Thank you, Speaker.
South Vietnam. Phuoc Tuy Province. The 18th of August 1966.
D Company, 6th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment – 100 men spread across three platoons.
They enter a rubber plantation near the village of Long Tan at 3:00 pm.
The Australians find themselves pinned down and outnumbered by a number of well-armed and highly skilled enemy, some 2,000 strong.
They fight in a torrential downpour which hits the red earth and kicks up ‘mud mist’ – reducing visibility.
On the verge of being overrun, the Australians are saved by the guns of a New Zealand artillery battery.
Then, as ammunition runs low, two RAAF helicopters fly a daring mission in atrocious conditions and resupply D Company at the critical moment.
As the Viet Cong prepares for an all-in attack, hope appears on the horizon.
And like friendly cavalry coming over the hill, Australian armoured personnel carriers arrive carrying A Company.
The enemy withdraws and the battle ends.
At least 245 Viet Cong soldiers have been killed.
The men of D Company have endured three-and-a-half hours of hell against all the odds.
But not without cost – Seventeen Australians have fallen, 25 Australians have been wounded.
One will die of his wounds days later.
Speaker, The Battle of Long Tan reinforced the courage, camaraderie, and composure that defines Anzacs in war.
And it came to represent Australia’s commitment to the Vietnam War.
That is why, every year, on the 18th of August, we commemorate Vietnam Veterans’ Day.
Today, on the 60th Anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, we not only remember those who fought and fell in that fray.
We also acknowledge the spirit, suffering, and the sacrifice of all of our Vietnam veterans.
Between ‘62 and ‘73, some 60,000 Australians served in Vietnam.
Some 15,000 were ‘Nashos’ – men conscripted who went to war without complaint and served as wholeheartedly as the regulars.
The War saw 3,000 Australians wounded and 523 Australians tragically killed.
And, as we just heard from the Prime Minister, this country did take too long to recognise the sacrifice of our Vietnam veterans.
To the warfighters, freedom fighters, and heroes of Vietnam, on your day – Vietnam Veterans’ Day – we remember you, we honour you, we thank you for your service, your suffering, your sacrifice.
Lest we forget.