All language subtitles for our.vietnam.war.s01e03.1080p.hdtv.h264-cbfm[eztv.re]_Subtitles01.ENG

MAN: OK, Neil, we can see you
coming down the ladder now.

NARRATOR: On 20 July 1969,

as millions on Earth
hold their breath,

Neil Armstrong steps onto
the soft dust of the moon.

ARMSTRONG: I'm gonna step
off the ladder now.

In Vietnam,
young Australian singer Cathy Wayne

takes one small step
onto a makeshift stage

to perform for Allied troops.

As she sings, she is hit by a bullet
aimed at a US officer.

ARMSTRONG: That's one small step
for man...

..one giant leap for mankind.

On the same day that Armstrong makes
history as the first man on the moon,

Cathy Wayne becomes
the first Australian woman

to die in the Vietnam War.

Her killer has never
been brought to justice.

ARMSTRONG: The surface
is fine and powdery.

I can...I can kick it up loosely
with my toe.

ALL: (SING) # Send her
victorious... #

ALL: (SING) # Send her
victorious... #
In Australia,
at the end of the 19'60s,

In Australia,
at the end of the 19'60s,

God Save The Queen was
still the national anthem...

God Save The Queen was
# God save the Queen. #

# God save the Queen. #

..Indigenous children were
still being forcibly removed

..Indigenous children were
from their families,

from their families,

and women had to pretend to be
married to obtain the pill.

and women had to pretend to be
# Come and see the real thing

# Come and see the real thing

# Come and see the real thing,
# Come and see the real thing

# Come and see the real thing,
come and see... #

But as the decade was
drawing to a close

But as the decade was
and anti-war protests intensified,

and anti-war protests intensified,

it felt like the '60s of popular
imagining was finally arriving.

(SIREN WAILS)

MAN: Nobody ever expects
a war to drag on.

Wars are always going to be
over very, very quickly.

The people that we invade
are always actually on our side,
Wars are always going to be
over very, very quickly.

The people that we invade
are always actually on our side,

oddly, and they'll
eventually come to see sense.

oddly, and they'll
eventually come to see sense.
The enemy would be defeated
because we are always stronger,

The enemy would be defeated
because we are always stronger,

and not only that,
we have right upon our side.

But the war hadn't been quickly won

and, in 1969, US President Richard
Nixon had inherited the problem.

MAN: Nixon announced a policy
of Vietnamisation,

which cynics called changing
the colour of the corpses,
MAN: Nixon announced a policy
of Vietnamisation,

which cynics called changing
the colour of the corpses,

which is actually very misleading

which is actually very misleading
because there were always,
in every week of the war,

because there were always,
in every week of the war,

there were far more
Vietnamese casualties

than there were Western casualties.

# Riders on the storm... #

DAPIN: As the war dragged on,

Australian public opinion began
to turn against the war.

Australian public opinion began
ALL: One, two, three, four,

ALL: One, two, three, four,

we don't want the war!

One, two...

Australia's involvement in the war
had always received majority support,

but by the end of the '60s dissent
was, at the very least, understood,

but by the end of the '60s dissent
and becoming contagious.

and becoming contagious.

What do we want?!
and becoming contagious.

What do we want?!
OTHERS: Peace!

We do we want it?!
Now!

What do we want?!
Peace!

When do we want it?!
Now!

MAN: If we were in Vietnam
for any reason at all,

it was so that people had
the freedom to protest
MAN: If we were in Vietnam
for any reason at all,

it was so that people had
the freedom to protest

it was so that people had
the freedom to protest
in our society

in our society

compared with the society we were
supposed to be fighting against.

On 8 May 1970,
around 200,000 Australians marched

in moratorium events
around the country...

in moratorium events
ALL: One, two, three, four,

ALL: One, two, three, four,

we don't want war!

..undeniably announcing
that opposition to the war

had transformed
into a mass movement.

The fact that the moratorium went
so well and so peacefully,

The fact that the moratorium went
and it was clear that, you know,

and it was clear that, you know,

there was very strong
anti-war sentiment

amongst a large group of people,
it was a bit of a turning point.

# When I die and they lay me to rest

# Gonna go to the place
that's the best... #

A protest that really stands out
for me is the first moratorium.

Workers would go on strike
and come out in the street,

and, you know, it would bring
the nation to a standstill.

# The spirit in the sky

# That's where I'm gonna go
when I die... #

WOMAN: It had taken over
the whole city.

WOMAN: It had taken over
It was a fantastic spectacle.

It was a fantastic spectacle.

MAN: ..this abhorrent policy

which is not only wrong and unjust

but is opposed to the interests
of the Australian people.

MAN: The American architect
of the war, Robert McNamara,

in the late '90s
or something like that,

he says, "If I knew then
what I now know,

"it would never have happened."
he says, "If I knew then
what I now know,

"it would never have happened."

And I thought, "Get real,
you bastards.

"We figured it out when
we were 19, 20, 21."

"We figured it out when
we were 19, 20, 21."
The government had no intention
of fighting a war

The government had no intention
of fighting a war

against an anti-war movement.

They didn't anticipate it,
they didn't understand it,

they didn't know what
to do about it.

they didn't know what
# We're caught in a trap... #

# We're caught in a trap... #

Wanting an end to the war

had spread all the way
to the White House.

The time has come to end this war.

Let history record that
at this critical moment

both sides turned
their faces toward peace

and away from conflict and war.

# We can't go on together... #

MAN: The Americans were clearly
looking to get out,

the trouble was that the Americans
were not giving much indication

of how many troops
they would withdraw

or when they would withdraw.

Back home,
Liberal Party infighting

saw John Gorton replaced as
prime minister by William McMahon.

I've been involved in politics
for a long time

and I've learnt to take the smooth
with the rough...

