The great man Lt Col Harry Smith SG MC (Retd) passed away today in Buderim, Queensland, 90 years young.
On 18 August 1966, then Major Harry Smith, gallantly commanded Delta Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, Australian Army, in the Battle of Long Tan.
Lt Col Harry Smith fought relentlessly for decades for his men to receive the recognition and justice they deserved for their service and sacrifice at Long Tan. Harry harassed, cajoled, debated, fought and persuaded politicians, the Australian Defence Force and the media and he wrote hundreds of reports, submissions and letters in support of formal reviews and inquiries. He fronted multiple government inquiries into the medals awarded for Long Tan and he was successful in seeing individual medals upgraded to their original citations for some of his soldiers and appropriate awards given to men in other units.
Harry was born in Hobart, Tasmania in July 1933, son of Ron Smith, who served as a sergeant in the General Grant tanks of the 2/9th Armoured Division. He worked at Cadbury’s Chocolate factory in the Production Department for 48 years, starting as a messenger clerk and retiring as a director. His father was awarded an OBE for services to the community in 1966.
Harry applied and was duly selected into the new Officer Cadet School (OCS) at Portsea, Victoria. He travelled across Bass Strait by ship, his first ‘overseas’ trip, to commence the Second Course OCS intake in July 1952. There he participated in six months of rigid discipline plus physical, military field and academic training at the highest level outside of the Royal Military College (RMC) at Duntroon.
Harry served with the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (2RAR) in Malaya as a platoon commander reinforcement officer for active service in the Malayan Emergency. He was assigned to be 9 Platoon Commander, Charlie Company, at Sungei Siput operational base, about a hundred kilometres south from the main barracks base on Penang Island, a tourist resort area.
After a period of Special Forces training with 2 Commando Company in Melbourne, in 1965 he was posted to 6RAR at Enoggera, outside Brisbane, and promoted to acting major and company commander of Delta Company.
After Vietnam, Harry had several attachments from 1 Commando to SAS Regiment in Perth and also with U.S and British Special Forces.
Harry commanded 1 Commando Company, 1st Commando Regiment at Georges Heights and was later posted as the inaugural Commanding Officer / Chief Instructor of the Australian Army’s new Parachute Training School which he established.
Harry left the Army in 1976 after a parachuting injury.
Rest in Peace.
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