“Don’t blame me, we were winning when I left.”
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I saw this on the badge of a Vietnam veteran in Moruya one Anzac Day, and it sums up how many of them feel.
They came back from a war, having fought bravely, brilliantly and successfully, to a frosty reception.
There is no better example of their courage and skill than the battle of Long Tan, the 50th anniversary of which will be commemorated in Batemans Bay on Thursday.
You may recall the movie Zulu, about the battle of Rorke’s Drift, where 100 Welsh guardsmen fought off thousands of Zulu warriors.
It was like that at Long Tan, except the enemy weren’t armed with spears; rather they had assault rifles, hand grenades and mortars.
Mossy Point’s Ron Richards was part of the force which relieved the Australian troops who held on despite being outnumbered between 20 and 30 to one.
The North Vietnamese and Viet Cong eventually prevailed in the war quite the same way fellow underdogs Balmain triumphed in the 1969 rugby league grand final.
When hot favourites South Sydney were pressing their tryline and it seemed a try was inevitable, a Balmain player would go down with a fake injury and the game would be held up until Souths’ momentum was lost. (A Balmain player admitted this in an interview).
Likewise, when the American-led forces were gaining the edge on the Vietnamese communists, a cease-fire would be called and it was back to the negotiating table.
It didn’t help that many South Vietnamese were driven onto the side of the communists by their own corrupt government, which discriminated against the Buddhist majority (who were then persecuted by the communists).
North Vietnam’s General Vo Nguyen Giap admitted that his forces couldn’t beat the west in a direct confrontation, only inflict enough casualties to make the war unpopular, which they did, with tremendous courage and sacrifice of their own.
Acceptance of our Vietnam Veterans, of which there about 100 in the Eurobodalla, has increased in recent years.
Australians now know all wars are bad, and that our Vietnam vets are as worthy of our gratitude as those from any other conflict. We should express this on Thursday.
JOSH GIDNEY