HARRY Smith is still leading the charge for the men he commanded at the Battle of Long Tan 44 years ago.
But this time it will be in the Federal Court of Australia rather than a battlefield in Vietnam.
The retired Australian Army commander today announced he would pursue court action in the new year to have the efforts of 11 diggers, who fought in the 1966 battle, officially recognised with medals and commendations.
Lieutenant Colonel Smith, who previously vowed to maintain the fight for his men “until they put me in a box”, is scathing of the way medals were awarded during the Vietnam War.
“The ugly truth about Long Tan, and in fact the entire Vietnam War over a decade, is that senior officers took most of the awards at the expense of soldiers who fought in action,” he said in a statement.
“Many more went to major-generals, brigadiers, colonels and lieutenant colonels far from the action.”
The federal government has refused to award more medals and commendations for those who took part in the battle, saying that would amount to “excessive recognition”.
The government acted on a review by the Defence Honours and Awards Tribunal in arriving at its decision.
Colonel Smith claims the tribunal's review was “seriously flawed”.
The Battle of Long Tan in 1966 was Australia's first significant engagement of the Vietnam War.
It is considered the defining event of Australia's experience in the war, and the anniversary of the battle - August 18 - is recognised each year by veterans.
Outnumbered by more than 10 to one, 108 Australian and New Zealand troops led by Colonel Smith held their position against 2500 enemy troops for three hours in a rubber plantation deluged by monsoonal rains.
Eighteen Australian soldiers died and 21 were wounded.
But controversy over bravery medals has long dogged the memory of the battle.
Colonel Smith belatedly was awarded a Star of Gallantry for his role, having been downgraded from a Distinguished Service Order in 1966.
His list of soldiers deserving of awards for gallantry was slashed by senior officers.
In 1996, Colonel Smith launched a campaign to gain recognition for all the soldiers on his list when the awards were denied at a formal review in 1998, which approved 81 other Vietnam War awards.
The pending class action is in support of the final 11 men “left out in the cold” and Colonel Smith is confident the court will look favourably on the action.
“We wanted to appeal in 2009 but couldn't because the tribunal wasn't a statutory body under the Defence Act,” he said.
Now the tribunal has a new status which has opened its review to legal scrutiny.
The Federal Court will hear new evidence that includes claims of an invalid scale of awards introduced by Canberra just prior to the Long Tan battle, but not approved by British authorities until 1968.
It will be claimed also that Australian military chiefs at the time falsified statements about the dismissal or downgrading of half the awards Colonel Smith recommended for his soldiers.
At least three of the soldiers covered by the court action are dead, including one - Gordon Sharp - who died at Long Tan.
AAP
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