S153253 Christina Eustice Assignment 1

The following is a subject based portfolio on the Vietnam War that can be used as a teaching resource to meet the

SACSA outcomes It is designed for students to use as a resource tool to gain an understanding of the Vietnam War. The words in this document are not my own as they have been copy and pasted from the various references as this is a resource

tool.

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SACSA Outcomes• 4.1Suggests and justifies reasons why groups of people in societies, countries

or civilisations have undergone changes in wealth and/or their ability to sustain natural resources.

• 5.1 Critically analyses different interpretations of events, ideas and issues, including an understanding of the relationship between power and historical representation.

• 4.2 Recognises diversity within and between primary and secondary sources, and critically analyses why and how sources can be interpreted differently.

• 5.2 Researches and analyses primary and secondary sources to contextualise, justify and act on the basis of their interpretation of an issue, event or pattern.

• 4.3 Interprets people’s motives and actions from perspectives of power, and relates this to future possibilities, using a historical or contemporary event or issue.

• 5.3 Explains and justifies a position on continuing and changing aspects of societies, including underlying values, ways to influence the future, and how these are connected to responsible decision-making and action.

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History before 1962

Conscription

Napalm

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Leaders

Phuoc Tuy Province

Reasons for Australia in war

PropagandaWhat is Communism

Basic Training

Moratoriums

Land Mines

Returning Home

Vietnamese people after war

PTSD

Problems Fighting

Agent Orange

The Media

Battle of Long Tan

bibliography

Overview

overview

• “Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War began as a small commitment of 30 men in 1962, and increased over the following decade to a peak of 7,672 Australians deployed in South Vietnam or in support of Australian forces there. The Vietnam War is the longest war Australia has fought, and one of the most controversial. Although initially enjoying broad support due to concerns about the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia, as Australia's military involvement increased a vocal anti-war movement developed. To a large extent this focused upon conscription, which had been an issue in Australia dating back to the First World War, however, considerable portions of society were opposed to the war on political and moral grounds.”[1]

• “The withdrawal of Australia's forces from South Vietnam began in November 1970 when 8 RAR completed its tour of duty and was not replaced. After that a phased withdrawal began and by 11 January 1973 the end of Australian involvement in hostilities in Vietnam was announced. Nevertheless, Australian troops from the Australian Embassy Platoon remained deployed in the country until 1 July 1973 when they too were withdrawn. In April 1975, during the Fall of Saigon Australian forces were deployed briefly to evacuate personnel from the Australian embassy.”[2]

• “Approximately 60,000 Australians served in the conflict, with 521 killed and more than 3,000 wounded”.[3]

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Australia's involvement in Vietnam

History before 1962• Before 1962 Main page

“For 2000 years Vietnam has alternated between being part of a Chinese state (111BC – 932 AD), a unified and independent state 932-1545, 1788 – 1847 and 1975 until today, a foreign colony (1843-1954), and a divided state (1545-1788 and 1954 – 1975).

China was an ever present factor on its northern border; during the 19 th century France had invaded the area and created French Indo-China – comprising of what is now known as Cambodia, Laos and Modern Vietnam. And in 1940 Japan invaded and seized control from the French.

Japanese surrendered in 1945 and it returned to French rule with the north ruled by communist Ho Chi Minh and the south by initially the British but then the French. The Viet Minh strived for Vietnamese independence.

In 1954 the Viet Minh defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu and declared the Democratic Republic of (north) Vietnam and claimed they were the legitimate government of all Vietnam. They did not control what soon became the Republic of Vietnam or the RVN or south Vietnam.

In 1954 world leaders meet at the Geneva Conference and agreed on the division of Vietnam into north and south referred to as the 17th Parallel of latitude. The French left South Vietnam and Ngo Dinh Diem became president.

