For two days, on Aug. 18 and 19, 1966, Australian soldiers fought a battle at the village of Long Tan in South Vietnam. Though vastly outnumbered, they held their ground. Subsequently, they were given medals for bravery by the then-government of South Vietnam; and in May 1968, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson awarded D Company 6RAR, as they were known, the Presidential Unit Citation, or PUC.
All of this came back to the fore last month, when the 40th anniversary of that battle, said to be the bloodiest fought by Australian troops since World War II, was celebrated in Australia where I am writing this article. Long Tan Day is commemorated here as Vietnam Veterans' Remembrance Day; and film director Bruce Beresford has announced that he will shoot a big-budget feature about the battle.
On the floor of Parliament in August, Prime Minister John Howard commended the bravery of the servicemen who fought at Long Tan. Australia at the time of the war in Vietnam had conscription, and many of the soldiers who went to Vietnam had no choice but to fight.