Tonight I am in Los Angeles, attending the US premiere of the Australian movie, “Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan” which depicts the most epic battle of ANZAC forces in the Vietnam war. A company of 108 young and mostly inexperienced Australian and New Zealand soldiers are fighting for their lives, holding off an overwhelming enemy force of 2,500 battle-hardened Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers.
Hope to see some of you there.
well its already on Piratebay and other torrents, or xdcc.eu for you mirc users
How many Americans know that Australia sent troops to fight with us in Vietnam? They have been an unwavering ally
Unfortunately, not too many my friend.
There was us (Australia), New Zealand, Thailand and South Korea actually.
They lost me as an audience when they didn’t bother to have the troopies carry the proper rifles. The Aussies were equipped with Australian made L1A1s (FN FAL), and went into battle carrying a basic load of 60 rounds. They were literally down to their last rounds when the relief force broke through. Brave Lads!
How do I know this? I was there as a communications intelligence specialist (airborne radio direction finding) tracking the VC regiment that they were fighting.
After speaking with the producer last night about a few of the inaccuracies, he said it all came down to budget. You either have all the money you want or you don’t. And they didn’t.
I am not sure what you mean by saying the movie did not show the troopies carry the proper rifles. We had 1 x GPMG M60 per section, most riflemen carried the L1A1 (SLR) and there was a limited number of M16’s distributed, mostly going to Pl Comds/Pl Sgts and forward scouts, and yes some troops (mainly medics) carried the old OMC sub-machine gun. All these weapons were depicted in the movie. But how do i know you may ask? Because I was there as a member of 11 Pl, D/6.
How would you rate the accuracy & characterization?
As a dual US/Aus citizen (with time in NZ) that’s spent his entire adult life working for the USG, I love the idea of this movie and can’t wait to see it. Hoping it comes out on the big screen in the DC area. The ANZUS relationship (I know it hasn’t been official since the 80s… but NZ has that right) is special and I’m happy for US audiences to see that those Diggers and Kiwis not only have fought alongside the big green machine for most of the 20th and 21st century’s pivotal conflicts, but they did so with great courage and success.
Ive never been to the Nam, but to me the film locations looked more like australia, borneo or some kind of south pacific region, hence the gum trees and such.
Long Tan was a rubber plantation, hence the rubber trees.