By Jolene Ogle
THIS Thursday 18 August marks the 50 year anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan and while the blood that stained the rubber plantation has long been washed away, the emotional torment of the brave men who fought still remains.
The Battle of Long Tan has been described as one of the most vicious battles of the Vietnam War, where 105 Australian soldiers faced more than 2000 Viet Cong over a three-hour fire fight in monsoonal rain on 18 August 1966.
Then Major Harry Smith of the 6RAR Delta Company, who was 33 at the time, led his troops into the ferocious battle that would see 18 Australian lives lost and possibly hundreds of Viet Cong killed.
Speaking at the opening of the Cooroy Pomona RSL sub-branch’s Vietnam War commemorative exhibition last Thursday 11 August, Lieutenant Colonel Smith recounted the horror of the battlefield on that day 50 years ago.
“We were sent out on a patrol to try and locate what we thought was 40 to 50 of the enemy that had mortared the task force base the night before,” he said.
Lt Colonel Smith said a lack of communication meant the 108-strong Company were walking blindly towards over 2000 Vietnamese soldiers.
“According to the enemy history that has now been published, they were going to set an ambush along the road from Long Tan to Long Phuoc to capture or torment the enemy who came out to, what they called ‘draw the tiger from the mountain’ after the mortaring of the base. They expected us to come out along there. We in fact went straight out to the east of the base, we didn’t go down there,” he said.
Lt Colonel Smith describes the ensuing firefighting as horrendous and said many of the Australian soldiers were “clobbered” and were desperately awaiting ammunition supplies from air support.
“The air force brought in ammunition … after that we have plenty of ammunition. We didn’t have to conserve rounds. Prior to that you would only fire rounds if really necessary, but after we got the suppliers the machine gunners could go mad, and they did,” he said.
“I’m sad to say we buried 245 enemy the next morning, we recovered 13 of our dead and two had remained overnight wounded. They were thought to be dead, but they were still alive when we went back the next morning.
“The enemy suffered further casualties. We found a mass grave of 48 bodies and a General … recently has said for the first time that it was a ‘bad battle and we lost about 1000’. The wounded (Viet Cong) were dragged away or carried away and I can still see the blood that was on all the bushes as they went out on their escape route. They had terrible, horrendous casualties. They eventually gave up when they couldn’t overrun us, thanks to my soldiers with their machine guns and rifles and courage and gallantry that day.”
Lt Colonel Smith said out of 124 soldiers in the Delta Company 6RAR, 23 were killed and 47 wounded over a 12-month period fighting in a “war we shouldn’t have been involved in”.
“But we were involved in (it) and everyone who went to Vietnam did everything they could to fight for the Government of the day, which we were told to do,” he said.
“I recall it was an adventure when we were posted to go to Vietnam. What a wonderful adventure it was going to be. But never did I believe that in a period of 12 months that I was going to lose 23 killed and 47 wounded. It saddens me and it also saddens me to realise that we killed so many enemy.”
After the Battle of Long Tan, for the duration of the war the Australian Army was never attacked head on by the Vietnamese.
Cooroy Pomon RSL sub-branch president Ian Whisker said the service men and women who served in Vietnam did what they were told to do by the Government of the day.
“That Government was returned to power in three Federal elections while Australia had soldiers at war. So a lot of voters must have thought we were doing the right thing,” he said.
“Regardless of the feelings of citizens towards the war today, we should all be supporting the men and women who did their duty and served as they were told to do.”
Mr Whisker said he hoped the people of the Sunshine Coast and the Wide Bay districts would visit the exhibition and learn more about the Vietnam War and from that understand the problems that Australian servicemen faced in Vietnam and their feelings when they came home.
“We hope more people, if they know or meet a Vietnam Veteran, will turn to him and says thanks for your service and give him a pat on the back,” he said.
With so much controversy surrounding the Vietnam War, many of the men and women who served have become forgotten heroes but, thanks to Lt Colonel Smith’s lobbying of the Government, many of the soldiers who fought at the Battle of Long Tan have finally been recognised for their bravery with a Commendation for Gallantry medal.
“The battle has been singled out as the iconic battle of the war and I’m very proud to have commanded my soldiers,” Lt Colonel Smith said.
“They did a wonderful job and the only reason I’m here today is because they saved my life and they saved the lives of us who survived. I’m not the hero, my soldiers were the hero.”
The Vietnam War commemorative exhibition is located on Maple Street, Cooroy, between the post office and memorial hall and is open to the public daily from 10am to 4pm until Sunday 21 August. The exhibition features Vietnam War relics as well as photos and stories from those who served. The Vietnam Veterans Day memorial service will be held at the Cooroy War Memorial on Sunday 21 August at 10am.