..and I took this
in exactly the same way

as I would have taken a defat.

TIFFEN: In March 1971, William
McMahon became prime minister,

after overthrowing John Gorton,

and McMahon just didn't have
the presence,

and he was leading
a very divided and tired government.

Adding to the government's problems
was trying to ease our way

out of the conflict in Vietnam

without looking like we were
slavishly following the US.

Richard Nixon has been elected

on a promise to
end the war in Vietnam,

to achieve peace with honour.

to achieve peace with honour.
But from the moment he's elected,
he starts to withdraw troops

But from the moment he's elected,
he starts to withdraw troops

at the rate of about
100,000 a year.

They're not consulting Australia,
right?

Australia's having to read
about this in the newspapers.

Within weeks of becoming
prime minister,

McMahon announced an acceleration in
the withdrawal of Australian troops.

Soldiers finishing their tours
would not be replaced.

In August 1971, he promised that
all Australian combat troops

In August 1971, he promised that
would be out of Vietnam by Christmas.

would be out of Vietnam by Christmas.

A year ago,
Vietnamese were not allowed anywhere

within the perimeter of
the Australian Task Force base.

But now, with Australia's
operational role

in Vietnam winding down,
things are beginning to change.

A large section of the original task
force base has been handed over

for training Vietnamese
in jungle warfare.

for training Vietnamese
In other words, preparing them

In other words, preparing them

for when the Australians
completely pull out.

A few miles south of here,
a key Australian military base,

which was the springboard for
operations, patrols and ambushes,

also has been handed over
to local Vietnamese forces,

further evidence that Australia
is pulling out of this war.

further evidence that Australia
MAN: By the end of 1972,

MAN: By the end of 1972,

nearly all Australian combat forces
had been withdrawn.
MAN: By the end of 1972,

nearly all Australian combat forces
had been withdrawn.

nearly all Australian combat forces
had been withdrawn.
For the Australian troops
still in Vietnam,

For the Australian troops
still in Vietnam,

having fewer comrades didn't make
their life any easier.

Operation Ivanhoe was
the last deployment by 4RAR
having fewer comrades didn't make
their life any easier.

Operation Ivanhoe was
the last deployment by 4RAR

Operation Ivanhoe was
the last deployment by 4RAR
when we were in South Vietnam.

when we were in South Vietnam.

The government,
God bless their cotton socks,

announced to the world
that we would be withdrawing

announced to the world
from Phuoc Tuy province.

from Phuoc Tuy province.

MAN: The task force was
days from leaving.

MAN: The task force was
We had signalled our intent to go,

We had signalled our intent to go,

the Vietnamese,
they knew that we were leaving.

MCKAY: The Vietcong
and the North Vietnamese

decided they would come back
into Phuoc Tuy province

and try and give us a kick
up the bum as we were leaving.

We started finding lots of sign
that the enemy were in the area

and in large numbers.

We found a foot track.

When we were told to go in...

..there was a lot more opposition
than we thought.

We only got 50 metres in
and the sky fell in.

We only got 50 metres in
(GUNFIRE)

(GUNFIRE)

The Battle of Nui Le,
as we now call it in 4RAR

and especially in my platoon,
starts.

and especially in my platoon,
(GUNFIRE)

(GUNFIRE)

People could not hear my voice,
the noise was so great.

You couldn't yell an order
to anyone.

You couldn't yell an order
(GUNFIRE)

(GUNFIRE)

After about 15 minutes probably,

my machine guns have
stopped shooting.

I looked across...

..and I could see my number one
machine-gun group

laying down behind the gun
and they weren't moving.

So, I go running forward...

..people are shooting at me,

and I get down and my two
machine-gunners are shot to death,

both head shot.

And I look across to my right
and I see one of my diggers.

Fred saw me going,
so he did the same thing.

And so Fred got
the other gun going,

And so Fred got
and so between us,

and so between us,

we waited till they got
really close...

..and then we ripped into them
with the automatic fire.

(GUNFIRE)

And so we provided the covering fire
for the platoon to withdraw.

The tragic part about all that
for me was

The tragic part about all that
that I had no cover from fire,

that I had no cover from fire,

and I had to use the bodies
of my dead soldiers

as cover from fire,

and that was pretty awful.

But the battle wasn't over.

It's now dark, and I was behind
a skinny tree, which is...

..I blame for what happened next -

two AK-47 bullets ripping
into my left shoulder

two AK-47 bullets ripping
and dislocating my arm.

and dislocating my arm.

The artillery was then called in.

And, so, once we stopped the
artillery, the enemy withdrew.

And that was the end of the battle,
per se, and a long night.

My medic, Mick O'Sullivan,
had used all the morphine he had

My medic, Mick O'Sullivan,
on Ralph Niblett,

on Ralph Niblett,

because Ralph had what we call
a sucking chest wound,

and he was not going to live,
no way.

He said "Jeez, Ralph, you'll be home
in time for the grand final."

And he looked at him and he said,
"No, mate, I'm fucked."

And that's...that's all...
They were his last words.

I'm sorry about the language,
but that's what he said.

And he was the last
Australian to die

on active service in South Vietnam.

MAN: I think, as a result of
that operation

right on the eve of leaving Vietnam,

people are starting to question
what this was all about.
right on the eve of leaving Vietnam,

people are starting to question
what this was all about.

Why has there been this
long commitment since 1962,

it's now nearly 1972,

and here are five men,
five soldiers, who have been killed

and here are five men,
and 30 have been wounded

and 30 have been wounded

in an action which will have
and 30 have been wounded

in an action which will have
no influence whatever

in an action which will have
on the outcome of this war?

on the outcome of this war?

And it's quite fair for people
to be asking these questions.

And it's quite fair for people
What did these men die for?

