Great interview . Dave Sabben is certainly in a position to explain quite eloquently what happened as he was there and had radio contact as well as contact with the opposing force. I’m glad to have come across this podcast, I have only viewed brief documentary footage that included Mr Sabben about the Battle. Thank you for your hard work and thank you Mr David Sabben for your service and very vivid recollection.
Some years ago I was honoured to meet one of Dave Sabben's 12 platoon Diggers. Private Harley Webb, National Serviceman, who had arrived at Nui Dat ,with two others as replacements, on 16 August. Private Webb was assigned to 12 platoon under Sabben. His two mates were assigned to 11 platoon. They were both killed in action early in the battle. Two days later he found himself in the rubber plantation under fierce attack. He was soon severely wounded. WO Jack Kirby rushed to him, picked him up and conveyed him to where the wounded were being gathered. Medic Dobson looked after him along with others. The battle finally ended and private Webb was eventually evacuated to Vung Tau and then onto Hollywood Hospital in Perth where he eventually recovered from his wounds. He then completed his National Service and went into civilian life. He married and raised a family on a cattle farm in the Albany area of WA. He said Kirby should have won a Victoria Cross for his work that day. Harley Webb sadly passed away a few years ago. No honour can be given than to be described as an Australian soldier. We Will Remember Them. Lest We Forget. Gary.
Great story and interview, very well spoken. I have spent some time in Vietnam and visited the Long Tan site. Respect and condolences to the soldiers from both sides involved.
I met a veteran of the battle while I was teaching in Cambodia. I'd never heard of Long Tan but became interested in it after talking to him. As a military action it merits far greater fame. Dave Sabben is an eloquent interviewee and a genuine hero, as were all the 6th RAR guys who took part in the fight. I really enjoyed this talk. Thanks so much for posting. Dave, UK.
Thanks Dave, really appreciate the comment, and glad this interview resonated! Dave Sabben is a true gentleman. Check out “Danger Close” movie as well. Thanks again...all the best from across the pond!
It is well worth a visit out to the Long Tan memorial cross at the Long Tan rubber plantation and old Nui Dat base, and can be facilitated by several tour companies housed at Vung Tau. It is a very sobering experience to visit these sites but one I hope most Australians and others will endeavour to do. Thanks Dave Sabben for a comprehensive audio account of the battle of Long Tan.
Thanks Dave and Mark!Fascinating! The only ‘downside’,if you can call it that, is that it confirms that most of our American friends don’t seem to know much about Australia’s contribution.The same can probably be said of American perceptions of Australians in WW2. Diggers have always punched well above their weight.
No doubt! If there are any potential guests and/or books and documentaries you can recommend, please send us an e-mail at producer@hazardground.com. We're always willing to learn more of what our coalition partners have contributed in the past, and share their stories if the opportunity is there. Thanks for listening and supporting the show! Spread the word!
it also confirms that most Australians dont know ! Not the truth any way! Saben was a 2ns lieu,,,,,NOT an expert.....2nd lt conscripts were ...generally...coinsidered a joke.
@@Sq12Sq22u22 I can assure you, 2nd Lieutenant or not, Dave Sabben is NOT joke. He is a very well respected former digger. He is a gentleman and a bloody good bloke. And yes, I do know him, and YES, I am an ex digger. The other 2nd Lieutenants at the battle namely Geoff Kendall and Gordon Sharp (who paid with his life) were not jokes.
That was an excellent podcast. I'd heard of the battle from my late father (an Arty officer) who did all his Gunnery training in Australia in the 60's but I never knew the name of the battle. A few years ago I came across the book in an airport in Brisbane on the way out. I didn't sleep a wink on the 8 hour flight back home, eye glued to the pages. Dave Stabben's articulate recollection was fantastic. Well done!
I stumbled across this looking at interviews of Long Tan veterans, great job. I had the great honor of being able to have 3 Veterans of this battle together doing rehab at my work and was able to introduce them to each other as they were from different Companies. One was a casualty from 11 platoon left on the battlefield overnight, another was from A company that came to assist them mounted on the APCs and the other was from B company the company that Delta replaced on the 18th August 1966. I am ex Australian Army and knew a lot about the battle and to meet these blokes was living history and they all have a great sense of humour. You might want to read a book about the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam called The Team a great insight into Australia's contribution to that war. Keep up the good work
Thanks! And thanks for listening and supporting the show! Pretty cool that you got to meet those guys! After hearing Dave's story and watching "Danger Close" we certainly have a much deeper appreciation for Australia's contribution to the war in Vietnam. Thanks again for sending, and we'll definitely check out that book.
I well presented documentation of the battle of Long tan, i spent twenty years in the arm forces Army, i was involved in the battle of Bin Ba 1969 5RAR and again in 1971
Something to remember about the D Company 6RAR boys is that yes they were only carrying 60 rounds each but this was in 7.62mm NATO in 20 round magazines, not 5.56mm, and as David said, up until that point previous units had found that enough as the VC never stayed to fight. But back in the day you’d only fit 2 twenty round SLR (FAL) magazines in a pouch so even with full webbing you’d still only have four magazines in two pouches plus the one in your SLR rifle making 100 rounds in total. Things have changed a lot since then. Chest webbing was unheard of in the infantry until 20 years ago, but since Afghanistan it’s become standard issue.
If you listen to some accounts of Long Tan they claim the APC's arrival saved the day, but according to Dave Sabben's account (and he should know) the battle was over by the time they arrived and any action the APC's had was peripheral. The action that probably saved them in the final stages was the ammunition resupply by those Huey pilots who'd previously flown in Little Pattie.
I just had a question about the battle of Long Tan. Was the an enlisted man called Seabrook in D company? The only reason I ask was I used to have a girlfriend from the Barossa Valley up at Nuioppta and her sisters father in law was a veteran of Long Tan apparantly.... I always wondered what platoon he may have been in My old dad was 2nd lieutenant Rod Smith at the time from 1st platoon A company 7rar at Soui Choi Pha in 1967 who's fellas got pretty shot up... on that unfortunate day
The Australian Engineer Corps trained US military just outside of Sydney in tunnel warfare, Fact! the ANZAC's do a hell of a lot in conflicts around the world that take place but our participation always seems to be over shadowed by the US as if they are the only one's taking up the fight. A Pod cast like this allows the true story to be told, pity these stories are being told 55 years to late when these guys should have received a pat on the back for their efforts back then. It's a shame that a lot of veterans are not with us now to hear their story being told, so bitter sweet!
The Australians were the ambush specialists, they did not have the numbers for the big battles....But....5000 enemy were accounted for during the Australian Task Force time with losses of, sadly, about 500 men...
Dave points out that his call-up was a Govt response to a then agressive Indonesia. Maybe today we need to start thinking about it again and our newest potential enemy - China (or is it really Bunnings/Coles/Woolworths?) The shite we pay for every day that fails a week later or the shite we pay for tasteless Asian frozen food - perhaps this is China's super-smart new form of warfare? In the meantime, super-rich shiny black-haired zipper heads occupy teaching positions in our Universities and their kin are buying up Australian real estate.
