Vietnam allows subdued ceremony for Vietnam War battle

By Bennett Murray 

HANOI

Vietnam allowed Australian veterans limited access to a battlefield site Thursday, the day after authorities canceled planned commemorations for one of the bloodiest battles of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War. 

A large ceremony planned for Thursday was to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1966 battle at Long Tan, but local authorities abruptly canceled events Wednesday.

The battle, which saw 18 Australian troops and hundreds of Vietnamese killed, ended in victory for the Australians, who were fighting for the United States-led coalition at the time.

On Thursday, however, they were back on, the Australian embassy in Hanoi announcing that the commemoration had now been permitted with "strict conditions".

While events as planned were still off, attendees were allowed access to the battlefield in small groups throughout the day.

Events were to include a concert by 1960s pop star Patricia "Little Patty" Amphlett, who the Australian broadcaster ABC has reported was a 17-year-old entertaining troops on the back of a truck at the Australian Taskforce Base at Nui Dat when the battle began.

ABC said that their crew was turned away 200 meters (656 feet) from the site of the planned ceremony, which was to include more than 1,000 visiting Australians according to the government statement.

The Australian government has made clear its disappointment.

“The government is deeply disappointed at this decision, and the manner in which it was taken, so close to the commemoration service taking place,” read a joint Wednesday statement from Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop and Veterans’ Affairs Minister Dan Tehan.

The Vietnamese government, whose forces fought against Australia during the war, has not stated the reason for its sudden decision to forbid the much larger ceremony originally planned.

The war, which Vietnamese refer to as the American War, ended in a communist victory in 1975.

It continues to be a sensitive topic in Vietnam, despite improved ties with its former foes.

Hanoi estimates that at least 3 million Vietnamese, including 2 million civilians, died in the conflict.

Each year, thousands of visitors from Australia and New Zealand attend a dawn service in Turkey’s western Canakkale province to commemorate the anniversary of the landing of foreign troops on Turkish soil during World War I.

Whereas in the past, the occasion has been a well-respected somber affair, a 2014 study for Australia's study for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs expressed concern about "the increasingly excessive use of alcohol during Anzac Day commemorations nowadays".

Such behavior detracts "from the original spirit of the day and negatively impact on the veteran commemorations and traditions," it said.