April 12, 2018
A retired Army Colonel who commanded Australian troops at the Battle Of Long Tan will be this year’s special guest at Wooroolin’s Anzac Day commemorations.
Lieutenant Colonel Harry Smith was the officer commanding D Company 6RAR when it was sent out on patrol on August 18, 1966, to find a Viet Cong unit responsible for heavy mortar shelling of the Australian base at Nui Dat the previous night.
Then-Major Smith led the 105 soldiers of D Company and the three-man NZ Artillery Party out on patrol, and at 3:15pm – while passing through a rubber plantation at Long Tan – they encountered a reinforced, regiment-sized Viet Cong force attempting to advance on the base.
A monsoon struck at the same time but Major Smith organised his troops to successfully hold off the assault while co-ordinating support from Australian, New Zealand, and United States artillery units back at Nui Dat.
D Company was reinforced at 6:55pm by a B Company Platoon, and then A Company in APCs, by which time the Viet Cong had started to withdraw.
In all, 18 Australians were killed and 24 wounded during the four-hour battle but under Major Smith’s command D Company fended off a numerically superior force estimated as high as 20-to-1, with at least 245 Vietnamese confirmed killed and another 300 believed wounded.
After the battle, Lt Col Smith recommended 20 of his men for bravery awards but was astonished to see his recommendations either rejected or downgraded while two of his superior officers – neither of whom had been at battle – received high honours.
Lt Col Smith said he had to wait 30 years until 1996 when the Official Secrets Act expired to read those officers’ version of events.
In his 2015 book, “Long Tan: The Start of a Lifelong Battle”, Lt Col Smith claimed his two immediate superiors had embellished the role they played in the battle to receive the nation’s highest gallantry awards at the expense of his men.
His commanding officer was nominated for a Distinguished Service Order — the second highest award behind a Victoria Cross — and a Vietnamese Medal.
He said the officer claimed he moved out from Nui Dat, took over command and fought his battalion against an enemy regiment with success.
“He wasn’t there,” Lt Col Smith said.
Lt Col Smith also said the commander of the Australian Taskforce at Nui Dat received a Distinguished Service Order for good service over time and personally directing the battle.
“For most of the time the battle was on, he went to his personal tent and didn’t reappear until there was an argument about the helicopters,” Lt Col Smith said.
Lt Col Smith, who will turn 85 this July, has pledged to continue fighting for his men until they are given the recognition he believes they deserve.
His leading role in the Battle of Long Tan will be played by former Vikings start Travis Fimmel in the new film “Danger Close”, which is expected to begin shooting later this month.
Parts of the film will be shot in the Wooroolin Wetlands and Wooroolin’s paulownia plantation.
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Wooroolin’s Anzac Day commemoration service will be held at the Wooroolin Memorial Hall on the Bunya Highway at 11:15am on Anzac Day, April 25.
The service will be preceded by a parade along Wooroolin’s CBD at 11:00am, and will be followed by a Wooroolin Lions barbecue so guests can get to meet Colonel Smith in person.
A number of other Lang Tan veterans will also be accompanying Colonel Smith.
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