The Wire

It’s Vietnam Veterans Day. Originally known as Long Tan Day, the 18th of August commemorates the battle of Long Tan where 108 Australian and New Zealand men defeated than two thousand North Vietnamese and Viet-Cong troops. The welcome back from the conflict to 1970’s Australia was less than ecstatic, and this combined with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder made normal life nearly impossible for the veterans. Retired Lieutenant Colonel and Vietnam Vet Gary McKale has published ten books on Vietnam. His book ‘Going Back’ describes the benefits of returning to former battlefields as a treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He routinely takes groups of veterans back to Vietnam himself to aid their recovery.