America became increasingly involved in supporting the South Vietnamese government, believing that if South Vietnam became communist, other neighbouring countries like Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Malaya would also become communist. This was known as the “Domino Theory.“[1]

History of Vietnam

What is communism• “Communism sounds like a good idea. In the purest form of communism, all people hold all land,

factories and so on in trust, as it were. In this way, all goods are shared equally by the people. There is no poverty — nor is there an upper class. In the Depression-era America of the 1930s, many people joined the Communist Party because it seemed to be sympathetic to the needs and desires of the worker, rather than to the bosses.

• Unfortunately, communism in practice tends to be somewhat different, as those who have lived in the 20th century know. Communism as practiced by Lenin, Stalin and Chairman Mao is an entirely different proposition. This kind of communism sets up an authoritarian government, with the best goods and services going to those in government.” (1)

• “A German philosopher, Karl Marx, explained his idea of communism in the early 1800's. Marx said that it was unfair for some people to be rich and for others to be poor. He said that the only way to change that was to get rid of private ownership of property. So, in his theory of communism, everyone owned everything together. Vladimir Lenin, a Russian dictator, established rule by the Communist Party in Russia in the early 1900's. In Communist Russia, people had very little freedom. People were forced to do the work that the government dictated, and violence against Russian citizens became common. Russian citizens also became very poor under communist rule. “(2)

• “After the French lost their battle to control Vietnam, Vietnam was divided in to two. The north was run by ho chi minh who was a communist leader and the south by Ngo Einh Diem democratically elected. The north got support from other communist countries like Russia and China where the South was supported by America and other western nations who were fearful and weary of communism.”(3)

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Leaders during theVietnam war

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On 29th April 1965 Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced that Australia would sent combat troops to South Vietnam.Robert Menzies -return to power

Priminister William McMahon started the withdrawal of our troups 18th August 1971. William McMahon - Politics

President Lyndon Johnson announced that troups would be deployed to Vietnam on March 2 1965 after years of financial, and military advisory support. Lyndon B. Johnson -vietnam

Communist Leader of North Vietnam Ho Chi Minh until his death in 1969. Ho Chi Minh

Australia

Ngo Dinh Diem president of South Vietnam at the start of Australia’s involvement financially and as advisors until his assassination in 1963 Ngô Đình Diệm -

On April 23rd 1975 President Ford, The 6th President involved in Vietnam announced that the war was finished as far as America was concerned. Gerald Ford - vietnam

America

Vietnam

President Nguven Van Thieu from 1965 – 1975 South Vietnam. Nguyễn Văn Thiệu - Wikipedia

Reasons for Australia’s involvement in the war

• “Cold war The war in Vietnams has to be seen in a “Cold War” context. The cold War was a period from 1945 to 1991 of ideological conflict between capitalism/ democracy and communism – involving mainly the United States of America and its allies, and the Soviet Union and its allies. Competition between these blocs for influence and power threatened to break out into ‘hot war’ with the fear that atomic missiles would be fired. There were many small or localized conflicts, but none actually drew the large powers into full scale war.”(1)

• “Domino effect The domino theory was a foreign policy theory during the 1950s to 1980s, promoted at times by the government of the United States, that speculated that if one land in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect.”(2) This philosophy seemed at the time to pose a directly effect on Australia as if Vietnam fell then it wouldn’t be too long before Australia Fell to the communists.

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Source material

Source Material Main page

ConscriptionIn 1964 compulsory National Service for 20-year-old males was introduced under the National Service Act 1964. The selection of conscripts was based on date of birth, and conscripts were obligated to give two years’ continuous full-time service, followed by a further three years on the active reserve list. The full-time service requirement was reduced to eighteen months in 1971.[1]

National Service Act – encyclopedia description of the National Service Act.

Conscription in Australia – War memorial explanation of conscription since the Defence Act of 1903.

The Birthday Ballot - Australian Government Commemoration of Vietnam web site - description of ballot with further links to pictures, audio and film.

