoli...where once again the Aussie Digger was placed in a hopeless situation attacking a Country who was defending its Country....look how gallantly we fought in New Guinea in WW2 when we were defending Australia.......just sayin'...Hoo Roo
Mutley said
10:40 AM Aug 19, 2016
Actually it was Aust, NZ & US Arty providing covering fire at Long Tan.
Also, if you read the time-line leading up to the battle, the enemy did have mortars;
"18th Aug 1966 02:43hrs; North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops bombard the Australian Task Force base at Nui Dat for 22 minutes resulting in 67 mortar craters. 24 Australians are wounded one seriously who loses a leg. 7 vehicles are damaged and 21 tents damaged. The enemy artillery mainly and accurately targeted the Australian artillery, engineer lines and the FSCC command post."
6RAR then went out & chased them! Unfortunately for D Coy, they found them! The enemy actually attacked D Coy through the covering Arty in waves! That takes a huge amount of guts!
After a fierce battle, the enemy withdrew upon the arrival of Aust APC's to the battle & disappeared. If that's not a win, I don't know what is!
Duty First! :)
Izabarack said
04:47 PM Aug 19, 2016
Discussing Long Tan in an argument about winners and loosers ignores the original intent of the thread; In Memorandum of the Australians who lost their life there and acknowledgement of the effort put in by the survivors of that battle. Going on about Australians killing more Vietnamese than they did us insults the Vietnamese and sticks it up their noses. Australian access to the site is in danger of being denied. If Vietnamese authorities read the later posts in the thread, I would not blame them for closing off all access to the Long Tan memorial in Vietnam.
Iza
Desert Dweller said
06:48 PM Aug 19, 2016
This country seems to be addicted to military history for some strange reason.
Our Army, Air-force & Navy are minnows compared to many other countries. Our weapons are outdated or other countries castoffs.
All we seem to do is make up a token presence to the USA's targets making them look good to the rest of the world .
We need to take care of our own backyard instead of getting involved with things that really don't concern us.
There was no way that we were going to be invaded by Asian Communists despite the popular ''Domino Theory'' scare campaign being in vogue when we were assisting the ''GOOD OLD US OF A''
What a pointless waste of Aussie lives!
-- Edited by Desert Dweller on Friday 19th of August 2016 07:50:21 PM
NeilandRaine said
04:14 AM Aug 20, 2016
Being big or small is not the point and where they fought does not matter. The point is they did serve with distinction and are proud of their service'
There is a saying "Freedom has a taste the protected will never know"
I would much rather fight a war in another country than in ours.
I did 2 tours of Vietnam and I am proud to of served.
Wizardofoz said
05:49 AM Aug 20, 2016
Good onya Neil and thanks for your service Mate.
brickies said
06:51 AM Aug 20, 2016
What do you think Japan would say if the people of USA wanted to go to the site were the atomic bomb was dropped .
rockylizard said
07:58 AM Aug 20, 2016
brickies wrote:
What do you think Japan would say if the people of USA wanted to go to the site were the atomic bomb was dropped .
(Quote) Despite the clear wishes of the Vietnamese that the focus should not be the Long Tan battle itself, some tour organisers and operators had continued to highlight the battle.
"I was told over three weeks ago that Long Tan was not to be mentioned. The enemy were badly defeated and suffered a lot of casualties and we were not to highlight Long Tan," he said. (UnQuote)
Today is the 50th anniversary of the battle of Long Tan. Sadly the Vietnamese Govt has at the last moment cancelled the homage for veterans families and friends from paying their respects.
We honour our diggers for their bravery and sacrifice and hope that all who have made the difficult return to Vietnam find comfort and solace.
Lest we forget.
Gday...
A small relenting -
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-18/vietnamese-authorities-allow-restricted-access-to-long-tan-site/7761134
Cheers - John
Lest we forget.
Aussie Paul.
It's their country & their call. Would we want a load of foreigners coming over here celebrating a war loss? Probably not.
We seem to be addicted to celebrating our worst military losses. How about turning things around & enjoying a win for a change?
Long Tan was a win. Sad thing is Australia never lost a battle in Vietnam but lost the war. I blame the beginning of the leftie influence for that
We let foreigners celebrate whatever they like in this country.
Iza
We remember the dead and celebrate their courage. 100 men defeating 2000 is a win in my books and that is what makes Long Tan so important.
Also, if you read the time-line leading up to the battle, the enemy did have mortars;
"18th Aug 1966 02:43hrs; North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops bombard the Australian Task Force base at Nui Dat for 22 minutes resulting in 67 mortar craters. 24 Australians are wounded one seriously who loses a leg. 7 vehicles are damaged and 21 tents damaged. The enemy artillery mainly and accurately targeted the Australian artillery, engineer lines and the FSCC command post."
6RAR then went out & chased them! Unfortunately for D Coy, they found them! The enemy actually attacked D Coy through the covering Arty in waves! That takes a huge amount of guts!
After a fierce battle, the enemy withdrew upon the arrival of Aust APC's to the battle & disappeared. If that's not a win, I don't know what is!
Duty First! :)
Iza
This country seems to be addicted to military history for some strange reason.
Our Army, Air-force & Navy are minnows compared to many other countries. Our weapons are outdated or other countries castoffs.
All we seem to do is make up a token presence to the USA's targets making them look good to the rest of the world .
We need to take care of our own backyard instead of getting involved with things that really don't concern us.
There was no way that we were going to be invaded by Asian Communists despite the popular ''Domino Theory'' scare campaign being in vogue when we were assisting the ''GOOD OLD US OF A''
What a pointless waste of Aussie lives!
-- Edited by Desert Dweller on Friday 19th of August 2016 07:50:21 PM
There is a saying "Freedom has a taste the protected will never know"
I would much rather fight a war in another country than in ours.
I did 2 tours of Vietnam and I am proud to of served.
Good onya Neil and thanks for your service Mate.
Gday...
Cheers - John
(Quote) Despite the clear wishes of the Vietnamese that the focus should not be the Long Tan battle itself, some tour organisers and operators had continued to highlight the battle.
"I was told over three weeks ago that Long Tan was not to be mentioned. The enemy were badly defeated and suffered a lot of casualties and we were not to highlight Long Tan," he said. (UnQuote)
www.brisbanetimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/long-tan-battle-commander-harry-smith-says-vietnamese-senstivity-must-be-respected-20160819-gqwyfr.html
Iza
Thank you Neil & Welcome home.
WE WON in Vietnam . YES , WE WON.
We went to Vietnam to stop communism . I Believed I was also doing the right thing . At the time.
History Tells me . I Did.
We WON Vietnam.
Communism , did NOT come out of Vietnam.
WE Won.