Paul Neville (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Monday, 18 August, there were two major Vietnam Veterans Day commemorations in my electorate—one at Bundaberg and one at Hervey Bay. I attended the latter. After a march from the RSL, Vietnam veterans, civic officials, families and members of the public assembled at the Hervey Bay cenotaph. The day was of particular relevance because Harry Smith, three of his platoon commanders, Geoff Kendall of 10 platoon, Bob Buick of 11 platoon and Dave Sabben of 12 platoon, along with Bill Roche, Russ Pendaris, Buddy Lea and Max Cameron—eight veterans of the Battle of Long Tan—were present in Hervey Bay. Max Cameron, Buddy Lea and Harry Smith all live in Hervey Bay. It was very moving to have eight of those veterans together. They came because their commander, Harry, had been quite ill and, whilst he was on the mend, they wanted to be with him.

I saw an extraordinary thing that day. It followed the normal Vietnam Veterans Day commemorations except that, when these eight guys went up as a group, laid their wreaths and stepped back from the cenotaph, the crowd burst into prolonged applause, which I have never seen at a cenotaph before. It said it all—that these people, many of whom had been deprived of decorations for all that time, were finally being acknowledged. It was the continuation of the hangover of that dreadful treatment of Vietnam veterans that so many Australians participated in. When this whole veterans’ decorations thing is straightened out, we will be much the richer for it.

Harry Smith has been awarded the Star of Gallantry—the equivalent of his original recommendation for the DSO, second only to the Victoria Cross—in recognition of his conspicuous leadership and gallantry during the battle. His original citation had been downgraded to a Military Cross. Two of the platoon commanders, Dave Sabben and Geoff Kendall, were awarded the Medal for Gallantry—the equivalent to the Military Cross—after their original recommendations were downgraded to ‘Mentioned in Despatches’. The strength of D Company 6RAR in Vietnam on 18 August 1966 has been given approval to wear the former Republic of Vietnam’s Cross of Gallantry with Palm Unit Citation Emblem. As we know, there is no longer a South Vietnamese government, so these guys have been allowed to wear that decoration which was recommended for them in 1966.

Two former officers and 10 soldiers will have their original recommendations for honours re-examined by the independent Defence Honours and Awards Tribunal. Harry Smith himself has selflessly promoted this cause. I commend him and support his stance. He is currently in the process of preparing a submission to the tribunal asking that the 12 men who served in the battle of Long Tan have their original gallantry recommendations reinstated and recognised: three medals for gallantry and nine commendations for gallantry, replacing the original military medals and mentions in dispatches. For the record, the causes he is promoting are those of Delta Company’s Gordon Sharp, posthumously because he was killed in action; Bill Roche; Ian Campbell; Geoff Peters; Barry Magnussen; Neil Bextrum; Allan May; Noel Grimes; and Bill Moore; and of the APC Reaction Force’s Adrian Roberts, Frank Alcorta, and the late Ron Brett. Ron, who was wounded in Vietnam, died in a motor vehicle accident in Australia some years ago.

I commend Harry Smith. As I stood there that day I thought that justice had finally been done for some of those men and that it needed to be done for the rest of them, the other 12. I will follow this matter in this parliament like a hawk until that honour has been given. The ceremony at Hervey Bay ended with a whole flock of white doves being released, symbolic of the 17 men who laid down their lives in Vietnam and the one man who died later. (Time expired)