What did these men die for?

What did any of those die for
What did these men die for?

What did any of those die for
that died throughout the commitment?

What did any of those die for
And I think...

And I think...

OK, sorry.

(ALL SING)

Back in Australia, after 23 years
of Liberal-Country Party rule,

Back in Australia, after 23 years
of Liberal-Country Party rule,
the electorate decided
to change the government.

the electorate decided
to change the government.

# Time for loving

# Time for giving

# Yes, it's time to move

# Yes, it's time... #

The election of the Labor Party
in December 1972
# Yes, it's time... #

The election of the Labor Party
in December 1972

meant the end of Australia's
military involvement

meant the end of Australia's
in the Vietnam War.

in the Vietnam War.

in the Vietnam War.
The war of intervention
in Vietnam is ending.

The war of intervention
in Vietnam is ending.

The great powers are rethinking
and remoulding

their relationships
and their obligations.

Australia cannot stand still
at such a time.

MULLINS: Within days of
coming to office,

MULLINS: Within days of
Whitlam had ended conscription,

Whitlam had ended conscription,

and he had ended prosecutions
against those resisting the draft.

and he had ended prosecutions
Instructions have now been given

Instructions have now been given

that all pending prosecutions
are to be withdrawn.

The Commonwealth Police have been
asked to withhold execution

The Commonwealth Police have been
of outstanding warrants...

of outstanding warrants...

# Free the people

# From the fire... #

How do you feel?
I feel tremendous. I feel very good.

EDWARDS: The steps that the new
Whitlam Government took

EDWARDS: The steps that the new
were as much symbolic as actual.

were as much symbolic as actual.

But the big crunch comes and the big
rupture in the relationship comes

of course,
only days after Whitlam is elected,

of course,
and that is on 18 December 1972.

and that is on 18 December 1972.

The Nixon Administration,

frustrated with the
peace negotiations

with the North Vietnamese, the fact
that they're going so slowly,

embark on this massive
bombing campaign

of the major population centres of
North Vietnam - Hanoi and Haiphong.

(THE END OF THE WORLD
BY SKEETER DAVIS PLAYS)

# Why does the sun go on shining?

# Why does the sea rush to shore? #
# Why does the sun go on shining?

# Why does the sea rush to shore? #

CURRAN: They dropped more bombs on
# Why does the sea rush to shore? #
those two cities in a 12-day period

CURRAN: They dropped more bombs on
those two cities in a 12-day period

than the Allies drop on
the entire European continent

during the Second World War.

Kissinger says, "Mr President,

"we are going to break
every window in Hanoi."

# Goodbye. #

Now, there is enormous moral
outrage across the world.

Now, there is enormous moral
The Pope attacks the White House.

The Pope attacks the White House.

The two biggest critics though,
in terms of world leaders,

are the Swedish Prime Minister
Olof Palme

and Australian Prime Minister
Gough Whitlam.

WHITLAM: If the bombing
had not been resumed,

relations between the present
Australian government

and the United States government
would be better

than they had ever been
since the Second World War

between any Australian government
and any American administration.

What did Australia gain from going
all the way with LBJ in Vietnam?

Especially when you consider
that all the major decisions

were taken without prior
consultation with Australia

were taken without prior
as an ally.

as an ally.

The real question is,
what is there to suggest

that anything will be different this
time, once the hazy mist lifts?

We are now in the position
where we are

locked into America's
strategy in Asia

locked into America's
to counter a rising China.

to counter a rising China.

To what extent are
we really confident

that we will get anything better
in terms of consultation,

in terms of decisions that America
takes in its own interests?

Australia's participation
in the war formally ended

in January 1973.

The final act came in April 1975,
with the fall of Saigon

and the utter collapse
of the South Vietnamese regime.

The last Australian servicemen
left Vietnam

The last Australian servicemen
when our embassy was evacuated.

when our embassy was evacuated.

NEWSREEL: During the last few days
it was inevitable

that the Australians would
close down completely in Saigon.

Officially the embassy is
being closed temporarily,

but no-one on the staff is really
sure if they'll ever be back.

MAN: The last week or so,
when really Saigon was surrounded,

they sent a team of four of us
to the embassy
MAN: The last week or so,
when really Saigon was surrounded,

they sent a team of four of us
to the embassy

to protect the ambassador's staff.

to protect the ambassador's staff.
We went out to the airfield.

We went out to the airfield.

The last two Hercs would have
come in late that afternoon.

The last two Hercs would have
(CALLS NAMES)

(CALLS NAMES)

(MEN CALL NAME)

DAINER: Possessions of embassy staff
were loaded onto that last aircraft,

carpets, bottles of wine,
ceramic statues.

The pilot came out and spoke to

the officer in charge
of that operation, he said,

the officer in charge
"What about these four blokes?"

"What about these four blokes?"

And he said, "Oh, um, there's no
room. We'll send another aircraft."

So, they left, and the four of us
sat there for,

I don't know, it must have been
getting dark I think

I don't know, it must have been
before that last Herc did turn up.

before that last Herc did turn up.

And we were quite confident
one would come,

but, you know, after a couple of
hours you do start to wonder.

And sort of late, very
late afternoon, it arrived

and the last four of us
left Vietnam.

It probably puts a nice full stop
to the whole war, doesn't it?

That someone thought that some
carpets were a bit more important

That someone thought that some
than four Australian airmen.

than four Australian airmen.

And you wonder that 15 years of war

and 500 young Australian lives,

50-something-thousand Americans,
and 500 young Australian lives,

50-something-thousand Americans,
several million Vietnamese,

and we're having an argument
over a carpet.

Um... (LAUGHS) What do you say?

