(STATIC)
(OVERLAPPING SOUNDTRACKS)
NARRATOR: On September 2nd, 1945,
in a quiet Melbourne suburb,
the day a young couple has been waiting for has finally arrived.
Their first baby is on the way.
At the same time, half a world away,
a thin, proud man with a wispy beard At the same time, half a world away,
a thin, proud man with a wispy beard steps up to a microphone.
(CHEERING)
The speakers crackle and hiss as he stares out at the huge crowd
who have gathered to hear him speak.
(CRIES)
While Robert Graham Perrin comes into the world in Melbourne,
While Robert Graham Perrin in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh
proclaims the independent in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh
proclaims the independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam
proclaims the independent with some familiar words.
20 years later, Robert Perrin will fall from a helicopter
20 years later, Robert Perrin to his death on the jungle floor,
a casualty in a war that was born on his birthday.
About 18.5 at the time. And joined the army.
About 18.5 at the time. And don't regret a day of it.
Nothing prepared any of us
for the conditions that we had to work and live in.
for the conditions Nothing.
And we only got 50m in and the sky fell in.
And we only got 50m in I was mesmerised by the flutter...
..like confetti coming down over me.
MAN: She said, "You shouldn't have been over there in the first place."
MAN: She said, "You shouldn't have And that hit me really hard.
I think And that hit me really hard.
I think that's why my dad hasn't slept
for more than three or four hours in the last 50 years.
('50s MUSIC PLAYS)
Australia slowly emerged from the horrors of World War II.
# Short black hair makes her look so sweet... #
# Short black hair But as the economy recovered,
Australia came to fare better than most.
Until for the comfortable majority, at least,
Until for the comfortable life started to feel pretty easy.
# Come on, everybody, clap your hands
# Come on, everybody, # Oh, you look real good
# We're gonna do the twist # Oh, you look real good
# We're gonna do the twist And it looks like this... #
# We're gonna do the twist Australia was a wonderful place.
As everybody says, they were the good old days.
Oh, it was wonderful, the '40s and '50s.
Had a pretty sort of free and easy kind of life.
# Round, round get around I get around
# Yeah, get around, round, round I get around... #
MAN: I used to do a lot of rabbit shooting
and riding all over the countryside on my bicycle.
There was just good fun, good mateship.
There was just good fun, # You know you make me want to shout
# Throw my hands up and shout... #
It was so slower and quieter now,
like, you'd live on your bicycle and just go anywhere.
like, you'd live on your bicycle There was hardly any traffic.
We just had an incredible freedom to walk, to hitchhike,
to adventure, to climb trees, to swim in swamps,
to adventure, to climb trees, to play in creeks,
and to do all the sorts of things that young kids today can't do.
And they don't know what they're missing out on.
MAN: In that period,
we still felt that we were part of a big British family.
We were still part of the great Anglosphere.
At the end of the 1940s, Australia was led
by a true champion of the Anglosphere, Robert Menzies.
NEWSREEL: From Canberra,
First pictures of the new Australian Cabinet just after being sworn in.
They're seen with the Governor-General, Mr McKell,
at whose right sits Mr Menzies, Prime Minister for the second time.
He had presence, he had urbanity,
he brought a civilising influence to bear into Australian policy.
He was a pragmatist, not a dogmatist. he brought a civilising influence to bear into Australian policy.
He was a pragmatist, not a dogmatist.
The Cold War of course, was an area in which he was on one side.
But we always had faith
that Menzies ran a sensible, tolerant, cooperative,
smooth Westminster system of government.
Menzies may have been instinctively drawn to Britain,
but Britain could no longer assert itself in our region.
MAN: Its days as a global military power were done.
The United Kingdom could not act with any kind of pungency or force MAN: Its days as a global military power were done.
The United Kingdom could not act with any kind of pungency or force
in world affairs without the support of the Americans.
Old European powers such as the UK were thrown into the shade
by the Cold War battle between the USA and the Soviet Union.
That didn't stop France attempting to reassert itself
That didn't stop France in its former colony in Indochina.
Ho Chi Minh's forces, known as the Viet Minh, resisted.
Now, in the aftermath of war,
even though Ho Chi Minh declared Now, in the aftermath of war,
even though Ho Chi Minh declared a democratic republic,
even though Ho Chi Minh declared an independent Vietnam,
France does not want to give up their colonies,
so they start the French war against the Viet Minh,
the French war in Indochina.
(NON, JE NE REGRETTE RIEN BY PIAF PLAYS)
The Yanks are really in this from the beginning. (NON, JE NE REGRETTE RIEN BY PIAF PLAYS)
The Yanks are really in this from the beginning.
They'd actually backed the Viet Minh during the Japanese occupation
because they're fighting against Japan as well.
They were supplying them with arms.
But when the French come in, they switch sides
and they start supporting the French.
And by 1950, they're paying for 80% of French war costs in Vietnam.
The French were humbled and ejected from Vietnam in 1954.
But for Australia, French attempts to retake their colony
But for Australia, French attempts were really none of our business.
It didn't impinge on our consciousness.
This was a matter of a stubborn French attempt
This was a matter to maintain their empire
and nationalists attempting to gain their independence.
But beyond that, we knew very little about Vietnam.
That is, until the idea of falling dominoes creeps into vogue.
If we don't stop the advance of communism in one country,
a whole lot of other neighbouring countries will fall.
The falling dominoes were expected to go all the way
from South Vietnam down through South East Asia
from South Vietnam and reach the Australian doorstep.
That was the theory.
Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The falling of the dominoes.
Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was constant.
