Acknowledgements
The Minister for Veterans' Affairs, the Hon Alan Griffin MP
The Leader of the Opposition
General Sir Phillip Bennett and Lady Bennett
Major General Peter Phillips and Mrs Phillips
Lt General Peter Leahy, Chief of Army, and Mrs Leahy
Veterans of the battle of Coral and Balmoral
Families of those who gave their lives
Members of the diplomatic corps
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
We gather here in the nation's parliament to mark the 40th anniversary of a great example of the courage, conviction and dedication of Australia's servicemen in Vietnam.
We gather to honour you, the veterans of the Battles of Coral and Balmoral.
These battles saw some of the heaviest fighting and some of the most prolonged engagements of Australian forces in that theatre.
Between 12 May and 6 June 1968, the Australian forces were engaged almost daily with North Vietnamese Army regular forces.
The fighting was fierce because the North Vietnamese forces needed to clear the path to Saigon.
They had to eliminate Coral and Balmoral and the Australian Task Force so that they could secure their routes to and from Saigon following on from the Tet Offensive.
So the North Vietnamese forces launched attack after attack on Coral and Balmoral.
The first attacks began in the early hours the day after our forces arrived.
And that first encounter was a sign of things to come - fierce fighting, bloody fighting and at close quarters.
It could have been a disaster on that first night.
One soldier wrote of that first night at Coral: “Ammo was low, no grenades, the VC were all around us. Out of the 7 men around the M60, I had lost one dead and one wounded - there was nothing I could do.”
But, thanks to you, thanks to your determination, your professionalism and your courage, that first night was not a disaster.
In fact, far from it.
The enemy got a little more than they were bargaining for on that first night.
One officer said of his men: they “fought like thrashing machines”.
But of course our troops - you, our guests of honour tonight - did not just defend, you took the fight up to the enemy.
You spent days patrolling, searching for the enemy and on many occasions came into contact with a determined foe.
I understand that initially the infantry - like the infantry in every war, were a bit suspicious of working with tanks.
But after the first day's operation alongside elements of the 1st Armoured Regiment against enemy bunkers, perhaps more than a few minds had been changed.
And, just like 50 years earlier in the First World War when General Monash showed at the Battle of Le Hamel that tanks and infantry could work together, you showed that armour and infantry could form an effective fighting team.
The team at Coral and Balmoral went beyond the infantry and the tanks.
It included the APCs; it included the artillery; it included air crews and, of course, the medics.
What is remarkable about the battle is that despite all the chaos of the battlefield, and the chaos of trying to establish new positions, and coordinate all the elements of a complex and changing battle plan, everyone played their part - and everyone played their part with distinction.
In spite of the individual danger you all faced, in spite of the risks you all faced, you got on with it. You did your jobs.
When that happens, the people around you know that they can have confidence in you.
It lets them get on with their job too.
It is an important part of the great Australian tradition of looking after your mates.
It's part of the tradition of not letting your mates down.
It's part of the Australian tradition of the profession of arms
And that is the tradition that you lived up to 40 years ago.
It is that tradition that you added to by your actions 40 years ago.
Tonight, as Prime Minister of Australia, I want to pay tribute to your service to Australia in this great battle of the Vietnam War.
For your service, I say thank you.
For family members here tonight of those who lost their lives, I offer my sympathies.
For those whose service to the nation through this terrible war has not been properly honoured by government, I express regret.
We can never repay the price you have paid.
But tonight I say that we will properly honour the memory of those who fell in the actions around Coral and Balmoral.
Veterans of Australia - tonight it is my great pleasure to host this reception in your honour.
The political debate around the Vietnam War was great.
But there can be no debate about the valour of those who fought in that war - wearing proudly the uniform of Australia.
On this the 40th anniversary of the Battles of Coral and Balmoral, the nation salutes you.