MORE than a hundred people gathered at Tamworth’s Vietnam War memorial on Thursday to pay their respects on the 50th anniversary of the conflict, which claimed the lives of 501 Australians.
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The ceremony also commemorated the famous Battle of Long Tan, which many consider Australia’s first major engagement in the war.
Just over 100 Australians held out more than 2000 Viet Cong soldiers. During the battle, 18 Australians were killed and 24 were wounded, while the Vietnamese lost at least 245, with 350 wounded.
The Last Post was played and the moving story of the first Australian to be killed in the Battle of Long Tan – Tamworth’s Second Lieutenant Gordon Sharp – was told.
North West Vietnam Veterans president Wally Franklin the solemn service remember those who didn’t come home.
“It means a great deal to me, I’m a Vietnam veteran and it means everything to me,” Mr Franklin said.
Along with Second Lieutenant Sharp, Mr Franklin said eight or nine Tamworth veterans were killed in the Vietnam War.