And the fear of Asia, constant.
At school, kids passed around those Japanese torture books
that came out from recollections of World War II.
And, yeah, there was a fear of Asia for sure.
NEWSREEL: Active communist fighting fronts
have been opened up in Indochina, Malaya and the Philippines
have been opened up in Indochina, where communist satellites,
trained and armed by their overlords in Moscow,
trained and armed carry on intensive warfare.
They carry the flag of world revolution.
Even now, their eyes are on the rice fields of Indochina,
Even now, their eyes are on the rubber of Malaya,
and one of the biggest prizes the rubber of Malaya,
and one of the biggest prizes of all - Australia.
DR HOBBS: The idea that Ho Chi Minh is a communist
DR HOBBS: The idea that Ho Chi Minh just like Mao is a communist,
and that they're all going to gang up on us
and that they're all and fall down on us as dominoes
really stems and fall down on us as dominoes
really stems from this very essentialist view
of Asian people as simplistic and easily led.
MAN: There's an ethnic and cultural disconnect
between us and the world around us,
which goes back to the very origins of our history -
which goes back white, Western, British people
migrating to this part of the world
and becoming a white enclave in Asia.
And that sets up a fundamental problem in the history
which we still haven't resolved.
NEWSREEL: The Menzies government had already committed itself
to support the United States in Korea,
and in 1952 Australia was a signatory to the ANZUS pact.
and in 1952 Australia With the retreat of the British,
Australia felt very small and alone in our neighbourhood.
The Menzies government turned to the United States,
signing the ANZUS treaty, which came into force in 1952.
The world needs the United States of America.
The world needs the British peoples of the world.
The world needs every scrap of democratic strength
The world needs that can be found in it,
because nobody, however optimistic,
need underestimate the measure or the character
of the danger that always confronts us.
Trouble was, we weren't exactly certain what we'd signed.
Trouble was, we weren't What is ANZUS supposed to mean?
The Americans answered by saying, "Our support for you What is ANZUS supposed to mean?
The Americans answered by saying, "Our support for you
"will depend on your support for us elsewhere."
"will depend on your support for us Now, what did "elsewhere" mean?
Well, the next item on the agenda was Vietnam,
the support for South Vietnam.
Attempting to strengthen ties with the US,
the Menzies government dipped a toe into the water.
In 1962, they sent an army training team to Vietnam
to support the fledgling Republic of Vietnam
in its struggle against attempts by North Vietnam
to unite the country under communist rule. in its struggle against attempts by North Vietnam
to unite the country under communist rule.
'62 is a pivotal year in many ways,
and the commitment of 30 advisers to South Vietnam
and the commitment of 30 advisers as part of a new body,
the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam, as it became called,
was a moment for Australia to enter the war, really.
These were men sent to train and assist South Vietnamese forces,
bringing to them their special knowledge of jungle warfare.
Really, from that moment, Australia is pretty much in the ball game.
Yeah.
Where does the line draw? Where do we stop? How far do we go? Yeah.
Where does the line draw? Where do we stop? How far do we go?
Where does the line draw? Well, we start off by trying to win.
Where do we go from there? Well, let's win first.
# I fell for the leader of the pack... #
# I will follow him, follow him wherever he may go... #
In contrast to North Vietnam's stable leadership under Ho Chi Minh,
South Vietnamese President Diem had trouble making friends.
NEWSREEL: South Vietnam,
focal point of the West's fight against communism
in South East Asia.
For nearly a decade, Premier Ngo Dinh Diem
ruled his small nation of 15 million without open opposition.
But in mid-1963, protests began mounting against his regime.
I think the problem with the way the West approached South Vietnam
was that South Vietnam had just come out of colonisation.
It was fighting for its survival against a very determined enemy
It was fighting for its survival that wanted to invade it.
Yet somehow, people expected South Vietnam
Yet somehow, to instantly become a democracy.
This was never going to happen.
You know, it was struggling with far too many issues
You know, it was struggling just to establish itself.
DR HOBBS: Diem had been getting increasingly repressive.
Increasingly, he's despised by the South Vietnamese,
basically tips the JFK administration into action.
The CIA backed a military coup against the regime.
President Diem and his brother were eliminated.
NEWSREEL: In a swift coup, they swept through the streets of Saigon,
overwhelmed loyalist forces and seized key buildings.
Diem and Nhu refused an offer of safe conduct out of the country
Diem and Nhu refused an offer and fled.
Both men were killed.
After Diem is then assassinated
because the CIA realises After Diem is then assassinated
because the CIA realises he's a disaster,
from that point, you've got this revolving door.
from that point, You know, various generals
sort of rotating through the prime ministership in Saigon,
and it's very an unstable regime.
But no matter how unstable the southern Vietnam regime was,
the US government believed it must be supported
the US government to keep the communist north at bay.
Let's not forget that on the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated
in Dallas in November 1963, he was due to give a speech that afternoon
in Dallas in November 1963, he was in which he was going to say
that America must not tire from its efforts in Vietnam,
that it still had to be, for the world,
the watchmen on the walls of freedom.
MAN: You, Lyndon Baines Johnson, do solemnly swear.
I, Lyndon Baines Johnson do solemnly swear.
LBJ comes into power. He says, "We're in an awful mess."
"This is an awful mess. And I don't know what to do about it."
He thinks it's just going to get worse and worse,
and he doesn't see how we can pull out.
Johnson was on the one hand saying he was not going to get involved,
Johnson was on the one hand saying but covertly putting in place
whatever would be necessary
if it came to the point where American troops had to be committed.
