Australia’s Vietnam veterans turned away from Long Tan site
Rob Harris and Kathryn Powley, Herald SunAugust 18, 2016 11:50pm
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Victims of a war they couldn’t explain
VIETNAMESE authorities appear to have reneged on the agreement to let Australian veterans through to the site of the Long Tan battle.
Hundreds of Australians who had made the trip to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the deadly battle were left bitterly disappointed at being shut out of the site at the last minute.
Wangaratta man Carl Stibilj told the Herald Sun he was part of a tour group that had waited for hours hoping to get in.
“Our bus headed out to the memorial site. Once we got out there we found they were only taking small groups at a time. We waited, and waited, and waited. Then we found out that they had closed the site and we couldn’t get in.”
No reason was given.
At the time the battle would have begun, the group held a small memorial beside their bus.
“All we can do is remember what those people did and given them a good toast,” Mr Stibilj said.
Mr Stibilj, who had no connection to the battle other than a keen interest in history, estimated about 1000 people had not been allowed in, and he understood about 500 had.
Long Tan veteran Keith Payne is told no one else will not be allowed to access. Picture: Mads Monsen
Geoff Kendall was allowed just minutes at the site. Picture: TwitterAnother member of the tour, Jeffrey Ford of Gladstone in Central Queensland, had gone to Long Tan to remember his brother Noel Ford who was officer in charge of Bravo Company.
“I’m extremely disappointed,” Mr Ford said.
He believed the Vietnamese government had decided too many people wanted to go to the site.
“For some reason or other, they pulled the plug,” he said.
Some veterans who were given access were only allowed to visit the cross, which commemorates the battle, for fewer than five minutes before being told to leave.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had brokered the last minute deal to allow veterans to the site after commemoration services were cancelled by the Vietnamese government.
Vietnamese authorities agreed to allow groups of up to 100 veterans and their families through to the site at a time.
More than 1000 Australians are in Vietnam for the anniversary memorial service.
It is understood buses were initially allowed to the site but as more arrived authorities were allowing fewer people from each bus to visit until they stopped all veterans and their families accessing the site.
The Vietnam Government’s earlier decision to ban Aussies had been labelled a “kick in the guts”.
Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia national president Ken Foster. Picture: Kym SmithIn the August 18, 1966 battle, the largest fought by Australia during the war, 108 Diggers encountered a force of more than 2000 Vietnamese and Vietcong soldiers in the rubber plantation of Long Tan.
Seventeen Australians were killed and 25 were wounded.
Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia national president Ken Foster had reacted to the ban saying a number of veterans — many of whom were visiting Vietnam for the first time since the war — would be “shattered”.
He said all they wanted to do was pay respect to “the place where they fought and where their friends died”.
“It wasn’t to commemorate anything else — it was purely to pay respects to those war dead,” Mr Foster said.
Among Australians travelling to the site in southern Vietnam was record-breaking horse trainer Peter Moody, an avid war historian.
On Wednesday night he tweeted: “Long way to come to be disappointed. Sad for vets.”
The Federal Government had been preparing for the event with Vietnamese authorities for the past 18 months. Memorial events have been held at Long Tan since 1989.
Before the breakthrough, Mr Turnbull had told a service commemorating the battle in Canberra that would do all he could to persuade the Vietnamese Government to reconsider its decision.
“I understand that it is a matter for the Vietnamese Government to decide what commemorations are held in its country but this decision, and especially its timing, shows a disregard for those Australians who have, in good faith, travelled to Vietnam to participate in this week’s events.”
rob.harris@news.com.au
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