Russell Matheson (Macarthur, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is with great honour that I rise today to pay tribute to the men and women of Australia's armed forces who fought for this country in Vietnam between 23 May 1962 and 29 April 1975. The nominal role of the Vietnam veterans includes 61,000 men and women who served in the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force in Vietnam or in the waters adjacent to Vietnam during this time. On Vietnam Veterans Day last week, I was pleased to see survivors of Delta Company 6RAR honoured with a Unit Citation for Gallantry for their actions in the Battle of Long Tan. It is a shame it has taken 45 years for these fine soldiers to be recognised. Let us hope we have learned from our past when recognising the sacrifice and service of our ADF personnel now and into the future.

Not detracting from the inspiring efforts of Delta Company 6RAR and the Battle of Long Tan, today I would also like to make mention of the 103rd Field Battery, who supported Delta Company in the Battle of Long Tan all those years ago. They were part of four artillery units from 1 Field Regiment at Nui Dat, which also included the 161st Field Battery, Royal New Zealand Army; 105th Field Battery, Royal Australian Army; and A Battery, 2nd/35th Howitzer Battalion, US Army. My father was a member of 103 Field Battery and fought gallantly in the battle. It was one of the biggest and most important conflicts in the Vietnam War involving Australian troops. Whilst my father understands and accepts that 103 Field Battery will not receive a citation due military protocols, I believe every member of this battery, and all other support batteries, would be worthy recipients. I have been approached by family members of these men who also believe these soldiers deserve recognition for their efforts during the Battle of Long Tan, even though they were officially attached to 5RAR. It saddened me on Vietnam Veterans Day last week to have a number of phone calls from people crying and reliving their stories. I believe that these support batteries should be shown the respect and honour they deserve. Surely this is not too much to ask.

The battle was one of the most successful campaigns Australian troops have ever been involved in. Eighteen Australians died, while the enemy death toll was put as high as 800. It was August 18 1966 when 108 Australian and New Zealand soldiers of the 6th Battalion, RAR, D Company faced an enemy force of over 2½ thousand. The 103 Field Battery played a pivotal role in this historic battle. Its members pounded the enemy with 1,000 rounds of artillery, a round every 10 seconds, creating a wall of steel around the embattled men of D Company. Revisiting this battle: non-military personnel at the base formed ad hoc teams of labourers and worked through the night in the pouring rain to keep up the supply of ammunition to the guns. The 103 Field Battery had to be resupplied by Iroquois choppers from 9 Squadron RAAF, making the guns a prime target for enemy fire. These men struggled through torrential rain which made aiming the guns almost impossible, leaving gunners to rely on their own intuition to ensure they fired on the enemy and not on the men of D Company. To make a bad situation worse, poisonous cordite fumes from the artillery fire built up a toxic haze around the guns. Despite hardly being able to breathe or even see through the haze, the brave men of the 103rd and 105th field batteries kept up the artillery fire all through the night and into the morning, delivering victory to the Australians. The men involved in the Battle of Long Tan demonstrated courage, bravery and determination in spite of next to impossible conditions.

It is for these reasons that I believe that the members of 103 Field Battery are also worthy of citation. Even though military protocol prevents this citation from happening, I will always be immensely proud of my father, Reg, for his courageous actions on that horrific day. Unfortunately, the Vietnam War was especially cruel to the minds and bodies of returned servicemen because of the strong political anti-war sentiments that were rife at the time. While the success of the Battle of Long Tan will be remembered by generations of Australians to come, we must also consider the effect the war has had on many soldiers, their families and the community. I remember vividly as a young child my father returning from Vietnam. We used to go into his bedroom, where he slept with his eyes open, to try and wake him up. He would jump up and nearly strangle you, reliving the war in Vietnam. He slept with his eyes open. He relived every moment of Vietnam in his dreams. I remember him sleepwalking through the house. Still to this day, when I visit him on holiday, my father relives those memories in his dreams. These are things that I will never forget and they touch me deeply. As a young child it was very, very disturbing to see what was happening to my father, and it still happens to him today and to the many Vietnam Veterans who returned from war, especially those who were involved in the Battle of Long Tan.

There are currently more than 500 Vietnam Veterans living in the Macarthur region. I am a member of the Macarthur branch of Australian Vietnam Veterans and I have always supported its members in whatever I can do, particularly in relation to their health and their wellbeing. The veterans of this group are a fantastic group of men who have all fought gallantly for this country. Now they meet on a daily basis to offer support to each other. They have established a museum in memory of those who fought in Vietnam. I am proud of all our local veterans, not only for their courage during battle but for their strength during the anti-war sentiments that targeted our troops after their return home. My hope is that Australia will never allow Defence Force personnel returning from duty to be treated as Vietnam Veterans were. I know that a number of speakers today have touched on this. There are few who will endure the haunting realities of war. We should not take these soldiers' personal sacrifice for granted. My hope for all Australian Vietnam veterans, including my father, is that 45 years later they can all hold their heads up high.

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