In 1964, with the US increasingly committed to Vietnam,
Australia saw the opportunity to lock in the precious alliance.
For that, we needed more men in boots.
The Menzies government's answer was conscription.
What do you think about sending troops to Vietnam?
What do you think about I think it's a good idea.
I think all countries should participate
and help each other like that.
I think it's got to be done.
I haven't got any choice at this stage.
Well, I suppose you have to really keep them,
Well, I suppose keep the communists out.
But I'd rather see my boys stay around.
I think it's perfectly alright. I think it's a duty of honour.
Well, I don't particularly like the idea.
Uh, I don't think we should be brought into it at all.
I don't think they should send people there.
If the Americans want to start a fight or start a war,
If the Americans want to start that's their business.
Why should we be involved in it?
It's got nothing to do with us.
The introduction of selective conscription,
as it was called under a National Service Act,
was seen as the way to bring the numbers up in the Defence Force.
They were looking to get a force of 40,000
They were looking to get and they were way below that.
20-year-olds were asked to register their birth date
with the Department of Labour and National Service on turning 20.
Do you like the idea of 20-year-olds going overseas?
Do you like the idea 20, 18 or 19, yeah, in they go.
It's a good experience. Makes a man out of them.
It's a good experience. I don't believe in conscription.
If they want to go, let them go on their own accord.
I have a son that is in the national call-up
I have a son and he'll probably go in time.
And I'm a widow and he's my only son
and, therefore, I've got to fight to say why shouldn't everyone else?
Well, I thought if it was to assist the country
in the defence of communism spreading,
it might be a good thing in the defence of communism spreading,
it might be a good thing
if the current numbers in it might be a good thing
if the current numbers in the Defence Force were inadequate.
Go!
(SHOUTS INDISTINCTLY)
That's what happens if you don't leap!
That's what happens Give us 20 push-ups.
Three, four, five.
Come on. He's like a bag of wheat.
MAN: The population loved the idea of a young man in uniform
becoming disciplined adults through the process of military training.
(SHOUTS ORDERS)
Controversially, the candidates were chosen by lottery, (SHOUTS ORDERS)
Controversially, the candidates were chosen by lottery,
a lottery that eventually acquired the unkind nickname
Lottery of Death.
This barrel holds the immediate future for 40,300 young Australians
who have registered for national service since January 25th.
The plan, which was announced last November
in view of the deteriorating strategic situation,
aims eventually at providing a constant strength
aims eventually at providing of 13,800 young national servicemen
in Australia's military forces.
WOMAN: The draw happened on television.
There were 31 dates in the barrel,
and if your birth date was drawn out, There were 31 dates in the barrel,
and if your birth date was drawn out,
then you had to register for national service.
It had an element of randomness to it.
It also felt somewhat ghoulish to many,
the idea that your life could change and pivot
on this single moment of bad luck.
MAN: Here I was going to be taken away from a life of playing rugby
with St Ives in Sydney, rowing surf boats with Newport MAN: Here I was going to be taken away from a life of playing rugby
with St Ives in Sydney, rowing surf boats with Newport
and in hot pursuit of a girl from the computer programming department.
and in hot pursuit of a girl from But...um...
Yeah, I just...
But then I thought, "No, it won't happen to me."
But then I thought, Of course it does.
Three-two-three.
323.
November 18 to May 20. Correct.
I always remember a bunch of guys from Sydney Uni
standing on the footpath handing out shots of scotch
and telling you to run up the stairs to the medical appointment
so your blood pressure would be through the roof.
I drank a scotch but I then took the elevator.
It was a pretty quick medical. You know, it was unusual.
Because I guess I'd played a lot of footy,
so I was used to parading around with nothing on Because I guess I'd played a lot of footy,
so I was used to parading around with nothing on
in front of other guys.
But they were your mates, so...
Alright. So, I was conscripted in 1965.
We were the very first people to have to sort of figure out
the rights that the state has over an individual.
You're asking to think about the morality of war.
You're thinking about the moralities of killing and stuff like that.
These are big moral, political, spiritual,
you know, religious issues.
Present...arms.
One, two, three...arms.
When you hear people talk about the Australian Army at the time,
they talk about it as a place of equality,
a place where people of all races and classes mixed together.
You could be excluded from national service if you were gay
and there was a certain amount of gay pretending if you like,
and there was a certain amount I think, going on.
Certainly some doctors were prepared I think, going on.
Certainly some doctors were prepared to sign off men as gay
who might not otherwise have shown any particular gay tendencies.
So, we get this faintly comedic image
of straight men pretending to be gay to get out of the services.
But the other side of that coin is gay men pretended to be straight
so as to be conscripted
because a lot of people wanted to be conscripted.
A lot of people wanted to fight the Vietnam War.
A lot of people That's a fact that's forgotten now.
The return of conscription may have been massively popular,
but there were early ripples of dissent.
ARROW: Not long after Menzies had reintroduced conscription,
he delivered a speech to, really to the party faithful in Hornsby
in Sydney's north-west.
As he started to make his speech,
a number of women who had infiltrated the crowd,
dressed all in black,
rose silently from their seats,
and they were wearing veils over their faces.
So they looked like they were women in mourning.
So they looked like And they were jeered.
They were booed.
Menzies had to kind of stop his speech for a moment.
And the women stood there for several minutes,
just kind of absorbing the kind of abuse, I suppose, of the crowd.
And then they all left the room, left the hall at the same time
and handed out anti-conscription pamphlets.
They weren't ratbags.
They were dressed as respectable liberal women,
but they were dressed as if they were going to a funeral.
