ADJOURNMENT
Senator DEAN SMITH (Western Australia) (20:41): Tonight I rise to mark the 60th anniversary of one of the most significant actions in Australia's military history, the Battle of Long Tan. On 18 August 1966, in a rubber plantation in Phuoc Tuy province in South Vietnam, the men of D Company, 6th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment faced an enemy force far larger than their own.
For more than three hours in torrential, monsoonal rain, they held their ground against repeated attacks by Viet Cong forces estimated at around 2,000. Pinned down under intense fire and at risk of being overrun, their survival depended on discipline, training, mateship and courage and on those supporting them. Australia and New Zealand artillery provided fire support.
As ammunition ran low, two Royal Australian Air Force helicopters flew through atrocious conditions to resupply D Company. As darkness fell, Australian armoured personnel carriers carrying a company fought their way through, forcing the enemy to withdraw. By he end of the battle, 17 Australians had been killed, another would die of his wounds and 25 were wounded.
The average age of Australians who died was just 21. Eleven were national servicemen and seven were regular Army soldiers. Among the fallen was West Australian private, Richard Alfred Aldersea.
Born in Nedlands and raised in Western Australia, Richard served with 6 RAR. On August 16 1966, aged just 20, he was killed in action at Long Tan. Today, he rests at Karrakatta Cemetery.
Another Western Australian who paid the ultimate price was Corporal Peter Edward 'Pete' Clements, from Cunderdin. Pete served with 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron, whose vehicles reinforced D Company at a critical stage of the battle. He was wounded at Long Tan and died from those wounds on 27 August 1966, aged just 21.
He rests at Moora Cemetery. The stories of Richard Aldersee and Pete Clements remind us that Long Tan is not a distant episode in a history book. Its story belongs in places like Western Australia as much as it does anywhere across our nation.
Sixty-one Western Australians ultimately lost their lives during the Vietnam War. Behind every name was a family, a community and a future that would never be realised. Long Tan also reminds us of the broader experience of Australia's Vietnam veterans.
Between 1962 and 1973, some 60,000 Australians served in Vietnam, including around 15,000 national servicemen. They served during one of the most divisive periods in modern Australian history. Whatever views Australians held about the war then or now, those who served did so on behalf of their country.
Too many returned home to a nation that failed to distinguish between opposition to the war and respect for those who were sent to fight it. Many veterans encountered indifference, ingratitude and, at times, outright hostility. It was a dark chapter in our treatment of those who served their country and one we must never repeat.
That is why 18 August carries significance beyond the battlefield. What began as Long Tan Day became Vietnam Veterans' Day—a national occasion to honour every Australian who served in Vietnam. The legacy of Long Tan is not about glorifying war.
It is about remembering what Australians did when faced with circumstances few of us can imagine. They held their ground, protected their mates and carried out their duty. Some gave everything.
Sixty years on, we remember the Australians who died at Long Tan, and those who survived returned home carrying its many memories. We remember the 523 Australians who died as a result of their service in Vietnam and the thousands more who were wounded. We honour every Australian who served and the families who shared in their sacrifice.
We especially remember Western Australians such as Richard Aldersea and Pete Clements—young men who left their communities to serve their country and never returned. Sixty years may have passed, but our obligation to remember them has not. Lest we forget.