Your Excellency the Governor General and Mrs Jeffery, the New Zealand High Commissioner, other diplomatic representatives, veterans of the Vietnam War and my other fellow Australians. The year 2006 marks the anniversaries of two great battles in Australian military history; marks 90 years since the Battle of Fromelles in France in 1916, and 40 years since the Battle of Long Tan in Vietnam. And although those two battles are separated in time by 50 years and separated by thousands of miles from where they took place, they are bound together in the history of this country, and in the consciousness of who we are, by the common characteristics of Australians that were on display at those two battles, those characteristics of courage, of initiative, of individual fortitude, and of mateship. The Battle of Long Tan was, of course, the first great engagement of the Vietnam War and recorded the greatest loss of Australian lives in any individual battle. Those who served in Vietnam, and I am delighted that so many of them have been able to make the journey to Canberra for this very important commemoration, those who served in Vietnam are indelibly and permanently part of the great Australian Anzac tradition.
The Vietnam War was the longest military engagement in which Australia took part, it lasted 11 years, from 1962 to 1973. Like all wars it had its differences from others, it was a war fought essentially by ambush and patrol, it was a war that placed an enormous psychological strain on those who participated, and we are very conscious of the lingering impact of that psychological strain. And on this occasion, we also remember the bravery, not only of our allies such as New Zealand and the United States, but also the bravery of the men of the army of the old Republic of South Vietnam, who fought so very bravely alongside our men. We saw 59,000 Australians, of which 15,000 were national servicemen, take part in that war. And as we remember them, and we particularly remember with sadness the 500 who gave their lives, let me say to all of you that have come here for these series of events, let me say on behalf of a grateful nation, a nation which perhaps indeed, certainly was not as grateful and as respectful as it should have been 40 years ago, let me say to all of you as you leave Canberra and you go to your homes all around our country, that your nation honours you, your nation respects you, and your nation thanks you for your courage and your commitment and the way in which you did your duty as asked of you by your nation, and the way in which you upheld the finest traditions of military service of which Australians are so proud.
Your fellow Australians admire you, and we thank you for your sacrifice and your contribution.
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