The idea that respectable wives and mothers
The idea would protest government policy,
that would claim to know better than Menzies,
would claim to know better than the government
would claim to know better who was making these big decisions,
was seen as kind of outrageous.
It was the first women's protest against conscription
in the Vietnam era.
It would not be the last.
You know, a number of the women who were part of these early protests
were sort of told, "Well, why don't you go home
"and look after your husband and family at home
"rather than worrying about this stuff.
"rather than worrying about "It's none of your business."
So, it was very much that politics is men's domain
and women, and particularly mothers, have no role to play
in this kind of broader civil society debate
about whether we should be sending young men to fight
about whether we should in a war overseas.
And sending young men in a war overseas.
And sending young men to fight overseas
was exactly what Robert Menzies had in mind.
The decision was taken at a forgotten Cabinet meeting
The decision was taken on December 17, 1964.
He was a bit tired and he wanted to get it over quickly.
He goes into the meeting with the Cabinet
and basically he'd clearly already made his mind up.
He wants them to ratify a decision to send combat troops to Vietnam.
The meeting was of the Defence and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee
The meeting was of the Defence of Cabinet,
which was Menzies and McEwen,
the leader of the Country Party and Deputy Prime Minister,
Harold Holt, the Deputy leader of the party and the Treasurer,
and what Menzies would habitually call the new boys.
and what Menzies (PHONE RINGS)
On December 14th, a request came in from President Johnson,
not for a battalion, not mentioned at all,
not for a battalion, said he didn't want it, actually,
but for a great array of other military assistance.
And particularly he wanted a big increase
And particularly in the Australian Army advisers.
The US didn't want in the Australian Army advisers.
The US didn't want Australian combat troops.
The US didn't want Menzies had other ideas.
After five minutes of discussion,
the meeting decided
to send an infantry battalion the meeting decided
to send an infantry battalion of 800 men to Vietnam.
The Prime Minister saw this as an opportunity
The Prime Minister to get alongside the United States.
"Everything we can put alongside the Americans
"in the common interest is good," he said.
There are few things more serious that a prime minister could do
is send people to war.
I mean, this is, you know, about taking and losing life
I mean, this is, you know, and national treasure.
So it's hugely important.
And so, this was just done, you know, in five minutes.
Five minutes to decide to commit combat troops to fight in Vietnam.
Five minutes to decide to commit Five minutes to set in train
a process that would alter Australia immeasurably.
The discussion was not worthy of the great issue that was involved.
By April 1965,
Robert Menzies was ready By April 1965,
Robert Menzies was ready to let the rest of the country know
about the decision taken the previous December.
MAN: He was claiming it was a civil war,
MAN: He was claiming not an insurgency from the north,
which was part of the justification not an insurgency from the north,
which was part of the justification for it, of course.
it was the justification that lay behind our forward defence policy
and an attempt to get a powerful American strength
and an attempt to get into our sphere of influence
which was seen now into our sphere of influence
which was seen now to extend into South East Asia.
But first he had an obstacle to clear.
DR EDWARDS: If we were going to commit forces to Vietnam,
we would not simply do it because the Americans wanted us to
or because we wanted the Americans to want us to.
We had to have an invitation from the South Vietnamese government.
And it was known that the people in power at the time
had some reservations that if foreign governments were,
you know, would come in and have to fight their battles for them,
that this was going to be seen as a sign of weakness,
as indeed it was on the part of...by the Vietnamese people.
as indeed it was on the part Now, Menzies claimed, of course,
to have had...be in receipt
of a request from the government of the Republic of Vietnam.
But I think the conventional wisdom now amongst scholars
is that in fact the Americans had generated that request
from the Republic of Vietnam on Australia's behalf.
from the Republic of Vietnam # Rescue me, take me in your arms
# Rescue me... #
On April 29th, 1965,
the Prime Minister told the House of Representatives
that Australia would send a battalion of combat troops to Vietnam.
Well, I think I suddenly felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach
because I was the one he was wanting to send there.
I was in my first year at Duntroon then.
And indeed I remember walking to Mess Parade at lunch
And indeed I remember and I was just a little behind time
and there was this cheering going on.
And that was because news that Menzies had announced
And that was because news the commitment had occurred.
So, we were rather pleased, the commitment had occurred.
So, we were rather pleased, as soldiers would be,
So, we were rather pleased, that you had a war.
I believed all the things that the government was saying,
the communists coming down through Malay Peninsula, you know, I believed all the things that the government was saying,
the communists coming down through Malay Peninsula, you know,
over time, and then eventually Australia, you know.
And I thought, "Oh, well, if we can stop it there, well and good."
And I thought, "Oh, well, if we can And that was part of the plan.
Would you both like to go to Vietnam?
I would. Why is that?
Well, I think there's a lot of benefits
to be got out of it, really, and experience.
And when you come back, it's a pretty good possibility.
A lot of benefits.
And yourself?
No. I don't want to go, but if I have to go, I'll go.
Well, it's not a matter of liking to go, but I would go.
I realise that I'm in the army. I've got to go with it.
But if it was a choice between deciding to go,
But if it was a choice volunteering or staying,
I'd stay, I wouldn't volunteer.
I didn't think it was a good idea. However, I did my duty.
I didn't think it was a good idea. I was a professional officer.
And, you know, I was spoken for and I had to do my duty
regardless of what I thought personally.
The military is conditioned, I guess, is the term to use
to believe in the sorts of politics that the government believes in.
So, the thought to be able to go
and fight in somebody else's backyard
instead of waiting until we had to fight in our own backyard, and fight in somebody else's backyard
instead of waiting until we had to fight in our own backyard,
you know, it was positive for us.
