Katanning honours Vietnam loss

For the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, the lone Australian soldier killed in the Vietnam war to be buried in Katanning received a moving commemoration last week.

Noel Valintine Crouch was born in Katanning in 1947 and was the youngest of four siblings.

He spent some of his youth in Coogee near Fremantle before coming back to Katanning to attend high school.

Private Crouch left school as soon as he could and worked as a farm hand in Katanning before he was called up for the army in 1969 when he was 21 years old.

After training, Pte Crouch was sent to fight in Vietnam on February 6, 1970.

He fought with the 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, for 105 days before he was killed in action on May 21, 1970.

A military funeral was held for Pte Crouch in Katanning, where he was buried.

Last Friday, Katanning resident and former soldier John Jenkins led a service at Pte Crouch’s grave in Katanning cemetery to honour his memory along with all the soldiers who fought in Vietnam.

The commemoration were held a week earlier than usual to allow people in regional areas to travel to Perth for the 50th anniversary.