Feature – A tangible connection: Long Tan remembered

Recognising the important need to grieve those who have lost their lives or been wounded in conflicts, former army engineer Jim Straker has donated a memento of the Battle of Long Tan to the Maleny RSL.  

by Judy Fredriksen

Jim Straker, being a Nasho, was eager to go to Vietnam. However, at the time of the Battle of Long Tan in 1966, he was still undertaking his training as an army engineer. 

Long Tan was a battle that achieved one of the most incredible outcomes during the Vietnam War. It came about when a company of only 108 Australian and New Zealand soldiers were patrolling the rubber plantation around their army base and encountered around two thousand Viet Cong hastily advancing on them. Against all odds, the Aussies drove the North Vietnamese back, suffering minimal losses of life (18) compared to the Viet Cong (245).

The attack was so unexpected, that many fellow soldiers were only a few kilometres away, enjoying a concert by Col Joye and the Joy Boys and 17-year-old singer Little Patti. As soon as the news of the attack reached the base, it was all hands on deck, with one report saying that everyone on the base was pitching in, even admin people and cooks. 

In describing the outcome, Jim says: “It was a very, very big turning point because the North Vietnamese were working their way down. They suddenly ran into the Australians. After that they tended not to come anywhere near the Australians ... They suddenly realised how good the Australian soldiers were and how capable they were of dealing with what was going on.”

And so, the indomitable spirit and courage of the Aussie Digger lived on in folklore that was originally forged well over a century ago. 

According to Chris Brooker, Maleny RSL spokesperson, the Battle of Long Tan and the actual date – 18th August – “is part of our national psyche. A lot of people don’t realise that, but it is. The Battle of Long Tan is the basis of Vietnam Veteran’s Day.”

Some years later in 1968 while the Vietnam War was still raging, Jim – by now a trained army officer and engineer – finally had the chance to go to Vietnam where he served for ten months.

Sadly, the Vietnam War turned out to be politically and socially divisive, with many soldiers returning not to the hero’s welcome their WWI and WWII forebears enjoyed.

Instead, many were shamed, ostracised and maltreated.

Upon returning to Vietnam in 2001 to work on an engineering project, Jim and his wife Kim made a point of visiting the Long Tan site where a memorial cross had been erected in 1969.

This was not a straightforward exercise; the roads were so bad that the cross was only accessible by motorbike and the visit required a police permit. After putting so much effort into getting there, Jim acquired a small soil sample from beneath the hallowed cross which bears a plaque stating:

IN MEMORY OF THOSEMEMBERS OF D COY AND3 TP 1 APC SQN WHO GAVETHEIR LIVES NEAR THISSPOT DURING THE BATTLEOF LONG TAN ON 18TH AUGUST 1966ERECTED BY 6RAR/NZ(ANZAC) BN 18 AUG 69.

Though nobody enjoys conflicts, they are a fact of life and Jim says it’s important to acknowledge them “because people die. Therefore there’s a need to have some sort of token or thing around which people can gather to remember those that were lost and to develop the courage and also the character of the Australian people. Each one of these wars, no matter where it is, what it was, has come up with things like that. 

“This (Long Tan Cross) was an example where it really bonded a lot of Australians towards supporting the people who were there, even at a time of a lot of non-support. It gives people something to think about and a story to understand how people can react in difficult circumstances. That’s not only war. That can also be earthquakes, it can be fire, it can be floods. I’ve been through a couple of those, as well as helped out. It’s really a symbol of something that people can think about.” 

After returning to Australia, Jim and Kim kept the soil sample in a cupboard, but decided it was high time it found a more appropriate home. 

“It’s more important that it be put in a place where it can be seen and understood and thus considered by people who are in the army. Therefore our local RSL, which is a great organisation, is the right place for it to go.”

In accepting the donation, Chris says, “I think this is absolutely brilliant. We’ll put it in the RSL and it will just take a place of honour .” 

The soil sample and explanation will be placed in one of the memorabilia display cabinets at the Maleny RSL where it will be accessible for everyone to view and reflect upon.