(TRIUMPHANT BRASS BAND MUSIC)

NEWSREEL: When they returned,
the nation rejoiced,

perhaps just as much for the end
of an unhappy chapter

of Australian history as for the
safe return of its fighting men.

of Australian history as for the
Well, all except 500 of them anyway.

Well, all except 500 of them anyway.

Around 60,000 Australians
served in Vietnam.

For many, coming home wasn't
as peaceful as they'd hoped.

DAPIN: When national servicemen
were demobbed,

they were demobbed very quickly
and unemotionally.
DAPIN: When national servicemen
were demobbed,

they were demobbed very quickly
and unemotionally.

they were demobbed very quickly
and unemotionally.
It was a very sudden break

It was a very sudden break

from a life that was alien
to them anyway,

from a life that was alien
to a life in a society that,

to a life in a society that,

you know, to some extent,
to a life in a society that,

you know, to some extent,
had changed around them.

You just thought you were going to
pick up from where you left off,

but that wasn't the case,
you were at a different level.
You just thought you were going to
pick up from where you left off,

but that wasn't the case,
you were at a different level.

And so...

But that wasn't... Didn't discover
that until you got home.

But that wasn't... Didn't discover
that until you got home.
People don't know what to ask,
don't know what to say.

People don't know what to ask,
don't know what to say.

You know, um...
People don't know what to ask,
don't know what to say.

You know, um...

The children want to know
if you've killed somebody,

The children want to know
if you've killed somebody,
and what was your weapon like?

and what was your weapon like?

And the adults are often stumped.

What do they...

"What am I going to ask?" You know,
"Did you have a nice time?"

Trying to reintegrate,

many Vietnam servicemen trod
a traditional path

and rocked up at
their local RSL club.

A lot of veterans' reflections
about coming home,

they talk about being flown in
at the dead of night

to avoid protesters,

to avoid protesters,
that they didn't have
welcome home parades,

that they didn't have
welcome home parades,

that they were abused
by anti-war protesters,

and that they were excluded
from the RSLs.

And what's interesting
about this is that

for three of those four,

there's just not the evidence
to back it up.

there's just not the evidence
Now, the last of these, um...

Now, the last of these, um...

..so-called memory myths is
actually not a myth at all.

Veterans were excluded
from the RSLs.

And initially they were
excluded from the RSLs

on the grounds that
Vietnam was a conflict,

on the grounds that
or a police action, and not a war.

or a police action, and not a war.

MAN: So, I joined in 1971,
but I was never made welcome.

They didn't think that we were real
soldiers and they didn't think
MAN: So, I joined in 1971,
but I was never made welcome.

They didn't think that we were real
soldiers and they didn't think

that we were worthy of
being RSL members.

Yeah, well, my brother took me
into the RSL.

I was in full uniform,
on walking sticks,
Yeah, well, my brother took me
into the RSL.

I was in full uniform,
on walking sticks,

and, uh...got a beer
off the barmaid.

And she said,

"You shouldn't have been over there
in the first place."

And that hit me really hard.

I wasn't a war hero.

I never joined the army voluntarily,

it was just something
I never joined the army voluntarily,

it was just something
thrust upon me.

There was also a problem
with our Aboriginal soldiers.

I mean, I know of
one instance in Bourke

where two Aboriginal soldiers
in uniform

went to the RSL and were told
they weren't allowed in.

MAN: The RSL in Bourke in those days
was called the Bourke-Oxley RSL.

A big arsehole, he said,
"Where are you blokes going?"

I said, "In here."
He said, "No, you're not."

I said, "In here."
He said, "No, you're not."
It was quite absolutely
disgraceful.

It was quite absolutely
disgraceful.

And for that reason,
some veterans to this day

still have a dislike and an anger
directed towards the RSL

because of the way
they were treated.

But it's interesting now to know
that Vietnam-era blokes are now,

But it's interesting now to know
and have been for some time,

and have been for some time,

the strength of the RSL
across Australia.

the strength of the RSL
(BRASS BAND PLAYS)

(BRASS BAND PLAYS)

Never before in Australia's history

have her armed forces
engaged in a conflict overseas

received such a mixed
reception at home

and so much outright opposition.

Well, now the last
and so much outright opposition.

Well, now the last
troops have returned,

it's a fair enough welcome,
but it's a far cry

from the national rejoicing
that greeted earlier returns.

While many units had marched in the
streets on their returns from war,

there was a strong feeling
among Vietnam veterans

that Australia had not respected
their service.

The veteran community began
to organise a fitting

welcome home parade.

There'd been these growing
sort of organic welcome home parades

all over the United States
in the early '80s.

And that inspires veteran
activists in Australia

to have their own
welcome home parade

to have their own
on the anniversary of Long Tan.

on the anniversary of Long Tan.

In October 1987, 22,000 veterans
marched in Sydney.

We had no idea whether people
would throw stones or stuff at us

We had no idea whether people
or whether they'd clap.

or whether they'd clap.

NEWSREEL: This was the scene that
brought it home to Australians -

504 flags, one for every Australian
who gave their life in Vietnam.

It was a turning point
for the veteran movement

It was a turning point
and I think for Australia generally.

and I think for Australia generally.

# I left my heart to
the sappers round Khe Sanh... #

NEWSREEL: More than 25,000 of the
Australians who fought in Vietnam

NEWSREEL: More than 25,000 of the
were marching again.

were marching again.

(CHEERING AND SHOUTING)

An estimated 110,000 people
thronged the streets of Sydney

to give them the welcome home
many had missed.

# She was like so many more
from that time on

# Their lives were all so empty
till they found... #

What was so obvious, that this march

just was irrelevant.

What happened was all these men
finding each other,
just was irrelevant.

What happened was all these men
finding each other,

finding their group and
talking to each other and sobbing.

And...I remember saying,
"Well, what's going on?

"Why is this happening?"

