Australias Involvement The Vietnam War

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Part B

In the 1960s communism was spreading to the biggest nations in the world now what is communism. Communism is where by the government controls the nation. When communism was in Vietnam it hit North of Vietnam and slowly it was going to spread to the South. The ANZUS forces wanted all nations to be under capitalism. Capitalism is where there is private ownership of a business and property. When the news spread about communism there was a fear of communism in Asia and soon Australian. The Australian population was divided when it came to sending Australian soldiers to the Vietnam to help the America in the war. Some Australians felt that the decision to go to war in Vietnam was a good idea. These groups were the liberal government catholic church. Some groups like the R.S.L opposed to going to Vietnam War and the SOS (Save Our Sons) mums and the Protestant Churches.

When the Menzies government declared publicly that Australian troops were going to be deployed to Vietnam there was a huge division in Australian society. Many people were with the government's decision and many people opposed the government’s decision. The Liberal Party was all the way with the Menzies decision and the actions he had taken. When Menzies decided resigned in 1966. Harold Holt had taken over his position, the liberal party was behind him in every decision he made. Holt brought Australia in a very close relationship with America. He was very close friend with the American President Lyndon Baines Johnson. People referred to him as ‘LBJ’. During 1966, after a visit to Washington DC, where Holt was given a kind welcoming by Johnson, he acknowledged if it came to Vietnam, Australia was behind America and 'All the way with LBJ'. Australia had a theory it was the domino theory that if South Vietnam were to be under communism. Other countries such as: Thailand, Myanmar and Malaya were to follow and after the world would go under communism. Many people didn’t even care about Vietnam until they herd it was going to be under communism. Beside the feedback at the election polls, also the opinion poll show that some are with the government’s decision. In a Morgan Gallup a poll held in May 1965, 52% said they supported government policy in Vietnam, 37% opposed it and 11% were undecided. Some Australians thought that going to war was the right thing to do as some Australians have that mentally. Mentally Australians had been prepared for another war since the war in Korea. Compulsory military training and conscription had been briefly re-introduced in 1951. The Australian people had been told to be prepared for war but it was only a matter of time before they would go into war with communists.

Anti-war protest began in 1962 when the first Australian troops were deployed to Vietnam to fight with America. Most of the protest/anti-war movement was strongly against conscription. Many of the trade unions called the government’s support of America's decisions and foreign policy in Vietnam. They would use term like 'blood for dollars', or 'diggers for dollars'. The government of Australia believed that if they sacrifice Australian troops America will boost Australia’s economy. In later years, there was no other group that would be more active with anti-war activities, than the response in university immediately right after when Menzies announced that Australia will fight with America in the Vietnam. Some supported them and some opposed them. Every evening, television broadcast the horror of Vietnam around the world and brought it into Australian homes. By 1970, the anti-war attitude had swiftly grown. There were monster rallies, marches, church services, sit-ins and candlelight processions. The united protest movements summon a moratorium (a suspension) of the Vietnam War. The save our sons mum or the SOS mums was formed in 1965 in Sydney but soon after other groups across the country formed under the sos. Some men and young women became members, but mostly middle aged and middle-classed women whose sons were old enough to be in the national service. The SOS protests were different some went to shrine of remembrance and others would hand out leaflets army barracks or railway station which the servicemen travel through to begin their military service. They would start petitions, talk to members of the parliament and also work in the conjunction with other anti-war groups to protest against the national service and the war. Some of the SOS members were abused and insulted. They were called communist and also accused of being anti-Australians and were called ‘bad mothers’ and neglectful wives. In April 1971, five SOS women were sentenced to 14 in prison for handing out anti-conscription leaflets to men that were registering for national service. The charge was for just trespassing. The case attracted media attention and the women were released 3 days before they would finish there sentence.

The threat that Australia needed to defend against South Vietnam before North Vietnam would spread communism to the south. Australia had been bombarded with anti-communist propaganda and the threat of communism invasion for so long. So these are the reason why Australia went to war and some didn’t want Australia t goes to war.