60th anniversary marked at service

Vietnam Veterans' Day was commemorated last Tuesday with a special service at Warragul cenotaph that also marked the 60th anniversary of the 1966 Battle of Long Tan.
Warragul RSL president Lynn Mizen said the Vietnam War taught Australians never to judge soldiers by the politics of a war.
"The nation who struggled to understand your service now profoundly honours it.
"We remember those who never came home, we honour those who did, and we thank the families who walked beside them every step of the way," she said.
Ms Mizen said Vietnam Veterans' Day was not about dates or casualties but the "faces, names and mates they remember."
She said it was a day to commemorate young Australians who did an extraordinary job.
"Generation after generation have answered the call of duty...the young Australians in Vietnam may have worn different uniforms but they showed the same courage," she said.
Ms Mizen said many Vietnam soldiers had never travelled more than 100 miles from home, or been on a plane but became national servicemen because their birthdate was drawn from a barrel.
She said the men called up for service were not super heroes - "just ordinary Australians doing extraordinary things."
"Despite the uncertainty and harsh climate, their service never waivered...often in the face of overwhelming adversity."
Yet for many, Ms Mizen said, the most difficult battle was when they returned home.On their return to Australia in 1973, Ms Mizen said many faced "silence, indifference or outright hostility."
"For many, those words have never truly healed. Imagine serving your country only to come home and wonder if your country still wanted you.
"Vietnam taught us to never judge the soldier by the politics of the war," she said.
Ms Mizen said it was Vietnam veterans who broke the silence on trauma and it was because of them that the wider community now understand post traumatic stress disorder.
"We honour those who were killed, those who returned wounded and those who are still with us today. And we honour the families who quietly carry the burdens, the wives who stood steadfast," she said.
Acknowledging the 60th anniversary since the Battle of Long Tan, Ms Mizen said Australian troops were patrolling a rubber plantation when they came under attack.
The battle resulted in 18 Australians killed and 24 wounded - "it was our costliest single action of the Vietnam war."
Throughout the war, Ms Mizen said almost 60,000 Australian troops were deployed, 3000 were wounded and there were 523 deaths.
Wreaths were laid by representatives of Warragul, Drouin and Longwarry RSL branches, Vietnam Veterans, South African Military Veterans Organisation Australia and Baw Baw Shire Council.