And yet it was sort of obvious

that they hadn't been able
to do that until then.

MAN: The great thing about that,
for me,

was meeting a lot of
my diggers again.
MAN: The great thing about that,
for me,

was meeting a lot of
my diggers again.

Uh...that was what it was
all about for me.

There was a walk down a street,
but, you know, who cares?

There was a walk down a street,
I wanted to be with my diggers.

I wanted to be with my diggers.

I wanted to meet them again,
I hadn't seen many of them

I wanted to meet them again,
for a long time.

for a long time.

So it was a great opportunity
for a long time.

So it was a great opportunity
to get back with them.

So it was a great opportunity
I've never seen so many diggers

I've never seen so many diggers

have so much dust in their eyes,

because a lot of blokes
were marching down that street,

because a lot of blokes
brushing it out.

brushing it out.

(CLEARS THROAT)

It was an emotional time

and a very warm and forgiving time.

The best part about
being here today,

and hopefully everyone will think
the same, is if we're all together.

EARLE: I never went to it.

Too little too late.

The damage had been done.

Alright, how have you been going?

Yeah, alright.
Yeah?

Yeah, I just came back
from Malta about...

..oh, six months ago.

Yeah?

Went to see my clan over there.

CROSBIE: I was drinking at
my local hotel.

When I was drinking there, I just
clammed up, didn't say anything,

because you're worried about
what people might think.

Are you gonna have a shot?
Yeah.

CROSBIE: And, so, you, um...

..you're scared,
because if you do go out,

and you go out for a dinner
with a group of people,

and you go out for a dinner
and somebody annoys you,

and somebody annoys you,

you know, it's very embarrassing
just to get up and say,

you know, it's very embarrassing
"I'm leaving, I'm out of here."

"I'm leaving, I'm out of here."

What you would do, you'd go to
"I'm leaving, I'm out of here."

What you would do, you'd go to
the toilet and don't come back.

So... (LAUGHS) ..you'd find
a way of leaving.

So... (LAUGHS) ..you'd find
And it would appear...

And it would appear...

There you go.

..I've got a good grouping
There you go.

..I've got a good grouping
but not the bullseye.

Yeah, hopeless as ever. (LAUGHS)

Some things never change.

CROSBIE: In 1992,
there was a dedication

to opening up the Vietnam
Memorial in Canberra.

And at the hotel, we had a darts
competition and I had to indicate

that I would not be there
for a few days.

And they said, "Well, what for?"

And a little bit more detail
and it turns out

that I divulge why I was going.

And they ended up saying,
"Well, I was a veteran too."

And the other guy said,
"Well, so was I."

And all this time we hadn't
ever discussed it

or known of each other's involvement
in the military.

So, this was a bit of a shock.

We were the second-last aircraft
to take off from Vung Tau.

We were the second-last aircraft
We had 39 on board our Herc.

We had 39 on board our Herc.

They flew us from there
to Butterworth.

From there to Darwin.

Landed in Darwin one o'clock
in the morning.

Landed in Darwin one o'clock
Did they?

Did they?

There was two of us in the end,
10 hours later, got off at Richmond.

And that was the big fanfare
coming home.

Yeah.
(LAUGHS)

Yeah.
CROSBIE: After the event,

CROSBIE: After the event,

we sort of opened up a bit
to each other about it all,

and then we realised
that we were home.

But it took a long time.

Yeah, I'll see you soon.
Yeah, will do.

OK.
Cheers.

In later years, we discovered that
there was a price to be paid.

And, uh...
there was a price to be paid.

And, uh...

Yeah, that was, uh...

..that was when we started to
find out that we

really hadn't escaped
unscathed from the war.

BARTLEY: Well, we all had
our own demons.

BARTLEY: Well, we all had
What I did, I medicated on alcohol.

What I did, I medicated on alcohol.

It dulls a pain,

and when you sleep,
you might have dreams,

but you don't have them as bad
as if, you know, you're awake.

WALKER: The problem is
that when you're in a war,

your survival instinct revs you up
and you become hyper alert.

your survival instinct revs you up
Now, when you come home,

Now, when you come home,

your survival instinct
simply won't believe

your survival instinct
that you're no longer in danger.

that you're no longer in danger.

A soldier on the battlefield
that you're no longer in danger.

A soldier on the battlefield
is thinking,

"When I get home, all this anxiety
I'll leave behind

"and have a leisurely,
lovely, relaxed life.

"And, you know, my loved ones,
my family and everything,

"I'll be able to rekindle
my relationships with them."

The other thing is
to survive in the battlefield...

..a soldier has to suppress
both fear and grief.

The problem is that suppressing
any emotion like that

The problem is that suppressing
is to suppress them all.

is to suppress them all.

This lady that I married,
just special person ever...

..she used to come around
knocking on my door.

I'd know she'd come around
a couple of times a week

I'd know she'd come around
at half past four.

at half past four.

I would be at home
before I went up to the pub,

and I'd turn the radio off,

and I'd put them in my ear
so she wouldn't think that I'm home.

I wouldn't open the door.

I just didn't want to...

What's this bird coming around
wanting to interfere in my life?

Why does she want to
get into MY life?

Why does she want to
I've got a terrible life.

I've got a terrible life.

You know, I don't want to put
all this onto her.

I can tell you when it
first bowled me over.

I'd taken a team of golfers
up to Townsville

I'd taken a team of golfers
to play in an event...

to play in an event...

..and there was a log on the ground,

in the background in some bush,

and my world stopped then.

I was at a point where I really
wasn't functioning well at all

and had no real idea why,

until I could find out
what this log was.

Well, it came back that
it was another operation

that we were on, it was
called the Battle of Bribie.

It was a...

..a shambles,
should I say that?

