A SERVICE of Commemoration to mark Vietnam Veterans Day will be held on Monday, 18 August.
The service will be held at the Macksville War Memorial in River Street, beginning at 11:00am.
Macksville RSL sub-Branch President Garry McKay will MC the service, with Stuarts Point’s Wayne Mason OAM serving as guest speaker.
Both are veterans of the war in Vietnam.
Veterans, their descendants and families, along with members of the public who wish to commemorate, are invited to attend.
Vietnam Veterans’ Day is observed on 18 August, the anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan in 1966.
It is a time to remember those who served, to honour those who died, and to thank the almost 60,000 Australians who served during Australia’s 10-year involvement in the Vietnam War.
Australia’s commitment began with the arrival of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam in 1962, and ended in 1972.
During that decade, about 3,000 Australians were wounded, and 524 died during or as a result of their service.
The Battle of Long Tan, fought on 18 August 1966, was one of the fiercest of the war.
In a rubber plantation near the village of Long Tan, the men of Delta Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, faced a force of some 2,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops.
By the day’s end, 17 Australians had been killed and 25 wounded, one of whom later died.
On Vietnam Veterans’ Day, we remember all who served in Vietnam, from those who fought in large-scale operations to those in smaller platoon and section-level encounters, as well as the sailors of the Royal Australian Navy and members of the Royal Australian Air Force who played critical roles.
It is also a day to acknowledge the enduring impact of service on veterans themselves and on their families.
Some veterans returned home to a muted or absent welcome.
In 1987, the Welcome Home Parade in Sydney gave many the public recognition they had long deserved, with 22,000 veterans marching before a crowd of 100,000.
This year’s service at Macksville is an opportunity for the community to come together, honour the bravery, teamwork and endurance shown by Australians in Vietnam, and to say “thank you”.
By Mick BIRTLES
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