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Each year at a small shop in Victoria's Central Highlands, Veteran Dave Wright polishes war medals ahead of the Anzac Day parade. This year, he had a very special customer - Bill 'Yanks' Akell - an Aussie war hero who saved countless lives during the battle of Long Tan in Vietnam. In August 1966, a then 19-year-old Akell was a signalman for Delta Company when he put his hand up to run a radio set through the heat of battle to 10 platoons. READ MORE: Man acquitted over toddler's murder charged over death of Cobram woman Outnumbered 20 to one, 105 Aussie and three Kiwi soldiers were pinned down by heavy Viet Cong fire and trapped with no comms. The skinny Queenslander was required to make a 200-metre dash in monsoonal thunderstorms through 400,000 rounds of ammunition. "The Viet Cong were coming at us in a human wave ... we had five minutes to live," Akell said. "They fired at me and fortunately, they missed and I returned, fired, dropped them and continued moving on to find 10 platoons. Through the mud, blood, bullets and bodies, the teen from Townsville delivered the radio set - saving 10 platoons. Long Tan was Australia's most costly conflict in the Vietnam War, leaving 18 dead and dozens badly wounded. The day after, hundreds of Viet Cong soldiers were found dead on the battlefield. "What we had to do was to recover our dead, get them evacuated as well, and on top of that, we had to bury the dead Vietcong soldiers that were there," Akell said. "And it was, like, 234 I think it was, Vietcong bodies that we had to bury." READ MORE: Tradie couple fears copycat business is fooling their customers Once the war ended, some Aussie heroes received medals for bravery at Long Tan, and some didn't. The federal government had a quota system and there were only so many medals to go around, meaning Akell and several other diggers didn't make the cut. Eight years ago, some 40 years later, Akell was finally recognised for his bravery on that day, awarded bravery medals by the federal government. "To have to fight for 40 years for that, for that recognition, that's shameful," he said. But today, he wore his medals with pride as he marched down Ballarat's main street. "Anzac Day, it's one of the most important days I feel for the Australian community," Akell said. "It gives us the opportunity to pay our respects to those that have given their lives and also those that still suffer for the Australian people." Wright said Akell was one of about 500 veterans and families who had visited his medal and military memorabilia store in the past two months. "I take in medals from veterans and first responders and I mount them in the correct order, with the correct ribbons to correct measurements so that they can wear them with pride on Anzac Day," he said. Watch the full video in the player above.