They told us that they'd got
all the wounded and dead out

They told us that they'd got
from the afternoon before.

from the afternoon before.

I walked maybe 10 metres,
stepped over a log,

and there was
a dead Australian soldier

on the other side of the log.

You don't leave people out there.

So, that was
a traumatic experience.

But having stepped over that log
and seen this dead soldier

and just said, "Oh, no,
OK, keep going..."

..it had gone.

I saw a log in the bush
40 years later...

..and it brought back that day,

and it was a shit of a day.

The day before was
a shit of a day...

..and I'd forgotten all about it.

Or I'd buried it.

There is no cure for PTSD.

You have to manage it,
you have to live with it.

And one of the ways of doing it
is talking to other veterans.

MAN: I'd never heard of it before.

I'd never heard of PTSD.
MAN: I'd never heard of it before.

I'd never heard of PTSD.

I'd heard of shell shock
in World War II and World War I,

I'd heard of shell shock
in World War II and World War I,
and I understood that,

and I understood that,

but I'd never heard of PTSD.

Well, PTSD was only named
in about 1980.

Previously it had been thought

that people were predisposed
Previously it had been thought

that people were predisposed
to these war neuroses and so on.

But post-traumatic stress

is not dependent on a person's
strength or weakness.

My bronzed Anzac image was shattered
is not dependent on a person's
strength or weakness.

My bronzed Anzac image was shattered

when I realised, you know,
I had post-traumatic stress.

when I realised, you know,
I had post-traumatic stress.
I don't like to use the word
'disorder' because I feel that...

I don't like to use the word
'disorder' because I feel that...

..suffering from post-traumatic
stress is normal.

Another invisible legacy of the war
was exposure to chemical defoliants.

NEWSREEL: In the late '60s and early
'70s, more than 11 million gallons

of a herbicidal cocktail known as
Agent Orange were dumped on Vietnam.

It was the front-line weapon
in a decade of chemical warfare

waged on the jungle
by the Americans.

It was very mysterious, this...

It was, you know, a big area
and it was just quiet.

There were no birds
and so on in there,

and just these grey tree trunks,

and there seemed to be a lot
of this grey powder around.

SIMPSON: That we all worried about
was Agent Orange

because we used to see aircraft
going over, spewing this stuff out,

and we all thought, as you do,
"Oh, it must be OK,

and we all thought, as you do,
"otherwise they wouldn't do it."

"otherwise they wouldn't do it."

And, obviously, it did affect
many of people.

There's been a lot of men
die of cancer.

Now it's quite clear
that those herbicides

were very dangerous chemicals and
could cause all sorts of effects.

WALKER: They have never been able
to establish an exposure index.

There are too many
factors involved.

There are too many ways
you can be exposed.

What they had to do was to make
an arbitrary time in Vietnam

for somebody to be said to have
been exposed, which was 30 days.

So, now if you have been
in Vietnam for 30 days,

it is accepted you have been exposed
to Agent Orange and other chemicals.

It's very, very important
that it was a legal issue

It's very, very important
as well as a scientific one.

as well as a scientific one.

So, if a veteran had been exposed to
Agent Orange and they got cancer,

the veteran gets the benefit
of that doubt.

The Vietnam Veterans Association
lobbied for recognition

The Vietnam Veterans Association
and compensation.

and compensation.

NEWSREEL: Former sheep shearer and
Vietnam conscript Richard Gibson

NEWSREEL: Former sheep shearer and
said he and two other soldiers

said he and two other soldiers

had had their uniforms
said he and two other soldiers

had had their uniforms
soaked with spray.

They sprayed herbicides from
the back of a truck onto

They sprayed herbicides from
and near the perimeter barbed wire

and near the perimeter barbed wire

of the Australian base camp
at Nui Dat.

Gibson said that halfway through
the operation,

the men's eyes started watering
and they got severe headaches.

He said he did not report
these symptoms

but the operations were
suddenly halted.

They succeeded in getting
a royal commission set up.

They succeeded in getting
a royal commission set up.
The royal commission,
where the chemical companies

The royal commission,
where the chemical companies

were represented by
highly experienced

were represented by
and expensive barristers,

and expensive barristers,

were able to tear apart
that sort of evidence.

The royal commissioner said, "But
there are all sorts of other things

"for which the veterans
should be compensated."

That many of the ailments
were caused by PTSD,

but also alcohol was supplied
to the troops in Vietnam,

or smoking, and cigarettes
were supplied.

So, they should have been
compensated for all those things.

But instead, because
they concentrated so much

on Agent Orange,
it created this terrible situation

on Agent Orange,
where they were not compensated

where they were not compensated

or adequately treated
for too long a time

for the problems that they had,

because Agent Orange
was only responsible for

because Agent Orange
a certain proportion of them.

a certain proportion of them.

Returning service personnel
were not the only people

to encounter hardship and loss
on leaving Vietnam.

WOMAN: From the very moment
that you leave your country even,

WOMAN: From the very moment
it's all about losing things.

it's all about losing things.

It's about grief, and the grief
it's all about losing things.

It's about grief, and the grief
that lasts a very long time.

I don't think it was
an easy time for refugees.

There was a lot of racism.
I don't think it was
an easy time for refugees.

There was a lot of racism.

There wasn't necessarily
an understanding

of why Vietnamese refugees
were leaving their homeland.

NEWSREEL: With town after town
falling to the communists

and more of the map of Vietnam
being shaded red,

the trickle of refugees
flowing south became a flood.

As many as 100,000 of them
stretched for over 100 miles

back up Route 7, the only road
from the north open to Saigon.

MAN: In the 1970s Australia,
it had started to become

more multicultural,
more mixed, right?

But racially, it's still white.

