22/08/2025
š¦šŗVietnam War Stories: Honouring the Heroes We Lost: Private Francis Brett āFrankā Topp Veteran of the Battle of Long Tan
Vietnam War Stories would like to honour the service of Private Frank Topp veteran of the Battle of Long Tan.
According to the Australian War Memorial Last Post Ceremony: "Francis Topp was born in Toowoomba, Queensland on 26 January 1947, the son of Norman and Bridget Topp, both of whom had served during the Second World War. Known as āFrankā, he was the second of 11 children. On 6 July 1964 Frank joined the Australian Regular Army, signing on for a six-year period. As he was still only 17, he did so with the written consent of his parents."
"Frank was initially posted to the 1st Recruit Training Battalion at Kapooka for basic training. While at Kapooka he was marked by his superiors at a potential officer candidate. In August 1965 he was sent to Southern Command Educational School at Bandiana where he gained his second class certificate of education."
"In early July, Topp was told that he would be deploying to Vietnam as a reinforcement. He embarked from Sydney on 15 July and arrived in Saigon the following day. He was then sent to the 1st Australian Reinforcement Unit at Nui Dat."
"Private Topp was posted to the 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment at the beginning of August, but it was not until the afternoon of 17 August that he joined 5 Section, 11 Platoon, D Company."
"B Company spent the night outside the wire and the following day patrolled to the edge of the Long Tan rubber plantation. D Company, led by Major Harry Smith, left Nui Dat at 11 am that morning and was sent to relieve B Company."
"Shortly after 3 pm, 11 Platoon came into contact with the Vietnamese in the Long Tan rubber plantation. After a brief firefight, the enemy withdrew and the Australians followed them up. At approximately 4 pm, 11 Platoon encountered heavy opposition and took immediate casualties."
"After the initial burst of fire subsided, Toppās 5 Section was ordered to sweep across the front of the platoon to form an L-shaped defensive position. As the section moved to comply, the men came under fire. Several men were hit, including Topp, who was shot and died instantly."
"Private Frank Topp was 19 years old ā the youngest Australian to die that day. He had been in Vietnam for just over a month and had been with his battalion for around 24 hours."- 18 August 2019 Last Post Ceremony Australian War Memorial
Private Francis Brett Topp lies in rest at Helidon Catholic Cemetery, Queensland. Lest We Forget.
Original description and photo sourced by the Australian War Memorial Collection/AWM2019.1.1.230
