Long Tan CrossPrint Page 
The cross commemorates the Battle of Long Tan which was fought in August 1966, the eighteen soldiers who were killed and all those who served in the Vietnam conflict. The cross is a replica of the one which was erected at the site of the battle in Vietnam.
The Battle of Long Tan (18 August 1966) took place near the village of Long Tan, in Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The action was fought between Australian forces and Viet Cong and North Vietnamese units after the 108-man D Company, 6th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (6 RAR) clashed with a force of between 1,500 to 2,500 men from the Viet Cong 275th Regiment, reinforced by at least one North Vietnamese battalion and D445 Provincial Mobile Battalion.
Eighteen Australians were killed and 24 wounded, while the Viet Cong lost at least 245 dead which were found over the days that followed. A decisive Australian victory, Long Tan proved a major local set back for the Viet Cong.
Note: The Long Tan Cross is a memorial which was erected by the 6th battalion, Royal Australian Regiment on 18 August 1969 to mark the site of the Battle of Long Tan, which was fought three years earlier during the Vietnam War. While the cross was removed following the Communist victory in 1975 and used to commemorate a priest, it was recovered by the Dong Nai Province Museum in 1984 and placed on display. A replica cross was also erected on the battlefield during the 1980s, and is frequently visited by Australian Vietnam War veterans.
Australia's military involvement in the Vietnam War began with the arrival of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV) in South Vietnam during July and August 1962. Australia's participation in the war was formally declared at an end when the Governor-General issued a proclamation on 11 January 1973.
However, the end-date of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War has officially been amended to 29 April 1975 to reflect Australia’s further involvement in the war during the fall of Saigon in 1975. The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Australian War Memorial, in Canberra now recognise this new date.
Location
| Address: | Flinders Parade , Memorial Gardens , Victor Harbor, 5211 |
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| State: | SA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -35.554347 Long: 138.625014 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Cross |
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| Monument Theme: | Conflict |
| Sub-Theme: | Vietnam |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 18-August-1966 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 18-August-1966 |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Tuesday 18th August, 2009 |
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Plaque :
In memory of those members of D Coy and 3 TP 1 APC Sqn who gave their lives near this spot during the Battle of Long Tan on 18th August 1966
Erected by 6 RAR/NZ (ANZAC) Bn
18 Aug 69
Plaque :
This cross is a replica of the Long Tan Memorial cross that was erected at the site of the battle in Phuoc Tuy Province (now Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province) in what was then South Vietnam. The first Long Tan Cross was erected at the battle site on the third anniversary of the battle. When South Vietnam fell to the Communists in 1975, the cross was removed and stored in a nearby military museum.
A replica cross was allowed by the Vietnamese Government to be erected at the former battle site in 2002. It is only one of two foreign memorials the Vietnamese have allowed to be erected in their country; the other is at Dien Bien Phu. Funding for this memorial cross was made possible by a generous grant from the Department of Veteran`s Affairs.
Plaque :
Dedicated by Chaplain Brian Chalmers
18 August 2009
