Pipers Iain Townsley (left) and Roy Gilmore play the bagpipes at the Long Tan Cross on Sunday 8th January 2012. This is believed to be the first time the pipes have been played at the Cross since 1969 when the memorial was first dedicated.
On Saturday, 7 January 2012, there was a grand opening of the Worldwide Arms Museum in Vung Tau. The museum, as reported in the Saigon Times on 9 January, “covers 1,500 square metres and displays over 1,000 military uniforms and ancient weapons from the U.K, France, Turkey, Mongolia and China, and especially a 19th century sword collection from Vietnam’s Muong ethnic minority people.”
To mark the occasion, owner, Robert Taylor, flew out two pipers from Melbourne. The pipers, Iain Townsley and Roy Gilmore (pipers with the VSR Association) played from the turrets of the castle-like museum.
The pipers play at the opening of the Worldwide Arms Museum in Vung Tau.
Officials from the Ministry of Culture in Hanoi were so impressed with the dignity of the event that they agreed to a request on behalf of the Veteran Community Vung Tau to allow the pipers to play at the Long Tan Cross the following day. The Long Tan Cross stands on the site of an horrific firefight in a rubber plantation between Australian and Viet Cong forces on 18 August 1966 close to the village of Long Tan in Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam.
The Vietnamese Government has only allowed two foreign governments to erect memorials on its soil: the French (Dien Bien Phu) and the Australians (Long Tan). Permission to build the memorials was granted subject to visitors not wearing uniforms, medals, playing music or displaying national flags.
In a very significant gesture, on this occasion, not only did the Government officials generously allow the pipers to play several pieces of music, they also gave permission for them to wear their uniforms and medals as requested by the veteran community Vung Tau.
It is believed to be the first time the bagpipes have been played at Long Tan since the Cross was raised on 18 August 1969; the third anniversary of the Battle. (Photo: Australian War Memorial.)
From the roadway, the pipers played as they marched the 100 metres down the avenue towards the Cross. They continued playing a Lament at the Cross “Flowers of the Forest”. Before marching off Iain (from the SAS Association) played a Piobaireachd, “The Company’s Lament”. It was indeed a splendid sight and extremely moving.
Glenn Nolan (Former 6 RAR) who was in attendance believes that this is the first time that pipes have been heard at Long Tan since the Cross was raised on the third anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan in 1969. “There wasn’t a dry eye”, said Glenn. “The hairs stood up on the back of everyone’s neck. It was a moving ceremony to say the least.”
This article is reproduced courtesy of the Vietnam Swans’ - see their website at http://vietnamswans.com/
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