Long Tan Read online

  Copyright © Harry Smith

  First published 2015

  Copyright remains the property of the authors and apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission.

  All inquiries should be made to the publishers.

  Big Sky Publishing Pty Ltd

  PO Box 303, Newport, NSW 2106, Australia

  Phone: 1300 364 611

  Fax: (61 2) 9918 2396

  Email: [email protected]

  Web: www.bigskypublishing.com.au

  Cover design and typesetting: Think Productions

  Cover photograph: Jack Kirby and Harry Smith firing captured Russian Goryunov medium machine gun made famous at Stalingrad in WW2.

  Printed in Australia by Ligare

  National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

  Creator Smith, Harry A., author.

  Title: Long Tan : the start of a lifelong battle / Harry Smith with Toni McRae.

  ISBN: 9781922132321 (paperback)

  Subjects:

  Smith, Harry A.

  Australia. Army. Royal Australian Regiment. Battalion, 6th.

  D Company--History.

  Soldiers--Australia--Biography.

  Long Tan, Battle of, Vietnam, 1966.

  Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Australia--Personal narratives.

  Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Veterans--Australia.

  Other Creators/Contributors:

  McRae, Toni, author.

  Dewey Number: 959.704342

  CONTENTS

  Dedication

  Foreword – Alan Griffin

  Foreword – Graham Edwards

  Prelude to Battle: 18 August 1966 by Toni McRae

  1

  Beginnings in Tasmania

  2

  Cannon Fodder to Go

  3

  Murder in Malaya

  4

  Body Parts and Battling Commos

  5

  Battling Rushes of Blood to the Head and Heart

  6

  These Boots Are Made for Walking

  7

  Vietnam: Suicide Mission

  8

  Battle Beginnings

  9

  Into Battle: A ‘Rorke’s Drift’ in the Rubber

  10

  After the Battle: Uncovering the Truth

  11

  Commando Action, Sailing and Divorce

  12

  Battle with a Parachute: Plunge to Earth and a Crash of Dreams

  13

  Battling the Brass: Australia’s Shame Exposed

  14

  Another War: the Battle for Recognition

  15

  Battles in Life Beyond Army

  Epilogue

  Acronyms and abbreviations

  DEDICATION

  The Battle of Long Tan on 18 August 1966 was a savage action in which 108 men of my former Delta Company 6RAR, supported by artillery, fought off an enemy regiment of four regular Viet Cong and NVA battalions. My company sadly lost 17 killed and 23 wounded, but the enemy’s casualties were in the order of 500 killed and 800 wounded. The battle was applauded as the most savage company action of the Australian involvement and was later selected by the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia as their icon of the war. But the gallantry awards recommended by my officers and me were reduced by half. So began another battle which is still being fought 49 years later, the battle for the proper recognition of my men. This book is my life story and the story of my ongoing battle seeking proper recognition of my men.

  I dedicate this story…

  To the officers and men and women in the Armed Services, especially those of 1 and 2 Commando Companies, the Parachute School and the RAN Diving School who at various times, since I was a School Cadet in 1945, set me on a course which led me to achievements that had a profound effect on my most unusual military career in the Infantry Corps and Special Forces.

  To my officers and soldiers who fought the Battle of Long Tan and all those who helped me to train my company, which led us to survive the battle. And to those who have supported me in my battle for awards justice, particularly Dave Sabben MG; Bob Buick MM; Bill Akell (MID – denied an MM) and Bill Roche (denied an MID).

  To my three children Deborah, Sharon and Brett, and sisters Bev and Joan. May this story help you better understand your father and brother.

  This book was originally intended as my life story for my family, but I was persuaded by journalist Toni McRae to expand it to include more of the Battle of Long Tan and its legacy. Toni helped me compile my story until she lost a battle with health in 2014. I also dedicate this book to her memory.