I must say that in those days I felt wonderful.
You know, it's like if you've got racehorses,
you've got to give them a run.
I don't think Menzies had any idea
of the kind of war he was getting into,
nor really do I think the chiefs of staff did.
But in relation to Menzies, it wasn't...it wasn't his area.
I mean, he was a lawyer, he was a politician
and he dealt with strategic and political matters
and he didn't think in specifically, in military terms.
Gross ignorance probably best sums it up.
ALL: (CHANT) One, two, three, four, we don't want war.
Five, six, seven, eight, stop the war, negotiate.
Well, I think the Americans shouldn't be interfering
Well, I think the Americans as much as they are in Vietnam,
and they should leave Vietnam as much as they are in Vietnam,
and they should leave Vietnam to a certain extent
and they should leave Vietnam to decide its own troubles.
What use is it if we take Vietnam?
If Vietnam is lost, are they any closer to us or not?
No. They're no closer. MAN: (SHOUTS) Commies!
They're just as close whether Vietnam is lost or not.
They're just as close That's right.
So why send a quarter of our Australians to Vietnam?
What use does it serve? None.
Can we make any, any appreciable difference?
Australia's alliance with America? It indicates nothing.
What about it? It's a boob...
..doesn't believe in US policy in Vietnam
is living in a fool's paradise.
Oh, don't be silly, man.
What use is it if our blokes get killed? It's a token.
It's a useless token. It's 800 men shot for nothing.
Why is it a useless token?
And they're just as dangerous whether they're lost or won.
Look, if we lose Vietnam, we lose Australia. We've got to have...
If we lose Vietnam, they're just as close.
If we lose Vietnam, We're not. We're not.
McKAY: It wasn't until you were personally involved
that you started to take an interest, you know?
19-, 20-year-old men full of testosterone,
playing footy, rowing boats, 19-, 20-year-old men full of testosterone,
playing footy, rowing boats,
surf clubs, dances on weekends, girls,
beer, all of that sort of thing took priority
before geopolitical matters.
THOMPSON: I liked cars and trucks and all the boy stuff.
THOMPSON: I liked cars and trucks And I lived near a council yard
and all their heavy equipment was parked there.
And we had a family friend who worked on the wharves and all their heavy equipment was parked there.
And we had a family friend who worked on the wharves
in Melbourne, crane operator.
And he happened to say to me, "Look, if you want to do that,
"get into the army and they'll teach you how to drive it."
So I made my inquiries
and discovered I had to join the Corps of Engineers
and with a view to becoming a plant operator.
And so I took all the appropriate steps.
And so I took When I was about...
I was about 18.5 at the time
and joined the army
and don't regret a day of it.
I remember the day that this photo was taken, and that was in about...
I remember the day that this photo ..19...
..69.
Well, there's a young boy, a very young lad,
that looks out of place in an army uniform.
Mmm.
EKINS: In this initial stage, one Australian battalion
being attached to an American brigade EKINS: In this initial stage, one Australian battalion
being attached to an American brigade
was not going to make an enormous difference
to the outcome of the war in Vietnam.
Remember I was a boy from the western suburbs of Sydney.
We didn't know too much about guns, mate,
or when I was conscripted, yeah, that...
Troops from First Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, 1RAR,
all regular army, arrived in Vietnam in June 1965.
# That's when I get the shakes all over me... #
EKINS: They were well trained, well prepared,
EKINS: They were well trained, very experienced in the main.
They had really done lots of work in counter-insurgency.
Counter-revolutionary warfare was one of the standard doctrines
in the Australian arsenal, if you like.
What they weren't prepared for was the scale and nature of the war.
BORGER: We arrived at Saigon at Tan Son Nhat Airport
and saw all these planes and jets taking off.
And it was just, "Jeez, this is...this is what a war looks like."
The Australians were terribly equipped.
They had outmoded uniforms, boots, equipment of all kinds,
very little in the way of mechanical aids.
DR LOCKHART: They couldn't work out what they were supposed to do,
and the early troops anyway, couldn't get the supplies
and equipment that they felt they needed.
You know, their shirts, their uniforms, their tents
were sort of rotting in the monsoon and so on.
Some officers from the battalion did was got in a jeep
with a trailer on it,
went down to an American base at Vung Tau with a trailer on it,
went down to an American base at Vung Tau
and said, "We're here to pick up the Australian stores."
And so they flogged five 50 calibre machine guns and a water truck.
Now, I understand, I don't know if this story is apocryphal or not,
but that the Americans opened fire on them.
But they got back to base.
Meanwhile, the signals officer had taken a load of slouch hats
and shower buckets to Saigon
to barter for field telephones and communications equipment
so they could communicate around the perimeter of the task force base
# In this dirty old part of the city... #
NEWSREEL: Australian soldiers on patrol in Vietnam.
Two minutes ago, there were five shots
Two minutes ago, about 300 yards away in the jungle.
Friendly or enemy?
# We gotta get out of this place... #
# We gotta get out We had to defend that whole area
where they intended to put the task force in.
Not only was it mentally tough, it was physically tough.
And when we were, in establishing our footprint,
the only way we could defend ourselves was patrol.
the only way we could defend Patrol. Patrol. Patrol.
# Girl, there's a better life for me and you. #
REPORTER: Sir Robert Menzies bows out
REPORTER: Sir Robert Menzies of the Australian political scene.
This is how it was today,
as Sir Robert Menzies arrived at Parliament House
to attend a meeting of the government parties
to tell them of his intention to resign.
