Monday, 18 August is Vietnam Veterans Day and Forbes RSL Sub Branch will host a memorial ceremony at the Cenotaph, in Victoria Park, starting at 11am.

Some 60,000 Australians served their country in the Vietnam conflict between 1962 and 1975.

Over those years, 523 Australians were killed and almost 2400 wounded, the Australian War Memorial records, while many suffered - and continue to suffer - as a result of their service.

Vietnam Veterans Day is on 18 August each year, that date originally chosen to commemorate the men of D Company, 6RAR, and the Battle of Long Tan.

The Battle of Long Tan was a significant moment in Australia's war in Vietnam.

The 108 soldiers of D Coy held off an estimated 2000 Vietcong and North Vietnamese troops for four hours in a tropical downpour, greatly assisted by a timely ammunition resupply by RAAF helicopters with support from the close fire support from Australian artillery, and the arrival of reinforcements in APCs as night fell.

By the end of the day, 17 Australians had been killed in action, and 25 were wounded, one of whom died a few days later.

This was the largest number of casualties in a single operation since the Australian Task Force had established its base at nearby Nui Dat the previous April.

Now 18 August is a time to commemorate all battles fought by Australians in Vietnam, to remember the sailors of the Royal Australian Navy who supported land operations, and members of the Royal Australian Air Force who served in combat and transport roles.