The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2781704) Private Paul Andrew Large, 6RAR, Vietnam

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Charis May, the story for this day was on (2781704) Private Paul Andrew Large, 6RAR, Vietnam.

2781704 Private Paul Andrew Large, 6RAR
KIA 18 August 1966
Photograph: CUN/66/0509/VN

Story delivered 18 August 2015

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Paul Andrew Large, of the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.

Paul Large was born on 6 June 1945 in Wellington, New South Wales. As a child he moved to Coolah with his family. The local creek was a central focus of “Largie’s” childhood, and he, his mates, and his dog Monty would spend days there swimming and catching yabbies. As he grew up Large played for the local football team and became a good shot with a rifle.

Large was conscripted into the army when his number came up in the National Service Scheme birthday ballot in 1965. He was posted to the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, for a period of intensive training in Brisbane. His mate Lawrie recalled that the first thing Paul told him after training was that his fellow recruits couldn’t shoot well: “After their first rifle range drill, he said he couldn’t wait for his turn with the rifle to ‘show ’em how’.”

Nevertheless, the men pulled themselves together, and Large wrote to his parents telling them of his platoon’s achievements:

the CO of Canungra announced on Friday night that Delta Company was the best company, and 12 Platoon the best platoon, that has been through since World War II. It might not seem like much to you, but, believe me, it is an achievement that any company would be proud to have. We will have a reputation to live up to, but after working with all the blokes out there, we are all sure we can live up to it.

Large told his mother that his battalion’s march through Brisbane in May 1966 was his “proudest moment”.

The battalion was deployed to Vietnam, and Large left Australia on 6 June 1966: his 21st birthday. His battalion was based at Nui Dat in the Phouc Tuy province of South Vietnam, where it conducted cordon-and-search operations against the Viet Cong in the surrounding villages.

On 18 August, just ten weeks after Large’s arrival in Vietnam, 6RAR’s D Company was in an isolated position in a rubber plantation near Long Tan when a much larger Vietnamese force repeatedly attacked their position. The determined defence of D Company, helped by ammunition resupply from the RAAF, artillery assistance, and, finally, reinforcement from another rifle company travelling in APCs, held off the enemy for three hours. D Company’s commander would later liken the area the next morning to “the aftermath of Cyclone Tracey”.

The battle of Long Tan was the most costly single engagement for Australians in the Vietnam War. Eighteen Australians lost their lives, including Private Paul Large. His body was returned to Australia and buried in his hometown of Coolah, New South Wales.

Large died 49 years ago today. He was 21 years old. His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left among more than 500 others from the Vietnam War. His photograph is displayed today beside the Pool of Reflection.

This is one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private Paul Andrew Large, and all of those Australians who have given their lives in service of our nation.