Robert Menzies finally stepped down as Prime Minister in January 1966.
Harold Holt was elected unopposed to succeed him.
MAN: When Menzies retired, he was 70 years old.
And he'd been prime minister for 16 years
and the government had become more and more moribund And he'd been prime minister for 16 years
and the government had become more and more moribund
and Menzies had become less and less interested in new challenges.
One becomes tired, one becomes not quite 100% in efficiency.
And I have an old-fashioned belief
that the Prime Minister of this country ought to be 100% efficient.
CURRAN: There was a sense that Menzies was tired,
CURRAN: There was a sense that it was time for him to go,
that the Coalition needed
a fresher, younger style of leadership,
and they certainly got that in Harold Holt. a fresher, younger style of leadership,
and they certainly got that in Harold Holt.
Harold Holt essentially continued,
if not increased Australia's commitment to Vietnam.
The need for Australian participation in Vietnam
The need for Australian is, I believe, well understood
by an overwhelming majority is, I believe, well understood
by an overwhelming majority of Australians
by an overwhelming majority and supported by them.
Holt came in with great enthusiasm for the commitment.
He seemed to be initiating increases in the commitment,
which surprised even his closest advisers.
which surprised He didn't seem to realise
that the policy was not an unlimited commitment,
that it was a matter of committing sufficient forces
to have credibility with the Americans. that it was a matter of committing sufficient forces
to have credibility with the Americans.
But keeping that commitment as low as we conveniently could.
With the new Prime Minister came a new approach,
a separate base of operations for Australian troops.
A major rethink came about through senior commanders
A major rethink came about like General John Wilton,
who had been resisting all along the use of the Australians
in any form of mobile warfare with American units.
The proposal was to insert another two battalions into a task force
with its own independent area of operations.
This took a lot of discussion and consideration.
This took a lot of discussion In the end, what Wilton settled on
was the province of Phuoc Tuy,
which had advantages was the province of Phuoc Tuy,
which had advantages of various kinds.
It had a seaport for ready access through Vung Tau.
The selection of Phuoc Tuy province is interesting
because I think the government didn't want Australians
to go up into the north, for example,
where there would have been bigger battles
where there would have been and, therefore, greater casualties.
The Australians, because of the national service component,
were extremely worried about casualties
and so they wanted a province they thought was relatively quiet.
And Phuoc Tuy seemed to fit the bill.
It was possible to build a base
right in the centre of this province,
right in the centre which became the fixation, almost,
that there would be a base around a hill known as Nui Dat,
Dirt Hill, right in the middle of the province.
It would allow the Australians to operate independently
and practise their own form of counter-insurgency operations.
and practise their own form That was the basis of this change.
It would require a vast amount of work before it came into being.
The operation to clear the area was dubbed 'Hardihood'.
Operation Hardihood commenced possibly 10 days after we arrived.
Two townships, two small villages had to be destroyed
Two townships, two small villages and the displaced people relocated.
That became a thorn in the side of the task force
for the next five, six years.
The two villages of Long Tan and Long Phuoc,
The two villages of Long Tan they were razed to the ground.
The people and their gardens and vegetables and farms were destroyed.
So, you had a population of about 5,000 dispossessed people,
So, you had a population very discontented,
still trying to get back to their original ancestral areas
where the, traditionally in Vietnamese culture,
these places had a reverence for,
the ancestors' bones would be buried in the hearth of the village,
the ancestors' bones would be buried houses and so on,
and they were denied access to these areas.
McKAY: It was pretty tough.
But it was something that had to be done.
This was very, very ill considered
you have to concede.
And it left a stain really
on the Australian involvement And it left a stain really
on the Australian involvement at that stage.
As the soldiers settled in in Vietnam
back home, other young men were taking a different path. As the soldiers settled in in Vietnam
back home, other young men were taking a different path.
(READS) "I ask you, as your commanding officer,
"to consider your position carefully and to report as ordered
"so as to avoid becoming liable to the quite severe punishments
"so as to avoid becoming liable "which the law provides
"for infringements of military discipline."
Mr White, does the telegram at all change your plans now?
No. I have made it clear from July 18th,
when I was dismissed from my teaching position
that I do not intend to comply with the call-up notice,
and I do not intend to present myself to the military
or to obey any orders of a military nature.
William White was a conscientious objector and a teacher.
William White's birthday was drawn in the first conscription ballot
held in March 1965.
He was the first Australian to fight his call-up notice.
After refusing to report for training,
After refusing he was sacked from his teaching job
and then arrested and incarcerated at Holsworthy Army Base.
He believed he would qualify as a conscientious objector
He believed he would qualify opposed to all use of violence,
and he was unsuccessful in his conscientious objection case.
# I ain't gonna go
# Ain't gonna go
# Hell no
# Hell no... #
His conscientious objection was not on religious grounds,
but on the immorality of the Vietnam War.
So this, again, to me
was one of the great injustices of conscription.
The more rational and intelligent and well-founded your objection was,
the less likely it was to be listened to.
After protracted legal battles,
Bill White eventually won the right
to be recognised Bill White eventually won the right
to be recognised as a conscientious objector.
His stand inspired thousands of others around the country.
The lasting legacy of the stand he took
are the visuals, are the photos that remain.
The photos that were on the front pages of newspapers
which showed a schoolteacher, a schoolteacher of all professions,
being carried away by police and arresting
for ostensibly refusing to fight, refusing to join the army.
That showed you what the state could do. for ostensibly refusing to fight, refusing to join the army.
That showed you what the state could do.
And that sort of, you know, that showed you the extent to which
they could act in a blatantly repressive way.
