Tilpa Anzac reunion for Vietnam vets

Attending the ANZAC Day service at Tilpa were platoon mates Ron Ash Qld; Vic Tatnall Victoria; Rob Macklemann Qld;  Dick Jack Victoria; Peter Luffman NSW; Ken McGowan Qld; Alex Cutting South Australia; Eddie Nicholson Victoria; absent: Heather Wuilleman representing her very recently departed husband. Photo Adam Taylor

Peter Luffman, a former grazier from Tilpa and a Vietnam veteran, returned to the tiny village of Tilpa last week for an ANZAC Day reunion with eight of his fellow soldiers.

“The group at Tilpa was the 9 Platoon group from Charlie Company, of the 3rd the third battalion to the Royal Australian Regiment tour of Vietnam in 1968,” Mr Luffman, who now lives in Sydney, said.

“We are all veterans of the Battle of Coral-Balmoral, for which the battalion won a citation. We’ve stuck together as a group and supported one another now for about 50 years.”

In the Coral-Balmoral battle, fighting unfolded around Fire Support Patrol Bases Coral and Balmoral, with both bases sustaining prolonged enemy attacks. Twenty-six Australian lives were lost in the battle, and more than 100 Australians were injured.

Mr Luffman said in his ANZAC Day address that soldiers in conflicts since World War Two basically fought wars without fronts, meaning they never knew who the enemy was or where they were coming from.

“The pressure that puts on mind and body is just enormous. So many were lost without ever seeing an enemy,” he said. “To give you an example, our 3RAR battalion cleared mines and tunnels in the Long Hi Hills, fought street battles in Ba-ria, searched villages, patrolled deep thick jungles and rivers, and defended Fire Support Bases and Airfields including Coral and Balmoral.” […]

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