No I mean Whitlam. I was there and watched it happen.
There is a reason why, when Howard sent troops to Iraq, the first thing the then Labor opposition did was โacknowledge the mistakes of past so we donโt repeat them hereโ. That is โthough we opposed our involvement in this war, our opposition is limited to the actions of Government, and is in no way is to be construed as to censure or as a criticism of those service men and women who were required, by law, to implement itโ.
So what was the mistakes of the past being referred to. The conduct of the Party during the Vietnam War.
Labor was opposed to our involvement and Gough was its leader. It was a time when the Labor Party, like most Parties, at the grass roots level, was populated by pot smoking Bogans who, decide to not only target the government but also those who served.
Now Gough, as leader, could have stopped it, but in the minds of many, including the writer, he saw more political mileage in allowing it to continue. So this became the era of targeting military personnel as โbaby killerโ or their families as โthe father, mother, sister, brother wife girl- friend of baby killersโ. It was a time when our military personnel were โencouraged" not to wear uniform in public in their own country because of the possibility of harassment or worse. A time when returning troops often had red paint, blood or excrement thrown at them. Now Gough could have put a stop to it but didnโt. He could have spoken out against this kind of conduct but didnโt. He could have expelled from the Party anyone engaged in this kind go conduct, but didnโt. Instead he turned a bind eye too it, and allowed it continue.
Now if you think Iโm being overly harsh in my assessment, the proof in the pudding - April 1975. At that time we had an forward airbase in Malaysia (Butterworth), which was used as a staging point to fly C130โs to South Vietnam to evacuate personal after the North launched its final invasion of the South. Now at the time, at RAAF Butterworth was C Company 1 RAR, and it was decided prudent by the military commanders on the ground at the time, to send one rifle section with each aircraft as ground security. Gough found out, blew a boiler and the rest is history. The aircraft landed in a hot LZ without so much a loaded 9 mm in the cockpit.
Now Gough is gone there only Jane (Fonda) left. When it comes to Vietnam vets she is the most despised person in America, and if youโre wondering why, when she visited the Hanoi Hilton, one of the prisoners slipped her a note and asked her to give to his family. She handed to a guard and the prisoner was nearly, if not, beaten to death.
k)wB(U~$(KGrHgoOKjoEjlLmErDsBJ1I)Z1mWQ~~_7.JPG?set_id=81 "purplecarrot-top"){kind=avatar}