SPEAKER: The proposition that I have put to you...
ALL: (CHANT) Release Bill White. Release Bill White.
ALL: (CHANT) Release Bill White. (SPEECH DROWNED OUT BY CHANTS)
Release Bill White. Release Bill White.
There are opponents of the government
who are quite afraid to hear what the government has to say
on national policies of this country.
The government didn't want trouble. on national policies of this country.
The government didn't want trouble.
The government didn't anticipate an anti-war movement.
And the government wanted to fight a war, not an anti-war movement.
The government didn't want to be seen
to be manhandling teachers out of a schoolhouse into a jailhouse.
You know, they were horrible pictures.
And it's worth remembering what a brave stand it was
for someone like Bill White.
What an unusual stand.
How far away from the Australian mainstream
those early anti-war campaigners were.
I mean, people thought they were mad.
The first national serviceman to be killed in Vietnam was Errol Noack.
Errol Noack was conscripted in the same March 1965 birthday ballot
as Bill White.
Errol Noack was a young man
who lived on Kangaroo Island, South Australia.
who lived on Kangaroo Island, He was a fisherman, farmer.
He was a churchgoing young Lutheran boy
He was who took his church seriously.
He was dispatched
along with many other young Nashos in 5RAR.
After his basic military training
he joined 5th Battalion, 5RAR, 54th Royal Australian Regiment
he joined 5th Battalion, 5RAR, and went to Vietnam
and played a part in building the base in Vung Tau,
which at the time was just a beach.
EKINS: He was on the first operation
where companies, in what is often termed their shakedown operation,
familiarise themselves with the area.
We hopped out of the helicopters
and, you know, and young soldiers thinking this is pretty cool,
you know, out here patrolling with live ammunition and weapons.
You know, we patrol with the weapon, the bullets up the spout.
But safety catch on.
So, it was...it's the real thing.
Making their way through the scrub
outside Nui Dat,
still getting a feel outside Nui Dat,
still getting a feel for the local landscape.
Stopped to refill their water bottles.
I came back with that water Stopped to refill their water bottles.
I came back with that water
and distributed the water amongst our section.
Errol Noack, I'd walked over to him and dropped his water off,
and he said to me, "Borge," that was my nickname,
he said, "What do you do with these purifying tablets?"
As I was explaining it to him, John, who was on the machine gun,
As I was explaining it to him, called out to me.
He said, "Hit the deck, Borge."
(MACHINE GUN FIRE)
At that instant, there was just a roar and a thud.
Errol got thrown back behind me.
Distance would have been at least three metres, I would say,
Distance would have been maybe even more.
But I actually heard the thud
and I dived the other way alongside John.
and I dived the other way I was the number two on the gun
and we started to return fire.
Not knowing what to expect,
I was thinking that all of a sudden
the screaming hordes would come out in front of us
the screaming hordes and run right over the top of us.
And I thought, "Jeez, this might and run right over the top of us.
And I thought, "Jeez, this might be the end of me right here."
My Section Commander, George Gilbert,
he stood up and started yelling out, "We're Australians."
With that, everything stopped.
Errol was laying behind us.
I looked at him.
He was grey. He was a sickly grey.
And he was...
He was calling out to God. He was saying he was dying and...
He was quickly evacuated,
as quickly as they could get an evacuation helicopter in nearby.
as quickly as they could get But died on board the helicopter.
Initially the government, the army,
said that it was a skirmish Initially the government, the army,
said that it was a skirmish with the Viet Cong.
In fact, it turned out to be another unit of Australian infantry
In fact, it turned out to be another had fired on Errol's patrol.
This was deliberately covered up.
It was said that the reason Errol had been shot
It was said that the reason was that he stood up.
According to army doctrine, you stay low.
Errol, the conscript, the man who had not had the training,
the implication being he didn't have the training.
He didn't have the dedication of full-time professional soldiers.
Really? No. He was doing, you know, stood up, got shot, his fault.
His comrades have since said he did not stand up.
He did not... That was not why he was shot.
It was not his fault.
Errol never got up.
They said he got up after the contact was started.
They said he got up Errol never had a chance.
He was hit, I would say, by the first round,
first actual round that was fired.
That was...hit Errol.
Certainly would have had significance to people back home.
The politicians were certainly worried about it.
And I'm sure that when the news got back to my mum,
she would have been horrified.
I don't...I never told mum that I, when I was there
I don't...I never told mum that I, that I was alongside Errol when...
I didn't want to cause her that I was alongside Errol when...
I didn't want to cause her any concern.
He was commemorated in two ways after his death
in the task force base that they were building,
the first Nasho was commemorated in Noack Avenue.
That was...a sign was set up.
They had to build street signs into this base
that was getting bigger and bigger all the time.
And in Adelaide, the Cross of Sacrifice at The Australian...
The South Australian War Memorial on North Terrace in Adelaide
was defaced by graffiti by protesters who wrote...
"Errol Wayne Noack,"
and a date,
"His was not to reason why." and a date,
"His was not to reason why."
DR CAHILL: Down where I live,
there's a major memorial to the Vietnam War
with the list of all the people on it who died.
with the list of all the people And he's on it.
And I look at that, and all of the other names,
and that almost makes me weep when I see him there.
BORGER: Yeah, I shed a lot of tears now,
and I wouldn't have been the only one.
and I wouldn't have been I didn't express it to anyone.
It was something of my own, I didn't express it to anyone.
It was something of my own, you know,
there by yourself in a harbour, you know, in a defensive position,
there by yourself in a harbour, you know, and it's pouring rain
and you're living like a mongrel dog.