But I suppose that's what marks
the Vietnamese

But I suppose that's what marks
who came after the fall of Saigon,

who came after the fall of Saigon,

that we were the first significant
intake of Asians to Australia.

My father came from the North,
from this region in the north,

My father came from the North,
my mother came from the South.

my mother came from the South.

So many of the differences
between North and South

I can see illustrated, you know,
in the history of my family.

My maternal grandfather
was apparently very upset

My maternal grandfather
when my parents fell in love

when my parents fell in love

because, you know, from his point
of view he couldn't understand

why his daughter had to fall in love
with a North Vietnamese.

Why couldn't she fall in love
with a South Vietnamese?

1975 would have been terrible for my
parents, especially for my father

because he'd already left the North,
like many other northerners.

And so, they really invested
all their hopes

for an independent Vietnam
in South Vietnam.

They'd actually experienced
communism in the North.

The problem with people
in the South

was that they hadn't actually
experienced communism.

So, a million people were
sent to re-education camps.

Another million people
were forcibly relocated

to the so-called
new economic zones in rural areas.

And the communist regime in the
postwar years was extremely harsh.

And the communist regime in the
Children denouncing their parents,

Children denouncing their parents,

neighbours denouncing neighbours.

And this is why, you know, the major
neighbours denouncing neighbours.

And this is why, you know, the major
refugee waves didn't actually

And this is why, you know, the major
happen in '75.

happen in '75.

Yes, there were people who left
in those final terrible days

Yes, there were people who left
when Saigon fell,

when Saigon fell,

but the large refugee waves
occurred three years

after the communist takeover.

And why? Because people had
been through 30 years of war.

And one of the great tragedies
of that exodus

is that we still don't actually know
how many people died in the process.

The boat people themselves
believed that

for every boat that made it,
one didn't.

And nearly a million made
it to refugee camps,

so they believed that a million died
in the attempt.

In the late 1970s,
Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser

took a compassionate,
humanitarian approach

took a compassionate,
to the Vietnam refugee exodus.

to the Vietnam refugee exodus.

Fraser did something rather
remarkable because he opened

the doors to Vietnamese refugees,
and he did so without the support

the doors to Vietnamese refugees,
of the Australian people,

of the Australian people,

because certainly Australians
weren't putting up their hands,

saying, "We should open the doors
to all these Vietnamese refugees

saying, "We should open the doors
"arriving in this country."

"arriving in this country."

We were in Japan, in Tokyo, in 1975.
My father was the ambassador.

And when the fall
of Vietnam happened,

And when the fall
we obviously lost everything.

we obviously lost everything.

So, we found ourselves
stateless and homeless.

So, we found ourselves
And so in the final days of Saigon,

And so in the final days of Saigon,

Australia did have an embassy
in Saigon.

The ambassador's name
was Geoffrey Price,

and he pleaded with the Whitlam
Government to give him permission

to evacuate his Vietnamese staff
and their families.

to evacuate his Vietnamese staff
And that permission was denied.

And that permission was denied.

And this decision really haunted
him for the rest of his life.

All these people were abandoned.

I actually discovered my family

in the National Archives
of Australia,

a list of names of Vietnamese
refugees that had been accepted

for entry into Australia by the then
foreign minister Don Willesee.

And Whitlam went through that list
and put no next to most names.

You can see his writing
in blue in the margins.

And the only reason
our family made it in

was he put 'possible'
next to my father's name.

NEWSREEL: Various voluntary
organisations were at full stretch

caring for thousands of babies
and young children

who'd been orphaned or abandoned
by fleeing parents.

Australian, American and European
bodies all offered to fly them

to new homes, but the Vietnamese
authorities refused

to new homes, but the Vietnamese
mass applications.

mass applications.

Eventually recognising
that many children would be

Eventually recognising
better off anywhere but Saigon,

better off anywhere but Saigon,

the Thieu Government relented

and mercy flights began to
leave the country.

In 1975, Western nations
conducted a mass evacuation

In 1975, Western nations
of babies from Vietnam.

of babies from Vietnam.

The operation was dubbed Babylift.

NEWSREEL: An act of mercy
or an act of conscience?

Either way the arrival of
this Qantas jumbo at Sydney

bearing 215 Vietnamese war orphans
was indeed a touching affair.

NEWSREEL: They came by the armload,

many too small to know
what was going on.

Some social workers argued it was
wrong to uproot the children,

others that the orphans' only hope
lay in escape and adoption.

Children were basically just swept
off the beds and put into cardboard

boxes and put on the plane.

MAN: They literally
filled up 707s with cots,

MAN: They literally
little baby capsules on seats,

little baby capsules on seats,

strapped in, and flew hundreds
of children out of the country.

(SIRENS WAIL)

REPORTER: We were at the airport
filming an Australian Hercules

leaving for Australia,
also loaded with orphans.

We just turned around and there
was this massive pool

of black, thick smoke.

Then we saw helicopters coming in
and soldiers picking up

what looked like the remains
of small children.

They carried them on their backs
into ambulances,

then afterwards
we heard the full story.

The Galaxy had come down
shortly after take-off.

The Galaxy had come down
Apparently it had lost power

Apparently it had lost power

and during a turn to get
back down to the airport

had crashed.

Some of the first eyewitnesses
to get to the crash site

said the crash was spread
over hundreds of metres.

Apparently there are two decks
in the aircraft.

The lower deck,
including many American wives

and other women taking
the children back to Manila

and then onto the States,
were killed.

First estimates say as many as
80 people may have survived.

Australian volunteers
Margaret Moses and Lee Makk

were aboard the aircraft.

They were the last two Australian
women killed in the war.

MAN: Most people don't want
to leave their homelands.

It's not like it was
an easy decision

for my parents to leave Vietnam.

So, they'd put up with quite a lot.

