The Battle of Coral

Annotation — Australian & New Zealand Songs

Country musician from Queensland, Australia. Retiring as an ambulance driver in the 1990s, he turned to music, releasing dozens of country albums, with "Australia and Australians as the major themes for his ballads", and a focus on the "traditions cemented into our culture by the late Slim Dusty".1 He wrote and released several songs about the Vietnam War, which were: "The Battle of Long Tan", "The Battle of Coral", "Missing in Action", and "Fifty Thousand Australian Sons". On this album featured the song "The Battle of Coral" (# AM005), about the Battle of Coral–Balmoral (12 May – 6 June 1968), fought between the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) and the North Vietnamese 7th Division, and Viet Cong Main Force units, outside of Saigon in South Vietnam.2 This is not to be confused with the Battle of the Coral Sea which took place during World War Two. It described the battle in detail, starting with the mission objective: "block Charlie's retreat in and out of Saigon". The North Vietnamese broke through the line, but the "overrun Aussie's dug in and fought back", stopping the advance. The song recalled previous wars: "fought like the ANZAC's of old". The narrator then paid tribute to those killed in action (K.I.A.): "25 diggers who gave up their lives". As discussed above, the term Digger is a military slang term for soldiers from Australia and New Zealand, which came to prominence during World War One.34 Note: this album also featured the patriotic song "You Can't Take Australia From Me" which referenced soldiers and war, but it does not mention Vietnam or any other specific conflict. Sources1grahamrodger.com.au↩2Wikipedia: Battle of Coral–Balmoral↩3Internet Archive (Wayback Machine)↩4Wikipedia: Digger (soldier)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: In the jungles of 'Nam the boys from 1RAR / Dug their heels in at F.S.B Coral / Just one mile away our mates from 3RAR / Set up Fire Support Base Balmoral / Our orders were clear, set up mortars and guns / Block Charlie's retreat in and out of Saigon / And if they start causin' problems send 'em home on the run / But fight to hold Coral, Balmoral / On the 13th of May first contact was made / As the enemy broke through our position / With rockets and mortars, guns and grenades / They tried to pound us right into submission / But the overrun Aussie's dug in and fought back / And stopped the North Vietnamese in their tracks / And we turned them around and we hunted them back / In the Battle of Coral, Balmoral... / We cared for our mates just like brothers / And fought like the ANZAC's of old / We died and we bled for each other / And together we did ourselves proud at the Battle of Coral / The 26 days the smoke billowed high / For the hell-holes of Coral, Balmoral / Our senses were honed like the edge of a knife / Always alert for the first signs of trouble / But the courage of the digger is a hard nut to crack / They gave us their all but we answered right back / And we turned up the heat till we pounded them flat / And won the Battle of Coral, Balmoral... / To the 25 diggers who gave up their lives / Your sacrifice won't be forgotten / And to all of the soldiers of 1 and 3RAR / We did us proud at the Battle of Coral

Notes

Self-released. About the Battle of Coral-Balmoral, 12 May - 6 June 1968.

About the artist

Graham Rodger - country singer-songwriter from Queensland; a former ambulance officer who turned to music in the 1990s and has released dozens of albums in the Slim Dusty tradition.

Themes

Combat · Battle of Coral-Balmoral · Digger · Saigon · VC · Patriotic · ANZUS

In collections

Australian & New Zealand Songs