The original cross from the battle of Long Tan, an important symbol of the Vietnam War, will be on display for the first time in Australia from 17 August at the Australian War Memorial . 

Acting Director of the Australian War Memorial Nola Anderson said the 1966 battle of Long Tan, where 18 Australian soldiers were killed fighting against Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army forces, has come to symbolise the nation’s ten-year long involvement in the Vietnam War.

“The Long Tan cross is a memorial to the soldiers who fought and died at the battle of Long Tan…the cross also acts as a reminder of the sacrifice of all those Australians who served in the Vietnam War,” she said.

“The Australian War Memorial is proud to be able to display this important symbol from Australia’s history.”                                                                                           

On 18 August 1969, three years after the battle, Anzac soldiers placed the cross in the Long Tan rubber plantation in Phuoc Tuy province (now Ba Ria–Vung Tau province) in South Vietnam.

The original cross, on loan from the Dong Nai Museum and the Ministry of Culture, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, will be on display at the Australian War Memorial until April next year.