By JILL L’ESTRANGE

Vietnam Veterans Day was marked on Monday 18 August — a significant date on Australia’s national calendar, set aside to honour the 60,000 Australians who served in the Vietnam War.

The day also commemorates the anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, fought in 1966.

Here in Mosman, the occasion holds deep local significance.

Middle Head was the training ground for the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV) — the very first troops deployed to Vietnam. Their story is one of courage, sacrifice, and a unique chapter in Australia’s military history.

The AATTV was a specialist unit made up of elite soldiers, handpicked to serve as military advisors supporting South Vietnamese forces. They trained at the School of Military Intelligence at Middle Head, where they learned combat intelligence, Vietnamese language skills, and foreign army tactics.

They also completed the infamous Code of Conduct Course — known as “The School of Torture” — deep in the tunnels of Middle Head Fort, designed to prepare them for interrogation and capture.

Some of the nation’s most decorated soldiers passed through this very site:

Sergeant Ray ‘Simmo’ Simpson, VC, DCM had an exemplary career spanning service during WWII, Korea, Malaya and Vietnam. He arrived in Saigon with the first Australian contingent on 3 August 1962.

Captain Barry Petersen, MC was sent to Vietnam in 1963 under the command of the CIA. Petersen was ordered to train and lead guerilla squads of Montagnard tribesmen again the Viet Cong in the remote Central Highlands. Petersen successfully formed a fearsome militia, named ‘Tiger Men’. A canny leader, he was courageous in battle, and his bravery saw him awarded the coveted Military Cross and worshipped by the hill tribes.

Warrant Officer 1 George Chinn, DCM completed a tour of duty in South Vietnam with AATTV 1964-65. He later accompanied the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR) on its first tour of duty in 1966-67, which included the Battle of Long Tan.

Many others followed in their footsteps, bunking in the timber barracks, the 10 Terminal HQ, and the so-called “tiger cages” in the tunnels – all of them remaining as a handful of tangible reminders of Australia’s commitment to Vietnam.

These Barracks now face an uncertain future, as the Harbour Trust wants to demolish all three buildings as part of the Master Plan for Middle Head.

The Middle Head military village is recognised as an important part of Australia’s national heritage, with Commonwealth heritage protections across the precinct.

Many in the community argue that demolition of the Barracks buildings would diminish this heritage and with it the stories of those who lived there.

The Harbour Trust, which has a statutory obligation to preserve and conserve the military heritage at Middle Head, including the Barracks, instead plans to landscape the area for gatherings, festivals and concerts.

*Footnote. Jill L’Estrange is President of the Headland Preservation Group.