An Australian veteran of the Vietnam War says he wants to apologise to the families of five Vietnamese civilians who he says were mistakenly killed by Australian troops in 1967.
Former Platoon Commander Ben Morris says he and other Australian soldiers opened fire on a group of 16 civilians who they thought were enemy Viet Cong guerillas coming to attack their base.
Mr Morris says when the troops realised they were firing on civilians, they stopped shooting, but five died.
He says the Australian army then supported a cover-up led by company commander Major Peter White, who would later go on to become a federal politician.
Kristina Kukolja spoke to Ben Morris.
(Click on the audio tab above to hear the full interview)
