Austrlia in Vietnam
On the 3rd of August 1962, 29 Australian soldiers were flown to Saigon from Singapore. This marked the beginning of Australia's in involvement in the Vietnam War. Australian's served for ten and a half years in Vietnam, which was the longest war effort ever served by Australians. At it's height Australian presence numbered 8,600 people. In all 50,000 Australian personnel served in the Vietnam War, of these 520 died and 2,400 were wounded. This war was the cause of the greatest social and political disturbance since the conscription referendum in World War One. The most commonly asked questions about this war are why was Australia involved in such a far off war, that seemed to have little to so with us, and how did the various groups respond within Australia. This report will confront the issues of the Vietnam War and answer these to vital questions in Australia's history. Why Was Australia Involved in the Vietnam War? There are two main reasons why Australia fought in the Vietnam War, they are the so-called "Domino Theory" and the ANZUS treaty with the United States of- America. In 1954 US President Eisenhower coined this well-known theory. The "Domino Theory" stated that once one nation 'fell' to com
Massive protests occurred that sometimes became very violent. When the American President Johnson visited Australia in 1966 protestors lined the streets. 10,000 people demonstrated in Hyde Park shouting "Hey, hey LBJ. How many kids did you kill today?" The main way that the public against Vietnam reacted was to protest. Different groups within Australia reacted in different ways to the Vietnam War. I will explore the reaction of the government, the general public and the soldiers. There was also quite a large group of people who were not even opposed to conscription when it was first introduced because Menzies was seen as such a strong leader. "...My mother was totally resigned to the fact that I would be killed (in the Vietnam War)...Never-the-less, my mother thought Menzies was close to deity and that communism was evil and that young men had to do their lot..." The ambassador for Australia in Washington, Sir Howard Beale reported to Canberra on the 5th of December that Australia would "...make a favorable impression in the United Stated admission..." if it were to support America in the fight against Vietnam.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1193
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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