‘… Only other vets could understand, ‘bout the long forgotten dockside guarantees, how there were no V-Day heroes in 1973.’ This classic Australia rock anthem, serves as a reminder of what happens when influential people ‘think’ they know what’s best for a generation. The Vietnam War is renown amongst Australians as the most controversial wars in our history. The Vietnam veterans would have expected to be welcomed homelike the veterans of both of the previous world wars, but what they were greeted with, was contempt by the general public. Years of repression, torment and condemnation from the public and not to mention a lifetime of psychological destress, is what these service personal have endure. These horrid consequences only …show more content…
After the War, Vietnam veterans were treated terribly. Anti-war and violence groups blamed military personal for Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. This had detrimental effects on the Veterans and their families. They became scared to speak about their experiences and horrors in fear of being confronted about condoning wars and encouraging violence. ‘Some have taken their own life. Some have not been able to cope. Some have been stricken with nasty injuries… from the war that have claimed their lives…’ Many service personal suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a consequence of enduring ‘Hell on Earth’ . The alarming increase in Vietnam Veterans suicides between 1968 and 1992 are proof that, the horrendous treatment of our veterans contributed to their unstable mental state after the …show more content…
Australia entered this war as an ally of the USA, whose goal was to stop the spread of communism from North Vietnam to South Vietnam, like a ‘domino effect’ . The United States Secretary of Defence (Robert McNamara) at the time of the Vietnam War wrote about his guilt in advocating for America and Australia’s involvement; the senseless of war and the devastating toll the war had on the soldiers and civilians. His quote about the war he helped to instigate is "Yet we were wrong, terribly wrong. We owe it to future generations to explain why’ . He remained an advocate of apologising for many years after the end of the Vietnam War.
The Vietnam War is the most controversial war in our nation’s history. It not only affected military personal, but also their families and our nation as a whole. They may not have been considered ‘V-day heroes in 1973’ but 50 years one, we will ‘Honor the Dead, but fight like Hell for the