The 45th anniversary of the battle of Long Tan in Vietnam was commemorated for the first time at the National War Memorial in Wellington on Thursday.
The commemoration marks the 1966 battle fought between North Vietnamese forces and an Australian infantry company that included three New Zealanders.
A North Vietnamese battalion of 2000 men attacked the Australian company of 108 men, killing 18 Australians.
Some 161 men of the Royal New Zealand Artillery came to the Australians' support and the North Vietnamese were defeated.
New Zealand RSA president Don McIver says the battle was of great significance to the future of the Australian base at Nui Dat.