Avoiding conscription – New World Encyclopedia of different ways to avoid conscription

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Basic training12 weeks of basic training at either Kapooka NSW, Puckapunyal Victoria or Singleton in NSW.

Followed by 4 weeks at Canungra“The training and living conditions at Canungra were tough and as close to jungle combat conditions as possible. Discipline was tough, and you needed to be physically fit to survive the exercises. Over a four week period, the men trained six days per week for 12 hours per day. This included six nights per week. On the fourth week they were sent on a six day exercise in the rugged Macpherson range. They carried their own rations. The training for the independent Company reinforcements was even more intensive than this and extended over an eight week period.”[1] Canungra - Backround information on Canungra pdf file

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Phonc Tuy Province

“In 1966 the Australians established themselves in Phonc Tuy Province as their main area of operation. They set up a camp at Nui Dat as the base from which fighting forces would operate. Australian patrols set out from here, usually carried by trucks, armoured personnel carriers or helicopters to a particular place, from where they started patrolling on foot. The soldiers were rarely sent beyond the reach of artillery support. They Australians also created a supply base at the port of Vung Tau. The Australian’s aim was not to defeat the enemy in major battle but to gain control of their area”.[1]

Phuoc Tuy Province Map

Phuoc Tuy Province Australian Government Commemoration of Vietnam web site - description of Phuoc

Tuy Province with further links to pictures, audio and film.

Nui Dat - Australian Task Force Base Australian Government Commemoration of Vietnam web site - description of Nui Dat with further links to pictures, audio and film.

Vung Tau Australian Government Commemoration of Vietnam web site - description of Vung Tau with further links to pictures, audio and film.

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[1]

Phonc Tuy

ProvinceMap

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Propaganda“Propaganda is a form of communication aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position. Propaganda is a powerful weapon in war; it is used to dehumanize and create hatred toward a supposed enemy, either internal or external, by creating a false image in the mind. This can be done by using derogatory or racist terms, avoiding some words or by making allegations of enemy atrocities. Most propaganda wars require the home population to feel the enemy has inflicted an injustice, which may be fictitious or may be based on facts. The home population must also decide that the cause of their nation is just.” [1]

Propaganda.- YouTube film on Propaganda 9.32mins

North Vietnamese propaganda – YouTube film of how the North Vietnamese used propaganda to put fear and dishearten the American Soldiers. 2.08min

American Propaganda – YouTube film of LBJ use of propaganda to influence the minds of young Americans so that they were supportive of the war. 2.12min

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The media

• “Vietnam was the first "television war." It brought the "horror of war" night after night into people's living rooms and eventually inspired revulsion and exhaustion.” [1]

Television Coverage- where people got their information from during the Vietnam war.

Living room war – Wikipedia description of how the Vietnam war was influenced by media.

Media and the War – an explanation into how television could have helped lose the Vietnam war

Vietnam War - The Impact of Media YouTube film of how media impacted the Vietnam war. 10.51min

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Moratoriums“By 1970, the Vietnam War had become the longest war in which Australia had ever been involved. The anti-war movement had grown from small demonstrations into huge rallies, marches, sit-ins, church services and candlelight vigils. The people who took part were not all political and social radicals. Many ordinary Australians were coming out in opposition to the war. The moratorium rallies were an outpouring of that support with huge numbers of people taking to the streets to demonstrate the strength and power behind the anti-war movement. They believed if they could prove there was enough popular support for withdrawing from Vietnam, then the government would have to listen.” [1]

Moratoriums - how moratoriums begun, the first moratorium and their effect.

Moratoriums and Opposition - public dissent Australian Government Commemoration of Vietnam web site - description of moratoriums.