  Now age 82, I can say I have had a wonderful life in the Army and in my sailing exploits. I have some regrets about my early personal life but I thank my present partner and wife of 17 years, Felicia, for all her support through my long fight for proper recognition for my officers and soldiers and for her love and company on our many sailing cruises up to lovely Lizard Island, Far North Queensland.

  In my story about the fight for proper recognition of my men at Long Tan, where the number of recommended awards was cut in half and half of those remaining were downgraded, I quote the Vietnam Official History 1993, which states: ‘The awards were little short of insulting for the heroism displayed.’ I make no excuses for criticising the former senior officers who managed the Vietnam awards system which saw those furthest from the action claiming awards which should have gone to those who fought in combat with the enemy. I acknowledge the 1974 Military History Association Australia book by Ian Barnes, Australian Gallant and Distinguished Service, Vietnam, which has provided me with facts, information and philosophy about the questionable awards system in Vietnam.

  My battles include my personal battle with my private life, the battle against the enemy at Long Tan, the battle against the bureaucracy for awards justice, my battle with prostate cancer at age 75, and the battle against critics who would ‘cut down tall poppies’.

  While I have, as yet, not been completely successful in the battle to get my men recognition, along with those who supported us, I hope that those who read this book will be provided with a greater understanding of their courage – in itself a recognition, even if not official.

  FOREWORD

  From June 2005 I had the honour to serve as the Shadow Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and then as Minister from late 2007 until September 2010.Over that period of more than five years I was privileged to gain an insight into our defence forces, past and present, the men and women who have served our country, their families and the price they have all paid for that service. I learnt of tremendous courage and sacrifice, as well as the tragedy of war. I have also seen the injustice of war, both at home and abroad.

  Throughout this time there were many complex issues that came to my attention. Some were resolved, some could not be, others continue to be a matter of public debate. One such issue was the question of gallantry awards resulting from the Battle of Long Tan. The iconic nature of Long Tan has ensured it will always have a special place in the history of our nation’s war in Vietnam. The scale of the battle, the number of casualties, the heroic defence in the face of overwhelming opposition have meant this is so.

  However, Long Tan’s significance has extended beyond the battle itself. It has become symbolic in ways that do not reflect well on the operation of our military in times past. This goes to the very question of how a nation should honour and recognise those who have given so much. It is true that war is a brutal endeavour and those who are rightly recognised and honoured only account for a percentage of those who should be. It is also true that many factors come into play in de
ciding who is honoured, and ‘luck’ in many ways plays its part. However, the fact that many who should be honoured are not, because the circumstances do not allow it, does not excuse us from properly honouring those whose valour is recognised and put forward for appropriate decoration. It was this injustice that led my colleague and friend Graham Edwards MP to raise this matter in Parliament and ensure that I and others understood the need for action.

  The work of Harry Smith and his men to ensure that those who performed extraordinarily in the rubber plantation at Long Tan are properly honoured has highlighted the manifestly unfair operation of the awards system at the time and the unwillingness of many of those in authority to deal with this issue since then. Harry’s story is one of stubborn and dogged determination to right a wrong – an unwillingness to give ground borne of a fierce commitment to stay the course for a just outcome. The character he has displayed in seeking a fair result for his men is no more than what those of us who know him would expect. As he showed throughout his military career, Harry remains a man who will always fight for what he believes in and will always stick to his guns. Although I have not always agreed with him, I have always respected him and always known he will keep facing forward, no matter the cost!

  Alan Griffin MP

  Former Minister for Veterans’ Affairs

  FOREWORD

  Graham ‘Stumpy’ Edwards lost both legs to a mine in Vietnam in 1970. He was instrumental in obtaining the Tanzer Review in 1999 which upgraded six awards approved in the 1998 Review and was always supportive of a review of Long Tan awards. He is currently (2015) a Member of the Australian War Memorial Board.

  As a young man growing up in Australia I had a strong belief in the concept of a fair go for all.

