VIETNAM WAR 50 YEARS ON.

[daily.reporter]

For many of us, we remember the events and happenings of the Major Conflict that we know today as The Vietnam War.

This was the first time that actual War Footage came into our Lounges via the square box with 4 legs on it, called the Television.

What many of us saw and had etched into our minds and memory banks was the sheer force of actual conflict being presented by both friend & foe. The senseless taking of life in not only Military Terms, but also Civilian Terms, was also unaccountable.

Peoples very lives, villages, homes, and families destroyed, and devastated, never to return to previous days.

Was it a War that we as Australians should have been involved in ?

Very easy for those who were not called up via Conscription, or were already Serving in the Australian Armed Forces. 

Let us Remember three Main Points here:

1.  Australia's involvement in the Vietnam Conflict was NOT VOTED ON BY PARLIAMENT as was required by  e Constitution.  Notice l termed it a Conflict & not  a War. At no time did we declare War on North Vietnam.

 The Serving Men & Women of the Australian Defence Force, are AT ALL TIMES UNDER ORDERS OF THE  GOVERNMENT OF THE DAY.

 There were many Serving Personnel that did not agree that we should have been involved in the Conflict, but were Duty  Bound by the Constitution of their Country to obey the call for request by the Republic of South Vietnam for "assistance". This call 

 also echoed by the United States of America.

2. The Decision to Send "Assistance" Military wise, was not Voted on, but was a decision made by the Prime Minister at     the time Harold Holt, PM  and after his "Death", the next Prime Minister Robert Menzies, PM, with the support verbally     of the Opposition Party,The Liberal Party.

3. The "Losers" in any War or Conflict are always the Civilian People, always have been through History, and always

    wil be in any conflict, as we see today on our Teevision screens.l   

    Yes, we "Lost" many fine young Australian's to a conflict that today seems so far away, yet,should never be forgotten.

    Whether "we" should have been there at all, was not decided by the Australian People, as it should have, but we were there,      with Valour, Pride, & Distinction.

    Was l asked if l "wanted" to be sent to a fair away place, meet interesting people's, and destroy them ?  NO, but l went

    and Served as l was Commanded to by my  Commander, The Chief, of The Royal Australian Army. I obeyed, l served, and by           the Grace of God, l was able to Return Home, even though Physically & Mentally Wounded to this Day. All War is Hell.

    As we would often make comment, at the time, "Bloody ell mate, cannot remember the last time l saw a North Vietnamese    

    plane Bomb Australia."   Point Taken.  

   50 Years may have gone by, but the pain, memory,suffering and reflections of the time, will never GO AWAY.

   IN MEMORY OF ALL WHO HAVE SERVED AND GAVE THEIR ALL, IN THEIR SUPREME SACRIFICE.      RIP.   "Diggers"

    Dale Dibble - The News & All The News.                  

[polly.the.cat]

Could someone help me out here please ? What the dickens is going on here, do we have a Private Little War going on between a couple of posters. Just a bit confused, ..what has it got to do with the OP Topic in consideration ??????

[lyndal1838]

Just ignore them.  There is always someone who wants to derail any thread.

BTW, Vietnam Vets are now welcome in the RSL and are recognised for War Service Loans although it took a long time for it to happen.

[polly.the.cat]

We answered the "call" due to our mature and successful field experiences in Jungle Warfare. The Americans had no such experience or training for South East Asia, since WW11 Pacific Duty.

They did a great job the SAS, and are our 1st Line of Pre-Defence, you only know about AFTER they have been somewhere, not before, normally. GREAT JOB ALL SAS COMPANIES AUSTRALIA WIDE.

[polly.the.cat]

It "bloody" well did lyndal, but at the time as you know first hand, it was not the case was'nt it lyndal. See most things change in time, well most !!!

I have a feeling that you husband may have served with my Uncle in Perth. Will PM you.

[polly.the.cat]

That is fine tezza, have it your way, or right in our Democratic Society.

You are WRONG on one point though, this "empty ship" makes a huge amount of noise, from the Lost Souls on board, that never came Home.

Your history facts are well known to me, l lived through all of that, but thank you for sharing with the younger person who may not know of the FACTS that you have brought up here. NO PROBLEM HERE.

[person.of.interest.2u2]

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@tezza2844 wrote:

The Decision to Send "Assistance" Military wise, was not Voted on, 

but was a decision made by the Prime Minister at the time Harold Holt, PM

and after his "Death", the next Prime Minister Robert Menzies, PM,

with the support verbally of the Opposition Party,The Liberal Party.

Now that is what I call rewriting history

_________________________________________________________________________________________________,

tezza,

 l think that he just could not remember which prime minister was in office, that sent them off to South Vietnam.  He was not "trying to rewrite History."

Give him a break tezza, no harm done at the end of the day. Maybe he wears injuries that we are unaware of.

He should be proud, as no matter what you or l might think about the events and times, this op was a part of our history, and served with pride. In a war most unpopular, l might add.  Much the same as today. History is History tezza, not always pleasant.

[bluecat*dancing]

At the time, I spent a lot of my time with hippies, many of whom went to jail for being concientious objectors, with many burning their conscription cards on the day of the election that saw Gough become PM. I remember the protest being very anti-American with calls for them to get out of Vietnam. There was a lot of venom aimed at the Australian government as well as servicemen. I didn't understand the hatred but I did know that wars were a terrible thing. I was a kid of 12.

It was shameful the way that the Vietnam vets were treated on their return.

[skyrider12-au]

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@jvharrison wrote:

Australian SAS,first into Nam attached to 3 RAR, 1966. They had previously served in Borneo,1965.

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It would seem that over time your memory has forgotten who was where during the VN conflict in1966, The SAS was certainly there, 

The 3 squadron (SASR) advance party arrived early in june 1966 (1 officer plus 4 ORs) They were never attached to any infantry battalion and certainly not 3RAR, which didn't arrive in Phuok Tuy Province untill late in 1967. The other members of the squadron arrived at Nui Dat in the middle of June 1966 and, "supplemented" was the word used, the task force of 2 infantry battalions (1RAR, which was rotating out, being replaced by 6RAR, and 2RAR)  plus engineers, a squadron of APCs, an Artillery regiment and of course the RAAF with their Iroquois choppers. Ask any 1RAR vet who was there and you will no doubt be told,"1RAR.first to fight" which indeed they were.

Time indeed does some terrible things to our memory of many things and I hope I've managed to jolt some memories that will allow you to bring them into a clear focus once again, after all, if it's worth remembering, and it is, then we should do so with some clarity. Just my opinion.