'Save Our Sons' Australian Government Commemoration of Vietnam web site - description of what the Save our Sons’ group were

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Difficulties fighting the Viet Cong

• U.S. troops fought a jungle war, mostly against the well-supplied Viet Cong. The Viet Cong would attack in ambushes, set up booby traps, and escape through a complex network of underground tunnels. For U.S. forces, even just finding their enemy proved difficult. Since Viet Cong hid in the dense brush, U.S. forces would drop Agent Orange or napalm bombs which cleared an area by causing the leaves to drop off or to burn away. In every village, U.S. troops had difficulty determining which, if any, villagers were the enemy since even women and children could build booby traps or help house and feed the Viet Cong. U.S. soldiers commonly became frustrated with the fighting conditions in Vietnam. Many suffered from low morale, became angry, and some used drugs. [1]

Booby Traps and tunnels –YouTube film on how booby traps were used by the Viet Cong. 4.01min

Tunnels- YouTube film by Vietnam Veteran on the difficulties of fighting the Viet Cong.

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Land mines “The M16 mine is a U.S. made bounding anti-personnel mine. It is often referred to as a "Bouncing Betty" or "Jumping Jack". It is a development of the World War II era German S-mine and has similar performance. The mine consists of a cast iron body in a thin steel sleeve. A central fuse well on the top of the mine is normally fitted with a pronged M605 pressure and tilt fuse. Sufficient pressure on the prongs or tension on an attached tripwire, causes the release of a striker. The freed striker is forced into a percussion cap which ignites a short pyrotechnic delay. The purpose of this delay is to allow the victim to move off the top of the mine, to prevent its upward movement from being blocked. Once the delay has burned through, a 4.5 gram black powder charge is ignited, which launches the inner iron body of the mine up into the air (leaving behind the steel outer sleeve).

The charge also ignites a second pair of pyrotechnic delays. The mine rises to a height of approximately one meter, before one or both of the pyrotechnic delays triggers the main charge of the mine which sprays metal fragments in a 360 degree radius. The mine can produce casualties out to a radius of 35 meters, and the shrapnel presents a serious hazard out to a range of 200 meters.’[1]

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Nui Dat - Australian Task Force Base: A Minefield Australian Government Commemoration of Vietnam web site - description of minefields

Napalm is a powdered aluminum soap or similar compound used to gelatinize oil or gasoline for use in napalm bombs or flame throwers, or the resultant gelatinized substance.[1]

Napalm– wikipedia description of Napalm

Napalm Bombing Run In Vietnam You tube video of what a napalm boming run looked like from the sky 45secs

Napalm from the groundYou tube video of Nine-year old girl, Kim running naked down the road, screaming in agony from napalm

burns that had eaten into her flesh. 1min 32 sec

Kim story – information about what happened to Kim after the napalm bombing.

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Agent Orange• “The purpose of the product was to deny an enemy

cover and concealment in dense terrain by defoliating trees and shrubbery where the enemy could hide. The product "Agent Orange" (a code name for the orange band that was used to mark the drums it was stored in, was principally effective against broad-leaf foliage, such as the dense jungle-like terrain found in Southeast Asia.”[1]

Agent Orange – what is agent orange many links to further information

Agent Orange - Vietnam – You tube video on the effects of Agent Orange 21mins

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Battle of Long TanThe Battle of Long Tan was fought between the Australian Army and Viet Cong

forces in a rubber plantation near the village of Long Tần, about twenty seven kilometers north east of Vung Tau, South Vietnam on 18 August 1966. It is arguably the most famous battle fought by the Australian Army during the Vietnam War. [1]

Battle of Long Tan Australian Government Commemoration of Vietnam web site - description of The

Battle of Long Tan.

