I was a bit too young for Vietnam but just before Christmas I had the honour of joining several old Army mates in presenting a book on Australian VC recipients to Canberra resident and Australian hero, Colonel Adrian Roberts (R’td). Then a young second lieutenant, Adrian Roberts led his troop of Armoured Personal Carriers (APCs) from the Nui Dat base camp and arrived in the nick of time to save D Company 6RAR from being overrun by a NVA/Viet Cong regiment (2,500-plus men versus 108) at the battle of Long Tan in South Vietnam on 18 August 1966.
This is now one of Australia’s most famous battles. Long Tan Day is now commemorated as the day we remember the Vietnam War and our 501 dead plus wounded. The term PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) first came to be used as a result of that war.
Adrian Roberts was a true hero in all senses of the word. He led his remaining seven APCs through the attacking enemy force to save the company. Perhaps even more importantly, he did so with a splendid disregard for his orders to wait for his CO. Leaving an APC to wait for the boss to catch up, he charged on ahead, knowing there was no time to lose. A real life case of the cavalry coming to the rescue.
Long Tan was a success because of the guts of D Company, the excellent Kiwi artillery, the heroic RAAF helicopter pilots’ resupply efforts and Adrian Roberts and his APCs. Had any one of those factors been missing, we would have had 108 dead Aussies instead of just 18.
Adrian is faithfully played in the 2019 Australian war film Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan by actor Stephen Peacock.
Adrian died on 31 December. I would encourage readers to see the movie. It faithfully depicts the inspirational leadership of the OC Major Harry Brown and Sgt Bob Buick, the platoon Sgt of 11 Platoon, who took command of that platoon which had lost eight dead in minutes, including Gordon Sharpe, the Platoon Commander. Bob Buick called down artillery fire on his own position enabling him to successfully extract his troops from contact. It is only now that the heroism of the men of D Company is being properly recognised.
Canberra was home to Adrian Roberts and he spent his last years at the RSL home at Curtin, where staff do a great job looking after our old Diggers in their declining years.
Vietnam was not a popular war but our old enemy, the NVA and Viet Cong, have great respect and even affection for our troops because they knew our Diggers fought hard but fair and would treat them humanely if they were captured. For this reason and generous Australian aid after the war, our two countries are now good friends.
As we stare down the barrel of yet another potential war in Ukraine and possibly Taiwan, it is timely we pause and thank people such as Adrian Roberts, Harry Smith and Bob Buick who put their bodies on the line to help keep us safe. It would be nice if Veterans Affairs could be a bit more understanding of their sacrifices as well.
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Canberra Daily.
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