Writing from England, I hope that 'Danger Close' will also be shown here as a reminder of the bravery and tenacity displayed by the Australian and New Zealand armed services in South East Asia at the Battle of Long Tan.
And now to insert an aviation note into this thread. In 1966 I was an RAF co-pilot on exchange with the C130 A-Model Squadron based at RAAF Richmond NSW. I remember how the news of the Battle of Long Tan was reported in the newspapers and the arrival of the first reports that came from those who had been close to the action. Then, on the 29th and 30th of August I flew in A97-214 to Butterworth (on the west coast of Malaya) on the Malaya/Thai/Vietnam Service schedule to be ready to operate back at a later date. Our crew did not operate beyond Butterworth on this occasion.
Then on the 6th we took on board A97-205, which had been flown up by another crew, those who had survived the Battle and were now declared fit by the RAAF Hospital staff to travel home to Australia via Cocos island and Pearce (just north of Perth). Once the wounded had come on board, most of them strapped onto litters, but before the APU and engines were started, I went round to each man and told him of our route and expected flight times, etc. Most were subdued and showed little response at my attempt to make them feel that we cared for them, and as I could not fail to observe the extent of some of the injuries they had sustained I was not really surprised. We then started up, taxied out, and departed to skirt round the north end of Sumatra avoiding Indonesian airspace as best we could for Confrontation was still taking place. As a crew, supplemented by RAAF medical staff who worked tirelessly to look after our passengers, we did all we could to make the journey swift and as free from turbulence as we could when crossing the ITCZ/ITF.
After we had landed at Cocos following our 5hr 40min flight and whilst refuelling, I again went round to all the patients, telling them now that we were no longer in Asia but under Australian skies and that within another 6 hours we would back on Australian soil. What then happened amazed me, for each man despite his injuries seemed to come alive, smile and joke: the transformation was magical, and thus I remember it some 50 years on. Our flight down to Pearce was straightforward, 5hr 45min with the last 2 hr in darkness. After landing and shutting down we were met only by a small fleet of ambulances - no other reception - and so as a crew we helped with the disembarkation of the litters. On the following day we arrived at the aircraft early but found the last of those who were going back to the east coast were already being loaded, so keen it seemed were they to get going! After 6 hours we arrived at Richmond but again there seemed to be no special reception, which surprised me, for I had thought that perhaps some sort of official welcome might have been expected.
It was this fleeting experience of helping some of the survivors to return home in as comfortable and swift a transit as we could arrange (somewhat limited in scope as anyone who has flown in the back of a Hercules will testify) that has given me cause to remember with respect the bravery and sacrifices made by those who became involved directly in the epic Battle of Long Tan.