Battle of Long Tan soldiers 'finally' awarded bravery medals 50 years on

Australian Broadcasting Corporation ^ | 8th November 2016

[naturalman1975]

Ten Australian soldiers have been recognised for their bravery more than 50 years after they fought in the Vietnam War's Battle of Long Tan.

On 18 August, 1966, members of D Company, who were outnumbered 20 to one, fought against the odds to defeat the Viet Cong.

About 245 Viet Cong were killed in the rubber plantation and 18 Australians were killed and more were wounded.

But for half a century many of the men received no official recognition of their courage, despite sustained campaigning for recognition. Long Tan soldiers recognised with bravery awards:

Now 10 of those soldiers have been recognised at Government House in Canberra.

[naturalman1975]

Back in the 1960s (and until the 1970s) Australian servicemen received 'Imperial Honours' when they were decorated - the same medals that British service personnel received. The system worked until Vietnam because until then Australians had always been serving alongside British troops in the same wars. But Vietnam was different - Britain was not part of the war, and the British Ministry of Defence (which had to approve Australian recommendations for decorations) was reluctant to pass on too many such recommendations.

Also, in contrast to all previous wars that Australian troops had served in, there was no immediate 'End of War' Honours list for Vietnam - the purpose of the 'End of War' list was to identify and recognise actions that had been overlooked during the conflict. But when Australia exited the Vietnam War, a socialist government had just been elected that wanted to put Vietnam behind them as fast as possible and didn't care if this meant service personnel were not recognised. That oversight was eventually corrected in 1998 when the Howard government did formulate an End of War list for Vietnam 25 years after it should have been done - but even with that, there were still men who went unrecognised.

Now ten more of those men have finally been honoured as they should have been fifty years ago. Because Australia now has its own Honours system, distinct from the Imperial system, the decorations awarded are different but have been issued at the same level as the men were originally recommended for.

The list of men and their awards:

Lieutenant Adrian Roberts - the Medal for Gallantry. This is a tacit acknowledgement that he should have received the Military Cross for which he was recommended.

Sergeant Frank Alcorta - the Medal for Gallantry. This is a tacit acknowledgement that he should have received the Military Medal for which he was recommended.

Lance Corporal Barry Magnussen (now deceased) - the Medal for Gallantry. This is a tacit acknowledgement that he should have received the Military Medal for which he was recommended.

Second Lieutenant Gordon Sharp (now deceased) - Commendation for Gallantry. This is a tacit acknowledgement that he should have been Mentioned In Dispatches.

Private Neil Bextrum - Commendation for Gallantry. This is a tacit acknowledgement that he should have been Mentioned In Dispatches.

Private Ron Brett (now deceased) - Commendation for Gallantry. This is a tacit acknowledgement that he should have been Mentioned In Dispatches.

Private Ian Campbell - Commendation for Gallantry. This is a tacit acknowledgement that he should have been Mentioned In Dispatches.

Private William Roche - Commendation for Gallantry. This is a tacit acknowledgement that he should have been Mentioned In Dispatches.

Private Geoffrey Peters - Commendation for Gallantry. This is a tacit acknowledgement that he should have been Mentioned In Dispatches.

Private Noel Grimes - Commendation for Gallantry. This is a tacit acknowledgement that he should have been Mentioned In Dispatches.

[WayneS]

It is good to see these brace men finally being recognized for their gallantry.

Thanks to all of them for their service to freedom and honor.

[WayneS]

It is good to see these brave men finally being recognized for their gallantry.

Thanks to all of them for their service to freedom and honor.

[M1903A1]

^^^^ This.

An anecdote about how precarious the margin of victory was for them...the Australian force had a minimal allotment of ammunition and mags for their SLR rifles at the time of contact with the VC. They were dropped ammo, but it was in cardboard boxes. The Diggers were having to reload their magazines by hand in the mud while under fire...by the end of the engagement many were effectively reduced to single-shot rifles.

After this came a change in policy...ammo resupply to forces under fire was made in the form of preloaded magazines, instead of clipped or boxed ammo.