Image above: Police block access to the Long Tan site.
A contestable happening
I am sure that you have seen today that tomorrows commemoration for the 50th anniversary of the battle of Long Tan in Vietnam has been cancelled by the Vietnamese authorities, despite 1000 veterans already being in the country.
History is contestable and what is this all about? Who is correct and can you see both sides of this issue? Have a read of these initial articles on this change of events.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-17/vietnam-police-block-access-to-long-tan-site/7756984
http://www.news.com.au/national/vietnam-cancels-long-tan-service/news-story/25c26bab525293ff15271975211fb6d9
You will see that the Vietnamese Authorities today have said that groups of 100 at a time may enter the Memorial site but cannot wear medals and speeches cannot be made. This issue raises some interesting questions about the nature of commemoration, dangers of perceived celebration in the land of the former foe and being sensitive to those who also died on the other side. You will read many conflicting points of view over coming days.
Keep watching and reading over the next few days to see what comes out of this - it is certainly relevant to our visit to the Long Tan site on our trip. I cannot see that these events will disrupt our tour in anyway but it certainly is an issue we as historians should think about. As you can appreciate, as I write this blog and we observe these happenings, history is being made.
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