You're missing home. You're missing your parents.
Yeah.
And you know that the next day you get up, it all starts again.
Met his father, devastated about it all,
but he couldn't accept that his son should say he was killed...
..by friendly fire. So...
One day in Vietnam or one day in an operation and he's dead.
One day in Vietnam or one day Why wouldn't he be bitter?
He wanted to feel proud about his son,
and he should be proud about his son because he done nothing wrong.
NEWSREEL: The Sydney sailed in April
with 400 men of the first task force.
They replace the 1st Battalion, who came home in June.
When 1RAR sailed back to Australia in June 1966
When 1RAR sailed back to Australia after its one-year deployment,
the unit returned to a hero's welcome.
Over 300,000 people turned out to greet them in Sydney.
It's a reminder that, one, that the war was very popular
and two, that soldiers, I think, still have that central position
and two, that soldiers, I think, in Australian sort of cultural life
and the sort of centrality of the Anzac and things like that.
WOMAN: We had television on for the news, as we always did,
and there was this great marching column of soldiers through Sydney
and this woman on her own just stepping out of the crowd.
NEWSREEL: Only one incident marred the proceedings.
A young typist daubed with red paint grabbed at the march leader,
Lieutenant Colonel Preece, smearing his uniform.
Then she ran, clawing among the first two ranks of soldiers
until she was dragged away by a senior police officer.
Later fined and put on a good behaviour bond,
she explained she had wanted to show
that some disagreed with the war in Vietnam.
I was just transfixed by this bravery and...
..metaphorical power of this action.
Uh, I thought it was wonderful.
She had on her own decided this war was really immoral
She had on her own and wanted to do something
and had planned this action and wanted to do something
and had planned this action completely alone.
I've never heard of anything so brave.
Nadine Jensen was not part of any organisation
Nadine Jensen and when she was taken to court,
bedraggled and covered in red paint,
the judge just assumed she was mad.
The judge thought she needed mental treatment.
Why would anyone do this? They couldn't understand.
Obviously, Jensen's point, Nadine's point,
was to show the blood
that was on the hands, in her mind, of the Australian military.
But to, perhaps ordinary conservative Australians,
there's a mad woman covered in red paint running at some soldiers.
Nadine Jensen's lone protest
has had a lasting impact in our cultural memory.
MAN: The issues that I had when we came back from Vietnam,
the 7th Battalion, we marched up George Street, come past Town Hall,
and it was this hairy under-armed, bloody hippie sheila. the 7th Battalion, we marched up George Street, come past Town Hall,
and it was this hairy under-armed, bloody hippie sheila.
She ran out with a can of red paint and threw it on me
She ran out with a can of red paint and a couple of mates.
She called us murderers, child killers and rapists.
You know, to come home to something like that...
For someone in my country saying that to us,
"murderers, child killers and rapists," we didn't do that.
And we didn't deserve someone like that to say it to us.
MAN: The hangover from Vietnam went on for years and years and years.
It's just the way we were treated when we came home.
It's just the way we were treated We were treated just like dirt.
Some of our fellows We were treated just like dirt.
Some of our fellows were drenched with red paint,
spat at, abused, you know. Some of our fellows were drenched with red paint,
spat at, abused, you know.
I remember a couple of drunken women screaming at us
as we marched past a pub in, not far from Garden Island.
It was just...just very, you know, just really disappointing.
These sorts of stories of anti-war abuse.
These have been circulating in the broader community These sorts of stories of anti-war abuse.
These have been circulating in the broader community
and in pop culture for decades now.
And they seem to represent very real feelings
And they seem to represent of alienation and exclusion.
This sort of goes back to the Anzac legend.
There was this expectation
that soldiers would be treated as the pinnacle of masculinity,
that soldiers would be treated that they would be celebrated.
And it sets up this expectation when you speak about war in abstract
And it sets up this expectation as this beautiful, heroic thing.
The reality when soldiers as this beautiful, heroic thing.
The reality when soldiers have been through something
The reality when soldiers that they suffered through,
that was a struggle for them and they come home
and they feel like the public's not completely with them,
it's understandable that they feel really let down.
Mmm.
DAPIN: Many, many veterans now talk of being smeared with blood.
They say, "We were smeared with blood.
They say, "We were smeared with red paint."
When veterans speak of 'we' or 'I',
they are often speaking of a kind of collective there.
They're speaking...they're speaking both from a collective memory
and with a kind of collective consciousness.
So, a lot of veterans might say, you know,
So, a lot of veterans might say, "I had red paint thrown on me."
They don't mean that they specifically
had red paint thrown on me.
They believe that their service was doused in red paint.
They believe that their service was doused in blood.
They believe that their service was subject to a blood libel.
It's interesting as well,
although I suspect just a coincidence
although I suspect that it happened to be a woman,
because if you look at the stories
that veterans tell about the responses they get
when they got home,
it's often a woman who's spitting on them.
It's often a woman who's sneering at them.
It's often a woman who's denigrating their service.
And that woman, I've come to believe,
is often an imaginary reiteration of Nadine Jensen.
They knew that if they called on an Australian artillery,
they got them where they wanted them.
You yell, we shell.
So developed the Battle of Long Tan.
WOMAN: It was very obvious that the war was wrong,
If you had taken an interest in it. And I had. WOMAN: It was very obvious that the war was wrong,
If you had taken an interest in it. And I had.
They survived simply through bravery. And sheer luck.
They survived simply through And they all knew it.
Captions by Red Bee Media
Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation Captions by Red Bee Media
Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation