The "medals" for Long Tan

"The government of South Vietnam realised that this battle was significant and wished to award decorations to the Australians involved. But at almost the last moment, with the ceremony already arranged and those attending it already in place, word was received from Australia that the traditional policy of non-acceptance of foreign awards was to be observed. This was embarrassing both to the Vietnamese and to the Australians, and a compromise was reached. 

The Australians paraded and were presented with dolls in Vietnamese national dress, and also cigarette-cases and lighters. ... It says much for the often-maligned Vietnamese that they went ahead with the ceremony, persisting in observing the spirit of honouring their allies." 

Front row, left to right: Private (Pte) Noel Grimes of Stuart Town, NSW; Pte Allan May of Wynnum, Qld; Pte Bill (Yank) Akell of Townsville, Qld; Pte Neil Bextrum of Perth, WA; Lance Corporal (L/Cpl) Bill Roche of Narrandera, NSW. Back row: Second Lieutenant Geoff Kendall of Underdale, SA; Sergeant Bob Buick of Brisbane, Qld; Pte Geoff Peters of Yagoona, Sydney, NSW; Corporal Bill (Bluey) Moore of Stafford Heights, Qld; L/Cpl Barry Magnussen of Aspley, Qld; Pte Ian Campbell of Murwillumbah, NSW. (Quote from "The Battle of Long Tan" by Lex McAulay).

• Some men were individually decorated for their actions at Long Tan. 
  • Many believe that the awards were on the very low side of just acceptable. 
• The Unit was awarded the US Presidential Citation as discussed elsewhere.

These are clippings from Brisbane's "Courier Mail" newspaper in 1998.

• Other pages that are relevant:-
  • 6RAR
  • "the tracks" at Long Tan
  • The Battle of Long Tan

Imperial Decorations and Awards

• Decorations and awards for the battle were supplemented by the US Presidential Unit Citation. The list below sets out the decorations and awards bestowed under the Commonwealth (Imperial) system. Note that some of these awards are service awards, not gallantry, and may not have been specifically for Long Tan. They are marked *
  • Distinguished Service Order (DSO) *
    • Brigadier O D Jackson
    • Lieutenant-Colonel C Townsend

• Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) *
  • Captain M Stanley (NZ)

• Military Cross (MC)
  • Major H A Smith

• Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) 
  • Warrant Officer 2 J W Kirby 
  • Corporal J Carter

• Military Medal (MM)
  • Sergeant R S Buick
  • Private R M Eglinton

• Mentioned in Dispatches (MID)
  • Lieutenant F.A. Roberts
  • Second Lieutenant G.M. Kendall
  • Second Lieutenant D.R. Sabben
  • Warrant Officer 2 J.W. Roughley
  • Corporal P.N. Dobson
  • Corporal W.R. Moore
  • Private W.A. Akell

Australians eligible to wear the emblem of the PUC awarded for Long Tan are:

Pte C. J. Whiston - KIA

Republic of Viet Nam medals approved for Long Tan survivors.(2004)

The history is that these men were selected to be awarded Imperial awards for actions at Long Tan. The Imperial awards were then downgraded and many were knocked back. When the RVN called for award nominations, the knocked-back Imperial citations were transferred to the RVN.

Despite criticisms from those not on the list, there was no arbitrary 'names out of a hat' selection.
I have heard some suggest that names were picked at random - not true, and under Kirby and Smith, unimaginable! I cited two men for MIDs in 12 Platoon - I wanted to cite two more but was disallowed.
Those two men were Neil Bextrum and Noel Grimes (the press release spells 'Grime').

They both performed well throughout the Battle and in the final position, it was they who carried Paul Large to the CAP while under fire. Their MIDs were knocked back - so I put them up for the RVN medals. I would guess that other platoons did similar with their nominations.  NOT arbitrary or random.

The RVN unit citation was also offered but not (yet) approved. This is only because the legislation enabling the individual awards did not include 'unit' awards....We feel that this might be amended.

It remains that for the average soldier who fought at Long Tan, he can only be identified by his wearing a foreign award, the US PUC.

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