Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to join with the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and all of my other parliamentary colleagues to speak on the motion recognising the Battle of Long Tan and the contribution of all Vietnam veterans. In recognising Vietnam 50 years on, it is recognising that also last Saturday, 18 August, was the 46th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan. It is an opportunity for all of us to pause, reflect and remember the sacrifice over the 10 years between 1962 and 1972 of nearly 60,000 Australians who served in the Vietnam War. Throughout the campaign, 521 Australians were killed in action and more than 3,000 were wounded in action. Every one of the men and women who served in Vietnam and returned home did so a changed person.

Today I join the Vietnam veterans and their families who honour their service and their sacrifice in our nation's name. This year has added significance as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first Australian troops in Vietnam in 1962. The Australian Army Training Team Vietnam, the AATTV, was sent to South Vietnam in July 1962 to provide support and training to South Vietnamese troops. Throughout the campaign, Australia deployed approximately three battalions of infantry, one regiment of Centurion tanks and three RAAF squadrons, plus extensive naval transport and support.

Whilst I admit the treatment of our Vietnam veterans remains a dark stain on our nation's history, I am comforted in knowing that we are starting to learn the lessons of these things we did wrong and seeking to address them for the current generation of men and women returning from active service. Last Thursday the Senate passed a motion acknowledging Vietnam Veterans Day, the anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, the arrival of the AATTV and the shameful treatment of our Vietnam veterans upon their return. It also acknowledged the arrival at the Australian War Memorial of the original Long Tan Cross, which will be on display at the War Memorial until April next year.

Vietnam Veterans Day is another important opportunity for us to reflect upon the service of all our Vietnam veterans from all three services and the important lessons our nation has learnt since their service ended. Last Saturday, in particular, we marked the anniversary of one of Australia's more iconic battles of the Vietnam War, the Battle of Long Tan. The Battle of Long Tan is best remembered as the Australian classic struggle against a much bigger enemy. The 108 men of D Company 6RAR fought against an opponent said to be over 2,000 to win the day and to be nationally and internationally recognised for their tenacity, their courage, their bravery under fire. Today, whilst honouring the memory of the fallen men in D Company 6RAR, we remember all of those who served in the Vietnam War and, in particular, all of those 521 who paid the supreme price. Other battles and firefights deserve no less a recognition. Names like Nui Dat, the Horseshoe, Fire Base Coral and Balmoral all bring back different memories, all conjure up different emotions but all are uniquely Australian. To leave our shores in full knowledge that it may be the last time you saw your loved ones is an issue that plays on each and every person's mind.

It has now been over 39 years since Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War came to an end in 1973, yet the Vietnam War remains remarkably fresh in the minds of many Australians. Vietnam was a war that divided our nation. While revealing the very best in our fighting forces—their gallantry, their professionalism—it was a war that drew unstinting praise for Australian servicemen from our allies in arms, including this tribute from General Westmoreland, the commander of the US forces in Vietnam, who said of our Australian troops at an Anzac Day service:

I have never seen a finer group of men. I have never fought with a finer group of soldiers.

On previous occasions, I have spoken of the experiences that have been recounted to me. I have spoken of their hardships, their shameful treatment during the war and their rejection as citizens upon landing back in Australia at the tour's end. Whilst these experiences are important to acknowledge, to talk about and to address, today I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of other services to the Vietnam War.

Whilst the Australian Army sent 42,407 troops to Vietnam between 1962 and 1973, it is important that we not forget the enormous contribution the men and women of Australia's medical teams made to the health and wellbeing of those who served in Vietnam; or the contribution of the 4,443 personnel from the Royal Australian Air Force over the life of the Vietnam campaign, commencing in 1964, when a flight of Caribou began flying transport operations around South Vietnam, followed up by RAAF helicopters and the squadron of Canberra bombers in 1967, performing a variety of roles from aeromedical evacuations to airfield construction to combat flying with the US forces; or the contribution of the 13,500 personnel from the Royal Australian Navy—as I am always reminded, the 'Senior Service', always first into conflict.

The Royal Australian Navy was in Vietnam showing the flag with HMAS Vampire and Quickmatch in early '62, followed by HMAS Quiberon and Queenborough in January '63. However, the Royal Australian Navy's presence was indirectly made known earlier by the hulk of the auxiliary minelayer HMAS Bungaree, laid up on the southern banks of Vung Tau harbour long before Australia entered the conflict. The first voyage of HMAS Sydneyor, as it was more commonly known, the Vung Tau ferry—to South Vietnam as a troop carrier, escorted by HMAS Melbourne, Duchess and Parramatta, began on 27 May 1965.

The Royal Australian Navy's primary contribution consisted of destroyers, Fleet Air Arm personnel attached to a United States Army assault helicopter company and the Royal Australian Air Force's No. 9 Squadron, and a logistic support force consisting of transport and escort ships. Other Royal Australian Navy personnel served ashore in medical teams or performed staff duties at the Australian Embassy in Saigon or the Australian Task Force Headquarters in Nui Dat. The first guided-missile destroyers to deploy to Vietnam were Hobart, Perth and Brisbane. The Australian DDGs were well suited for the task of providing naval gunfire support. The guns of the Daring-class destroyer HMAS Vendetta proved extremely accurate, which served her well to wear the naval gunfire support ship title of a 'nine-mile sniper'. HMAS Hobart was the first DDG to join the US Seventh Fleet in March 1967, beginning the six-monthly rotations of Royal Australian Navy destroyers on the gun line. Hobart and Perth were deployed three times to Vietnam, Brisbane twice and Vendetta once. The destroyers carried out the naval gunship missions in all of South Vietnam's four military regions.

