Community & Business
15 August, 2024
Vietnam veterans ceremony
VETERANS of the Vietnam War and the Battle of Long Tan will be remembered this Sunday when commemoration events take place at Mareeba, Malanda and Atherton.
The Vietnam War was Australia’s longest military engagement of the 20th century, commencing in July 1962 and ending in 1972. By the time the war had come to an end, almost 60,000 Australians had served, with 521 of them killed and 3000 wounded.
On 18 August, ceremonies will be conducted at Mareeba and Atherton cenotaphs to recognise all those who served in Vietnam but it also marks the anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan in 1966.
During that action, 125 soldiers of Delta Company, 6th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, and three New Zealanders faced a force of some 2000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops.
By the end of the day, 17 Australians had been killed in action and 25 were wounded, one of whom died a few days later.
The Mareeba ceremony will commence at 10.45am at Anzac Park in Byrnes Street, while the Malanda service will begin at 10.45am at The Top Rail, 6-8 Catherine Street.
Atherton’s service will commence at 11am at the town’s cenotaph.