  Nothing tested my childhood belief as I grew older more than the disgraceful treatment of bravery awards for those who fought in Vietnam.

  Many diggers who served there were overlooked or bypassed as statutory medals were handed out to senior officers for a job well done.

  None were treated more unfairly than Harry Smith and those who fought with him and supported his actions during the Battle of Long Tan.

  It makes an interesting comment on our system of bravery awards when the highest awards for that battle went to officers who arrived at the ground after the last shot had been fired.

  Harry Smith has fought the good fight ever since the records were revealed to show how his recommendations for bravery were downgraded, scrubbed or just ignored.

  Is it any wonder a bloke like Harry has been back in the fight with authority on behalf of those whose bravery was ignored in that iconic battle which demonstrated the highest traditions of our ANZAC heritage.

  I was pleased to support Harry in his battle during my time in the Federal Parliament. Veterans Affairs Minister Alan Griffin also picked up the cudgel on Harry’s behalf because we recognised that this was a man still fighting for justice on behalf of his diggers.

  I stood next to Harry during a recent closing ceremony at the Australian War Memorial. It was a sad occasion and I watched Harry during that brief ceremony. For a brief and fleeting moment Harry let his guard down and I saw a man in the emotion of the moment. A man still moved by the fierce battle in which he fought and led with great courage and tenacity. A man still feeling the loss of the soldiers around him but determined to fight for justice for those who survived. A man burdened and saddened by the death of those he commanded. A man who felt his diggers were let down by those who turned their backs on a Fair Go.

  You are a man, Harry, and I cannot pay a higher Australian compliment than that.

  Graham Edwards AM

  Former ALP Member for Cowan, WA

  PRELUDE TO BATTLE:

  18 AUGUST 1966

  BY TONI MCRAE

  The soft swish swish of the 2-m tall elephant grass brushed against their sweaty wet greens; it was the bloody red mud sucking at their boots and the consistent slashing of 12 Platoon’s alternating lead section’s machetes that made the soldiers’ 3000-m trudge to Long Tan punishing.

  In the blistering heat the 108 travelled in single file. They were sleep-deprived. On 13 August they had been ordered out on a long patrol, which included the Long Tan rubber plantation to the base of the large hill named Nui Dat 2, which was just to the northwest of where an enemy regiment arrived on 14 August and was waiting to attack the Nui Dat Australian Task Force base. Then, barely back at base, without warning in the very early hours of the steamy morning of 17 August came the blast of enemy 82-mm mortar bombs, 75-mm recoilless rifle ‘rockets’ and 70-mm artillery shells, fired into the base for more than 22 minutes. Silence fell as suddenly as it had been broken. Weary, the men stood to, on lookout until dawn for an expected ground attack which never came. They had been rostered on picket duties that same night.

  But now they had to move swiftly.

  That morning the big brass sitting somewhat safely at Nui Dat Task Force HQ had ordered Delta Company to relieve Bravo Company’s men who had been sent out at dawn on the 17th to look for the enemy who had fired the mortars, not anticipating contact, the enemy thought long gone, and having ordered a late breakfast. There Bravo had uncovered vacated enemy mortar positions and were ordered to continue searching; to be relieved the next day. Bravo’s 80-odd soldiers had spent the day and night unmolested at the edge of the Long Tan rubber plantation, east-southeast of Nui Dat HQ and just east of the Suoi Da Bang River.

  Not an enemy soldier had lingered to be fingered. Already at dawn 48 soldiers had returned to the base for local leave; no danger perceived by the company commander, the battalion commanding officer or the task force commander.

  After relieving Bravo the 108 were to track down the enemy who had shelled the base – probably 30 to 40 Viet Cong, maybe ‘a weapons platoon and protection’ that had ‘shooted and scooted’ and were now long gone, slipping into their familiar jungle bases.

  That was the most the Delta lads had been told anyway.