Battle of Long Tan- Wikipedia description of the battle of Long Tan

The Battle of Long Tan on 60 minutes part 1 You Tube video 7mins

The Battle of Long Tan on 60 minutes part 2 You tube video 7min 17

Battle of Long Tan - 60 Minutes Post Script Story You tube min 14

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returning home

Woods – “ There you was killing, that night you’re on a pane on your way to Australia. Six hours ago you were shooting somebody.” I didn’t feel at home, I felt uncomfortable really uncomfortable…” Brian Woods [1]

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PTSD

“The Vietnam War was unlike any other war Australian soldiers had fought in that no one really knew how to deal with the after effects of it. Vietnam was not a war fought on open fronts, with areas of safety to which soldiers could retreat. Soldiers were constantly on alert for the enemy. Soldiers did not always know who the enemy was. The enemy could be the women and children soldiers thought they were protecting. The result was that many Vietnam veterans suffered psychological damage in the form of Post-

Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).”[1]

Post traumatic stress disorder – huge amounts of information about PTSD with possible reasons why Vietnam so bad

Psychological effects – easy to read information about PTSD and reasons why.

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What happened to the Vietnamese people after the

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Re- education - “After the Fall of Saigon on April 30th, 1975, every South Vietnamese man, from former officers in the armed forces, to religious leaders, to employees of the Americans or the old government, were told to report to a re-education camp to “learn about the ways of the new government.” [1]

Aftermath – looks at what happened to the region after the war, also has audio and video links

Re Education background information in PDF format about the re-education program in Vietnam after the war

bibliographyAustralian Government Department of Veterans Affairs “Australia and the Vietnam War”

p18,19,20.46,86

Agent Orange http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-conflicts-periods/vietnam/agent-orange.htm

Caulfield M.,2007, The Vietnam Years, Mullion Creek Productions PTY LTD pg 235 - 236

Ed Helper,What is communism http://edhelper.com/ReadingComprehension_35_304.html

Gulf Link Abbreviations and Acronyms http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/postwar/postwar_taba.htm

Hallin, D The Museum of Broadcast Communications, Vietnam on Television http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=vietnamonte

John Rowe, Vietnam, The Australian Experience, Time-Life Books Australia in association with John Ferguson, Sydney, 1987, page 62

M16 Mine http://www.5rar.asn.au/documents/m16mine.htm

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bibliographyNathional Serviceman’s Association, Nasho History, A brief History of National Service in

Australia http://www.nashoaustralia.org.au/history.htm

Old Parliament House, 2007, Speeches moadoph.gov.au/.../2007/speeches.html Parliamentary Education Office,2008 Catalogue no: 0144

www.peo.gov.au/multimedia/library/pages/0144.html

Rosenberg, J., Vietnam War http://history1900s.about.com/od/vietnamwar/a/vietnamwar.htm

Screenhunter Vietnam War http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/screenhunter_vietnam_war.jpg

Truong, Q, Background Reading – Vietnamese re-education camps www.choices.edu/resources/documents/vietnam_camps_abridged_000.pdf

Skwirk Interactive Schools- Year 9 NSW, History, Australia in the Vietnam War era, Responses of various groups, The moratorium movement and the end of the Vietnam War http://www.skwirk.com.au/p-c_s-14_u-116_t-315_c-1065/the-moratorium-movement-and-the-end-of-the-vietnam-war/nsw/the-moratorium-movement-and-the-end-of-the-vietnam-war/australia-in-the-vietnam-war-era/responses-of-various-groups

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bibliography

Skwirk, Year 9 NSW, The impact of War on Australian Soldiers http://www.skwirk.com.au/p-c_s-56_u-490_t-1334_c-5129/the-impact-of-the-war-on-australian-soldiers/tas/the-impact-of-the-war-on-australian-soldiers/australia-after-1945/the-vietnam-war

Wikipedia Battle of Long Tan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Long_T%E1%BA%A7n

Wikipedia, Conscription in Australia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_Australia

Wikipedia, Propaganda, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda

Wikipedia, Military History of Australia During the Vietnam War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Australia_during_the_Vietnam_War

Wikipedia, Domino Theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domino_theory

Wikipedia, Military history of Australia during the Vietnam War, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Australia_during_the_Vietnam_War#cite_note-GOV-1

Wikipedia, History of Vietnam, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Vietnam

Wise geek, What is communism http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-communism.htm

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