Nearly 52 years after she performed in front of troops when the Battle of Long Tan began, Australian entertainer Little Pattie will perform for Vietnam veterans throughout the region at the 25th annual North West NSW National Servicemen’s Association reunion in Moree next year.
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Well-known for entertaining troops, particularly during the Vietnam War as a 17-year-old, Little Pattie has been confirmed as the major entertainment for the Allied Forces and Nasho reunion in Moree for the night of Saturday, March 10, 2018.
Allied Forces and Nasho Reunion committee member Margaret Wetzler said it’s a huge win.
“It’s very exciting,” she said.
“The veterans will be very excited when they find out; at the reunion this year they were saying ‘wouldn’t it be great if we had Col Joye or Little Pattie perform next year’ and we’ve managed to secure Little Pattie.
The veterans will be very excited when they find out; at the reunion this year they were saying ‘wouldn’t it be great if we had Col Joye or Little Pattie perform next year’ and we’ve managed to secure Little Pattie.
- Margaret Wetzler, Allied Forces and Nasho Reunion committee member
“It’ll be great.”
With Little Pattie now secured for the Nashos reunion, Ms Wetzler said next year’s event is shaping up to be bigger and better than this year’s – the first time Moree hosted the reunion.
Fundraising for next year’s reunion began earlier this month when the reunion committee held a successful trash and treasure stall at the Father’s Day markets.
The fundraising will continue with a raffle of a camouflage biker jacket, kindly donated by the Big Sky Harley Owners Group (HOG) Chapter. Tickets will be on sale at Thomas Lee Motorcycles Harley-Davidson store.
Little Pattie’s bio:
Little Pattie, or Patricia Amphlett, entered the music scene in the 1960s as a surf pop singer.
Her debut single ‘He’s My Blonde Headed, Stompie Wompie, Real Gone Surfer Boy’ / ‘Stompin' at Maroubra’, released in 1963 when she was aged 14, reached number two on the Sydney music charts and peaked at number 19 on the national Kent Music Report.
In 1965 she was voted Australian Female Singer of the Year and she frequently appeared on television variety programs including Bandstand, Saturday Date, An Evening With, and Sing, Sing, Sing.
On August 16, 1966, 17-year-old Little Pattie became the youngest person to entertain troops during the Vietnam War, performing three concerts a day in Nui Dat, Vietnam, along with Col Joye and the Joy Boys. She was singing onstage when the Battle of Long Tan started on August 18, less than 4km away. In the days after the battle, Little Pattie visited injured soldiers in hospital to comfort and sing to them.
In 1994 she received the Vietnam Logistic and Support Medal in recognition of her services in support of the Australian Armed Forces in operations in Vietnam.