  This was Operation Vendetta – so named by their nuggety carrot-top company commander Major Harry Smith, as revenge for the mortaring of Nui Dat; a mission that would be short, swift and nothing more, lads. No big deal.

  The soldiers had kitted up for an operation of five days, these finely honed and tuned super-fit young men; 68 Aussie Nashos and near 40 tough Regular Army, and with them three well-practised New Zealand Artillery Battery Forward Observer party who had served with the 1st Battalion Group at Bien Hoa.

  On this stifling morning the men carried 40 kg on their dripping backs and around their belts, including 110 rounds and water bottles. Some also lugged 200-round belts for the M60 machine guns, along with heavy PRC 9 VHF radios and spare batteries.

  Through the undergrowth and over two creek crossings of the Suoi Da Bang, their Armalites, SLRs, M60s and Owen guns held high and dry, the 35-degree sun and clammy stickiness polished the sheen of their youth.

  As infantry you are primed for death that arrives without warning or conscience. Hopefully the other guy’s, after you send the first bullet. But it is enduring and infinite in your psyche that you could be next. You live from day to day. That is your training.

  Yet on this monsoon morning of 18 August 1966 as Major Harry Smith, your nuggety Green Beret commander urges you on through the unrelenting terrain, could you ever foresee the epic David and Goliath battle waiting for you, just a few hours east of the Nui Dat base in the Long Tan rubber plantation?

  No fucking way, mate.

  Shit, a Yankee Budweiser would go down well right now. Plenty of them back at base. The Delta boys regularly traded their distinctive slouch hats for Buds and Schlitz.

  Stay focused, son. This is your life lurking here in the long grass. Meanwhile this afternoon’s treat of the eagerly awaited base concert with Aussie rocker Col Joye and his Joy Boys and that nicely rounded Little Pattie was now dead meat. ‘Can Do’ Delta Company had been called to duty to perhaps make holes in a few D445 Gooks in black/ khaki pyjamas, although
the Cong were surely gone by now.

  Bugger about missing the concert as they marched to the beat of the different drum, the pulsating thump thump of Col Joye’s decibels of bass resonating behind them.

  But you focus, son.

  ‘Here’s the blood.’

  It’s 1 pm and just inside the Long Tan rubber plantation. Delta Company has reached its destination. Bravo Company’s boss, Major Noel Ford, briefs Delta Company’s Major Harry Smith near the enemy firing positions. Funny meeting up again like this; they’d been roommates at Officer Cadet School, Portsea, in 1952.

  Noel, Harry and a security group of men look around at the evidence of discarded empty mortar and rocket ammunition boxes, pieces of bloodstained clothing and Ho Chi Minh sandals.

  ‘And more here; a trail, see. They had bullock carts and took their wounded – or dead, hopefully. Our artillery counter bombardment must have got some of ‘em,’ announces Noel.

  The men brew up and share Delta’s hard rations. Bravo had been sent out without calculating they might need to stay overnight and although they’d been resupplied with some rations by a platoon of Charlie Company yesterday afternoon, their provisions were thin. Charlie’s platoon had searched the rubber south of Bravo Company and, finding nothing, returned to Nui Dat.

  ‘Harry the Ratcatcher’ – which they’d secretly called him since he’d busted a clandestine card game in his time serving in Malaya in ’55–’57 and triumphantly announced, ‘Gotcha, you rats’ – looked at the trails leading north, south and east; the slow trail of the wounded. To the north the surviving enemy soldiers’ foot trail was already 36 hours old and would, he knew, be heading to where Alpha Company was already patrolling.

  Radioing to his battalion CO, Lieutenant Colonel Colin ‘Mousey’ Townsend, Harry suggested that despite tracks to the north, east, and south, his gut feeling was to patrol east through the rubber to a secure jungle base for that night and on to the artillery gun range limit – another 3 km – tomorrow. And as he had learned in Malaya, jungle is more secure and has far fewer mosquitoes than rubber plantations.