Thursday, 18 August 2016

Vietnam allows Australia's Long Tan war ceremony

File photo shows an Australian war veteran wearing a helmet commemorating the battle of Long Tan
File photo shows an Australian war veteran wearing a helmet commemorating the battle of Long Tan
Vietnam has granted Australians restricted access to a battle site in order to mark the 50th anniversary of a bloody incident in the Vietnam War.

More than 1,000 Australian veterans and their families travelled to Vietnam to commemorate the battle of Long Tan.
A North Vietnamese tank driving through the main gate of the presidential palace of the US-backed South Vietnam regime as the city falls on 30 April 1975.
Australia had ended its involvement in the war by the time Saigon finally fell in 1975
A commemoration ceremony, gala dinner and concert remain cancelled. Eighteen Australian soldiers and hundreds of North Vietnamese fighters died in the battle, deep in southern Vietnam, on 18 August 1966.

Local sensitivities are thought to have been behind the sudden decision to stop the event going ahead.
Police blocked access to the site, which is on private land, without explanation on Wednesday.
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