“And there's me in me slouch hat with me SLR and greens, God help me - I was only nineteen.”
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Those familiar lines from Redgum’s testimony to the confusion and horror of the Vietnam experience have echoed for a generation reminding us all of the sacrifice, loss and suffering we are duty bound to remember and honour.
Yesterday evening in Canberra the song’s writer John Schumann sung the anthem to 100 Vietnam veterans in the Hall of Memory before the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier, as the nation marked the 50th anniversary of the battle of Long Tan and Vietnam Veterans’ Day.
It is a day to honour the 60,000 Australian men and women who served our nation throughout the Vietnam War.
In Tamworth a service will be held at the Vietnam Memorial from 5pm.
North West Vietnam Veterans president Wally Franklin said the occasion was one of great personal significance to him.
"It means a great deal. I'm a Vietnam veteran and it means everything to me.
"Everyone is welcome to come to the memorial, it is not just for Vietnam veterans."
"It's remembering a lot of our friends that didn't come home including Lieutenant Gordon Sharp who was the first man from Tamworth killed in that battle, as well as eight or nine other Tamworth veterans killed in Vietnam.
"A lot of them have also since died from mental illness and ongoing illness"
The battle of Long Tan was fought on 18 August 1966. 105 men from D Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR) and three New Zealanders from an artillery forward observation party from New Zealand’s 161 Field Battery, encountered a force of more than 2000 Viet Cong soldiers.
During the battle, 17 Australians were killed and a further 25 were wounded, one of whom later died of wounds.
The losses on the Vietnamese side were at least 245 dead, an estimated 350 wounded, and three captured.
“The battle of Long Tan marks a moment of great courage and sacrifice for Australia in a war that was filled with tragedy and loss,” said Memorial Director Dr Brendan Nelson.
“We will be honouring those soldiers who, led by Harry Smith, fought and died that day. We will also pause to remember all those affected by the war, their treatment upon returning home, and the wounds inflicted on our nation.”
The Last Post Ceremony on 18 August will feature the story of Tamworth’s Second Lieutenant Gordon Sharp, the first Australian soldier to be killed in the battle of Long Tan.
