Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Vietnam Veterans Day, commemorated in Australia on 18 August each year, remembers those Australians and New Zealanders who served during the Vietnam War and also commemorates the Battle of Long Tan. It gives us an opportunity to stand as one and remember those who did not come home. One of the most well-known Australian engagements in the Vietnam War was the Battle of Long Tan from 17 August to 20 August 1966. The battle saw the action of 108 Anzacs against a Viet Cong force of many thousands. The battle was one of the heaviest conflicts of the Vietnam War as well as one of the few battles in the recorded history of the world to be won against such overwhelming odds.

The Vietnam War was the longest war Australia has ever been involved in. Australian involvement in the Vietnam War was marked by controversy, significant levels of public opposition to conscription and a concern about casualties. For this reason the Vietnam War was sadly a taboo subject for many years. Our men and women risked their lives for their country only to be shunned when they returned home. It took many years for these soldiers to gain the recognition they deserved. Now, 45 years since the Battle of Long Tan, we know these men and women can hold their heads high, as they should be able to, and be shown the respect they rightly earned.

On Thursday and on the weekend, ex-service men and women from around the country conducted ceremonies to mark the anniversary of the famous Battle of Long Tan. The biggest ceremony in my electorate was held in Wagga Wagga, the home of the soldier. In the Vietnam War 139 servicemen and women who listed their city of birth as Wagga Wagga fought in Vietnam. In Griffith, the other city in my electorate, 103 people who had listed their place of birth as Griffith went to Vietnam. All up, about 250 men and women from Wagga Wagga saw active service in Vietnam. With two major military facilities in the locality at the time, Kapooka Army Base and the RAAF Base Forest Hill, it was predictable that a majority of these people would be enlisted service personnel from other localities who had been posted to either Kapooka or the Royal Australian Air Force training base at Forest Hill. However, some 70 service men and women were locals and they are commemorated in the city's Victory Memorial Gardens.

Various organisations for Vietnam veterans have been established in the Riverina. The Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia is the main voice for veterans. Its mission is simply summarised in its motto: 'Honour the dead and fight like hell for the living'. Australia's service personnel, past and present, have given so much to their nation, and they deserve to live out their lives in the knowledge that they have financial security.

Australians are rightly very proud of our past and present service men and women. We recognise the dangers they have faced and continue to face, and we admire their professionalism, skill and capability. Let us continue to show them the respect they rightly deserve and, after they have given so much, not take away from them by way of financial security. Thousands of men and women have been lost in conflict. In the Vietnam War, 60,000 Australians served our country. Five hundred and twenty-one died and more than 3,000 were wounded in that war.

I will finish with the words of Lieutenant Colonel Harry Smith MC Rtd, who now lives in Hervey Bay, Queensland, which is in the electorate of Hinkler. Earlier, the member for Hinkler spoke very eloquently on this motion about Harry Smith's involvement, dedication and bravery and how members of his company had not been properly recognised. Whilst I am not an advocate for retrospective awards, I feel as though the member for Hinkler's words should be heeded to by the authorities. I will finish with the words of Harry Smith, who said:

I am very proud to have commanded Delta Company, 6RAR who gave their all on that fateful day, above and beyond what would have been expected of them. That is why my company, which bore the brunt of the battle and lost 17 killed and 21 wounded, was awarded the US Presidential Unit Citation, and was offered the South Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry Unit Citation. I am also proud and thankful to those who supported us—all the artillery, the RAAF, the USAF, the APCs, our A Company and the B Company platoon, and others.

Although nowhere near the same scale, Long Tan will be remembered alongside Kapyong, Tobruk, and Gallipoli. I am saddened by the loss of life, and the tragic loss to all the loved ones, on both sides. Like the errors of Gallipoli, a proper assessment of intelligence reports would have averted my company being sent out to face a VC regiment. But we saved the Task Force Base from what would have been a disastrous attack by the 5,000-strong VC 5th Division, and their influence in the province was reduced thereafter. That is why Long Tan has become so significant and is feted as the icon of the war for all Vietnam veterans to commemorate those lost or maimed between 1962 and 1972.

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