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August 18th - Vietnam Veterans Day
August 18th is Vietnam Veterans Day. Originally it was a day to commemorate the Battle of Long Tan in 1966, it has since been adopted by all veterans.
The battle of Long Tan was the largest single unit battle fought in Vietnam by Australian troops. It began on the afternoon of August 18th and went right through the night until the morning of the 19th. The reason why is was looked on as decisive and significant was because the Australian had only been there a few months - it was the first major conflict involving Australian troops in Vietnam. The Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army were aware that the Australians were there to secure the province and decided that they would take them on. The was the fate that befell a company of men - Delta company, from the 6th Batallion, Royal Australian Regiment - who were on patrol that particular day. The enemy lay in wait for them - a huge ambush in a rubber plantation called Long Tan. The Australians had to hold off thousands of enemy troops for the duration of that battle. Eighteen Australian troops were killed - up to a thousand of the enemy. The skills of artillery men and arrival of armoured carriers with more men saved the day. The 6th Batallion was called the "Baby Batallion" as it was made up largely of national servicemen - and they certainly underwent a baptism by fire.
Lest We Forget.
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