By Justin Flynn
OCEAN Grove/Barwon Heads RSL held a moving ceremony to observe the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan on 18 August.
More than 50 people attended the service at Ocean Grove Park.
Vietnam Veterans Day is held each 18 August and 521 Australian soldiers lost their lives during the Vietnam War.
President Graham Fisher addressed the gathering followed by a prayer of thanksgiving from sub-branch padre Phillip Christian.
Guest speaker Kerry Ridgeway then spoke of the atrocities of the war and the battle that many Diggers had after returning home, which included suicide, severe depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and outright hostility from the public who opposed the war.
It was followed by the Last Post, a minute’s silence and the Australian national anthem.
The ceremony was attended by Federal Corangamite MP Sarah Henderson and it was held at 3.42pm, the exact time the first artillery rounds of the Battle of Long Tan were fired.
