Austrlia in Vietnam essays

Austrlia in Vietnam essays On the 3rd of August 1962, 29 Australian soldiers were flown to Saigon from Singapore. This marked the beginning of Australias in involvement in the Vietnam War. Australians served for ten and a half years in Vietnam, which was the longest war effort ever served by Australians. At its 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 Australias 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 communism it would almost definitely cause its neighboring countries to fall to the deadly clutches of communism. It was thought that this would continue causing a chain reaction, a reaction that mimics the falling of dominoes. As can be seen on the map to the left Australias proximity was very close to Vietnam so Australians believed that the only way to stop communism spreading to us was to fight against it in Vietnam. It was thought that the end point of this reaction was to be the southern countries such as Australia and New Zealand. This thought struck fear in the hearts and minds of the western world. In September of 1954 the minister for defence, ...