Vietnam veterans will today remember the 50th anniversary of the end of the war in which 523 Australians died.
Sunshine Coast man, Laurie Drinkwater, fought in the iconic Battle of Long Tan on August 18, 1966 when a vastly outnumbered force of 108 Diggers defeated the enemy in a bloody confrontation in a rubber plantation.
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18 Australians were killed in the battle which lasted for little more than four hours in the middle of a tropical rain storm.
Today is Vietnam Veteran’s Day and Mr Drinkwater says it’s something he never forgets.
Veterans will turn out at cenotaphs and other memorials throughout the region today, including the Gympie RSL and in Maroochydore.
