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The impact on Australian soldiers that fought in the Vietnam War

The impact on Australian soldiers that fought in the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War had a lasting impact on Vietnam Veterans, who although they fought their hardest for their country, they returned to a country who saw them as less than heroes.

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The impact on Australian soldiers that fought in the Vietnam War

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  1. The impact on Australian soldiers that fought in the Vietnam War

  2. The Vietnam War had a lasting impact on Vietnam Veterans, who although they fought their hardest for their country, they returned to a country who saw them as less than heroes. They suffered both psychological and medical problems from open battles, sniper attacks and chemical warfare, and stress from war-life.

  3. Vietnam veterans returned home in 1975 to a less than supportive Australia. They were seen as ‘murderers’, no parades were held for them, they were met with contempt rather than gratitude. This, coupled with the trauma of war, Vietnam veterans suffered untreated psychological problems. They felt guilty because they ‘let the South Vietnamese people down’ and the sight of civilians killed in crossfire caused them to be plagued by bad dreams.

  4. They developed anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder and found it hard to settle back into daily life. This spilled over into their domestic life, with divorce rates higher than average and 38% reported that their marriage failed within 6 months of returning home. Suicide rates were also higher than average, almost 20- 25 % higher than the Australian average.

  5. The psychological impact of the traumas of war had a negative effect on their children, who were 3 times more likely to commit suicide than the general Australian population. Even with the obvious psychological and social problems being experienced by veterans, the government did little to help until after 1983.  Vietnam veterans also suffered medical complications that hindered them from settling back into daily life. Vietnam veterans suffered horrific wounds from open battles and often losing a limb by accidentally walking on land mines. 

  6. Personal stories To me, Vietnam is remembered as the sand of Vung Tau that got into clothing, food, hair, skin and just about everything. Nui Dat was red mud and more red mud! The memory that comes up is the great futility and helplessness of sitting in a muddy trench in the middle of a rubber plantation, hearing the [enemy] mortars being fired from about three thousand metres away. Then we counted the shells in the air, waiting for them to arrive and go off, knowing that there was nothing we could do about it. Such is war! (Maree Rowe (compiler),Vietnam Veterans. Sons of the Hunter, Australian Military History Publications, Loftus NSW, 2002 page 44)

  7. Personal stories On the HMAS Perth there was the shock and horror of being straddled by artillery shells on quite a few occasions and being ‘looked on’ by radar-controlled, land to sea ‘stick’ missiles used by the North Vietnamese and supplied by China. There was the awe of operating with the American battleship USS New Jersey, firing shells nearly as big as a small car and from over the horizon. These shells could be seen with the naked eye as they passed overhead. (Geoffrey Daniels in Maree Rowe (compiler),Vietnam Veterans. Sons of the Hunter, Australian Military History Publications, Loftus NSW, 2002 page 73)

  8. Examples • From these stories you are required to compile a personal profile on how your individual felt during the war and the impact the war had on their future and their families future.

  9. Examples • Your Powerpoint presentation needs to convince the Australian Government that this war will cause lasting effects on many individuals.

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