Local Interest
The original Long Tan cross was erected on the battle ground in Vietnam in the 1960s: ABC News
tant part of the identity of both nations, shaping the ways they viewed both their past and their future.
During the 1920s Anzac Day became established as a national day of commemoration for the more than 60,000 Aus-
tralians who had died during the war. In 1927, for the first time, every state observed some form of public holiday
on Anzac Day. By the mid-1930s all the rituals we now associate with the day – dawn vigils, marches, memorial
services, reunions, two-up games – were firmly established as part of Anzac Day culture.
With the coming of the Second World War, Anzac Day also served to commemorate the lives of Australians who
died in that war. In subsequent years, the meaning of the day has been further broadened to include those who were
killed in all the military operations in which Australia has been involved.
Anzac Day was first commemorated at the Memorial in 1942. At the time, government orders prohibited large
public gatherings in case of a Japanese air attack, so it was a small occasion with neither a march nor a memorial
service.
Although the reasons are different in Vietnam this year, it is the wishes of The Socialist Republic of Vietnam to
enforce similar restrictions. Not to permit mass meetings, parades or illegal encroachment on private property is the
right of the people's committee of Vietnam; we are invited guests in this country we have come to call home, and as
such must respect the laws and wishes of its leaders.
Our national day of commemoration may be seen as a national day of celebration in the eyes of a different culture,
which to them is discourteous, we must remember this is a culture we have proudly said we want to embrace. We can
still commemorate our fallen comrades, just not in the manner we have been accustomed to, after all, our forefathers
did the same.
So, there is no misunderstanding, I am not a veteran and do not claim to fully understand the complex emotions that
this very special day has for those who are. I did have very close family that were veterans, my father and grandfa-
ther, and my intent is not to diminish the importance of the day – quite the contrary, what I have tried to do is to give
some rational to the cultural differences we experience as expats living in Vietnam.
The MAG Vung Tau
11