Hobart, Perth and Vendetta came under enemy attack on a number of occasions. Perth was hit once during her first deployment. Hobart suffered two killed and seven wounded when she was mistakenly hit by missiles fired from a United States Air Force aircraft. Vendetta came under rocket and swimmer attack in Da Nang harbour and mortar attack off the coast of the Quang Tin province. HMAS Sydney's escorts included Her Majesty's armed ships Melbourne, Anzac, Derwent, Duchess, Parramatta, Stuart, Swan, Torrens, Vampire, Vendetta and Yarra.

In 1966, the Vietnam supply line was supplemented by two Australian National Line cargo ships, Jeparit and Boonaroo.

In March 1967 members of the Seamen's Union refused to man Jeparit and Boonaroo. To overcome this difficulty, Boonaroo was immediately commissioned by the Royal Australian Navy with a full naval crew for one return voyage to Cam Ranh Bay and Singapore. Jeparit was later commissioned following further industrial action.

Between 1967 and 1971 the Royal Australian Navy Helicopter Flight was fully integrated with the US Army 135th Assault Helicopter Company, flying Iroquois helicopters in both utility and gunship configurations. The role of the 135th Assault Helicopter Company was to provide tactical air movement of combat troops, supplies and equipment, and air mobile operations. This included augmentation of Army medical services, search and rescue, and the provision of a command-and-control-aircraft capability.

Throughout the Royal Australian Navy Helicopter Flight's deployments there were many individual acts of bravery performed in the face of the enemy. One such incident occurred on 4 December 1971, when Lieutenant Jim Buchanan, Royal Australian Navy, was piloting a helicopter operating in the U Minh Forest. While engaged in medical evacuation the group came under heavy attack from enemy forces. Realising that the boat on which he was operating was disabled and drifting towards the enemy-held shore, Lieutenant Buchanan deliberately hooked the skids of his aircraft onto the boat's superstructure and towed it to a safe area. He was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and I believe has also been awarded the US Navy Cross.

We must also recognise the significant contribution of one of the smallest—and unrivalled—Australian units to serve in Vietnam: Royal Australian Navy Clearance Diving Team 3. They were an elite group of 49 officers and men, divers trained in the dangerous business of explosive ordnance disposal who established an enviable reputation for courage and innovation in a time of war in the spirit of the divers' motto: 'United and undaunted'. During the 10 years that the Royal Australian Navy was involved in the war, eight officers and sailors were killed and another 46 were either wounded or suffered other injuries. The dedication and professionalism shown by members of the Royal Australian Navy earned the service the respect of our allies and continued the traditions established by Australian sailors in other wars.

I am always honoured and very privileged to participate in Vietnam Veterans' Remembrance Day activities, which I did on Saturday at Medowie and Forster, for I, like the majority of Australians, believe that we are a nation deeply indebted to all of those who fought in Vietnam. So today, in this year of the 46th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, it gives Australians an opportunity to offer our support and our gratitude for the service that they gave this great nation—support that, sadly, was not afforded when they came home. Visiting the troops on the front line in Tarin Kowt in Afghanistan a couple of years ago gave me a greater understanding of the stress and, importantly, the professionalism, dedication and camaraderie that exists as a part of the esprit de corps. I continually find myself being humbled and emotionally stretched on days like Vietnam Veterans' Remembrance Day, whether it be by the worn and torn faces I see in front of me, reading their stories about the hell of the war or hearing their softly told stories that reduce strong men to tears.

From the first Australians killed in the South African wars in the last years of the 19th century to the tragic recent death of the last Australian soldier to die in Afghanistan, Sergeant Blaine Diddams, whose dad, Peter, a Vietnam veteran himself, and his mum, Cath, who reside in my electorate of Paterson in Pacific Palms, more than 102,000 Australians have lost their lives in defence of the freedoms that we enjoy today. The stories of bravery and fortitude in Vietnam take their honoured place in the chronicles of Australia's military history.

The line that runs from Gallipoli through to Kokoda and Kapyong also runs to Long Tan and Tarin Kowt. All are synonymous in our nation's collective memory with the values of courage, endurance, valour and comradeship. Vietnam is also a story of the Australian national serviceman. From 1965 to 1972, more than 15,000 of those called up under the National Service scheme were sent to Vietnam.

I would like to conclude today with a simple verse written by Private Gary McMahan, 6RAR, Vietnam. I believe it accurately portrays the Australian experience and the spirit during the Vietnam war. It reads:

We would do anything for a mate, anything except leave him on the battlefield. We shared our last drops of water, or our last cigarette. We patrolled together, we slept together, we laughed together and we fought together. We even died together.

It has been an honour to share these thoughts with the parliament today. I say to all our men and women: may God bless each and every one of you and may a peace finally meet your living soul.

See this speech in context