A debt of gratitude to Australia's Vietnam veterans

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, fought on 18 August 1966.

Eighteen young Australians lost their lives, and 24 others were wounded. Their courage and sacrifice must never be forgotten.

On this solemn anniversary, I wish to pay heartfelt tribute to the Australian servicemen and women who served in Vietnam. For many Vietnamese Australians, their service is not simply a chapter in military history. It is deeply personal. They stood beside the people of South Vietnam and helped us defend the freedom and democracy we cherished.

After the fall of South Vietnam in 1975, my father—along with thousands of South Vietnamese military officers—was ordered to report for what was described as a meeting. Trusting the new regime they complied. Instead, they were taken away and imprisoned in so-called “re-education camps”, where many endured years of hard labour, political indoctrination, hunger and separation from their families. Some died in those camps; others were killed while attempting to escape.

For families such as mine, these memories have never faded.

Following the communist victory, millions of Vietnamese people fled their homeland. They escaped by sea in fragile small wooden boats or crossed dangerous land borders, risking piracy, starvation, imprisonment and death. They did not leave because they wanted to abandon the country they loved. They left because they faced an unbearable choice: remain and risk oppression and persecution, or place their lives—and the lives of their children—in the hands of fate.

Many did not survive the journey.

The Vietnam War remains one of the most painful and divisive conflicts in Australia’s history.

Some believe it was merely a civil war or that Australia’s involvement served no meaningful purpose. I respectfully ask them to consider the lived experiences of those of us who came from South Vietnam.

We remember what it was like to live with hope. We remember the freedoms we were trying to preserve. We also remember what happened when those freedoms were lost.

More than half a century after 1975, Vietnam remains a one-party state in which political dissent is severely restricted. Democracy advocates and government critics continue to face arrest and imprisonment, while laws governing cybersecurity and online expression allow the authorities to tightly control what citizens may say, read and share.

The experience of Sydney democracy activist Chau Van Kham is a painful example. He was detained in Vietnam in 2019 and sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment following a trial that raised serious concerns about due process. He was finally released in 2023, after spending more than four years in prison, and returned to his family in Australia.

For Vietnamese refugees and their descendants, these realities give profound meaning to the service of Australians in Vietnam. During the years that Australian forces stood beside South

Vietnam, we were given precious time—however brief—to live with freedom, dignity and hope.

We can never repay that gift.

Our gratitude belongs not only to those who served, but also to the families who waited anxiously for them at home. Some welcomed home sons, husbands, fathers and brothers who were foreverchanged by what they had witnessed. Others endured the unimaginable grief of never seeing their loved ones return.

Whether they were national servicemen or volunteers, every Australian who served carried an enormous burden on behalf of others. Many were young men sent far from home into a war whose scars remained with them long after the fighting ended. Too often, they returned to a country that did not give them the understanding, respect or gratitude they deserved.

To Australia’s Vietnam veterans, I say this from the deepest part of my heart: you were never forgotten by the people of South Vietnam.

We remember your courage. We remember your suffering. We remember the mates you left behind. Above all, we remember that you came to help defend a people and a country far from your own.

We also honour the soldiers and personnel of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam who served and died defending their homeland, sovereignty and freedom. Together with their Australian allies, they will remain our heroes.

As long as we live, we have a responsibility to preserve their stories and pass them to future generations. Gratitude must not end with those who personally witnessed the war. It must live on in our children and grandchildren, so they understand the price that was paid for the freedom and democracy we are privileged to enjoy in Australia today.

Their sacrifice will remain forever in our hearts.

Lest we forget.

Mrs Teresa Thuy Tran OAM is a member of the Advisory Board of the Vietnamese Community in Australia – Wollongong Chapter.

In 2026, she and her husband, H. Phong Le OAM, were jointly named Wollongong Citizens of the Year. The couple are refugees from Vietnam who have spent more than 30 years strengthening cultural connections and supporting war veterans and widows in their community.

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