But I think what they
couldn't put up with

is the realisation
But I think what they
couldn't put up with

is the realisation

that their kids would never
is the realisation

that their kids would never
have a future in Vietnam.

That's the stress
my parents still live with.

NEWSREEL: More than 20 boatloads
have now arrived in Australia,

having braved thousands of miles
of open sea across the equator.

Their boats are flimsy,
the supplies not enough,

and no-one knows how many
did not last the voyage.

They're greeted not with praise
but with protest and doubt,

and that they'll be allowed to stay
is by no means certain.

HUYN: We were told that we could
impersonate Chinese Vietnamese

and we'd have a relatively easy
trip outside of Vietnam.

I was two years old.
I was a very feeble child.

So, there was some talk of
leaving me behind with my mum

and my brother and my...

(SIGHS)

It's hard to talk about.

Just give me a moment.
It must happen now and then.

What an incredible choice
my parents had to make.

Who would go and who would stay.

My parents, with a bit
of help from my grandmother,

they made that awful decision
that if we were going to go,

we'd go together,
and if we didn't make it,

we'd go together,
then we wouldn't make it together.

then we wouldn't make it together.

I was really very weak.

I had some unknown illness,

spewing, shitting all over
the place, not for just a day,

not for just a few hours,
I'm talking eight days

towards we even got on the boat.

And my father,
something snapped in him,

and he thought that we'd made
the wrong decision

and he thought that we'd made
and that I shouldn't go any further.

and that I shouldn't go any further.

So, he went to the lady who owned
the place where we were staying

So, he went to the lady who owned
and he said, um...

and he said, um...

He said, "I'll find you some money,
and he said, um...

He said, "I'll find you some money,
but my son's not going to make it.

He said, "I'll find you some money,
"Can you..."

"Can you..."

(SIGHS)

So, he goes to the landlady
and he says,

"Look, my son's not
going to make it.

"I'll find some money,
my mum will pay you,

"can you wait a little while
and you take care of him?

"You'll be saving his life.

"And you can take him back
to his grandmother in Saigon,

"And you can take him back
"in Ho Chi Minh City."

"in Ho Chi Minh City."

I remember my dad telling me this,
and he said...

And he said in a really
casual way, but it stuck with me,

he said, "Sometimes I still
think about that at night."

Yeah, "Sometimes I still think
about that at night."

I think that's why
my dad hasn't slept

for more than three or four
hours in the last 50 years.

You can imagine the trauma from
that sort of...that decision.

As it turns out, the woman was
very principled and upright.

She didn't know if she could,
in good conscience, take me.

So, we left...we left all together.

And I suppose we were really lucky,
but it's not the right term, is it?

I don't know. It could have gone
any way, that's the whole thing.

I don't know. It could have gone
It could have gone any way.

It could have gone any way.

But I'm certainly glad
it went the way it did.

Not much is really known
about where I'm from at all.

Not much is really known
It's sort of a mystery.

It's sort of a mystery.

And it is for a lot of other people
like me from the Vietnam War

And it is for a lot of other people
that were in orphanages.

that were in orphanages.

My adoptive mother had
this amazing blond hair.

She had miniskirts,
she looked very beautiful

She had miniskirts,
and very out of place in Vietnam.

and very out of place in Vietnam.

And when she went over there,
all the other children cried

when apparently they saw
this white woman.

And I was the only one
that didn't cry and I just sort of
when apparently they saw
this white woman.

And I was the only one
that didn't cry and I just sort of

looked at her like, "OK,
what are you doing here?"

And, "You look nice,"
so made a connection that way.

Growing up in Australia
was both really, really wonderful

and full of people
that were very compassionate,

and then, on the other side of that,
there was a lot of racism.

So, while having this
ultimate kindness from people

that have no reason to be kind to
you, there are also a lot of people

that were extremely hostile.

And my mother,
she had a bomb threat to our house.

And pretty much from when I was
five, I had racism regularly.

And pretty much from when I was
As a teenager, I had it daily.

As a teenager, I had it daily.

It was something that I grew up with
and I still feel it now strongly.

As a child that was adopted
from the Vietnam War,

I feel the weight of that
for a lifetime.

I feel the weight of that
Every time I look in the mirror,

Every time I look in the mirror,

I wonder who I am,
what happened to my family.

Are they OK? Why me?

What about people that experienced
racism as a teenager

and they didn't find that
inner resilience?

and they didn't find that
Not everybody makes it through.

Not everybody makes it through.

MAN: Probably every night
when I put my head down,

I just think about
my soldiering days,

because it was a big part
of my life.

It's constantly there.

It's a big thing.

You know, that's always...

It's not a great feeling, you know,
when you're a loser.

It's not a great feeling, you know,
Not for me. I like to win, you know.

Not for me. I like to win, you know.

Particularly in a war, I think, that
you're on the wrong side of history.

Particularly in a war, I think, that
you're on the wrong side of history.
Would I do it again?

Would I do it again?

Absolutely. Yeah, I think I would.

Strange, isn't it?

Would I go if called?

If I was young,
I probably would, yes.

GRAHAM EDWARDS: I'd probably
do the same again.

You know, you've just gotta
take life as it comes.

You know, you've just gotta
I did what I believed was...

I did what I believed was...

..right at the time.

I can't ever go back
and change that...

..but with hindsight, of course...

..I would never have
supported the war.

It was a bad war.
It was a political war.

Many young Australians,
for the price they paid,

Many young Australians,
was with their lives.

was with their lives.

Sadly, we did the same in Iraq.

And it's time Australia
woke up to itself.

Well past that time.

MAN: I was really angry for all
the things that I believed in,

MAN: I was really angry for all
to see the North Vietnamese tanks

to see the North Vietnamese tanks

crashing through the wall of
to see the North Vietnamese tanks

crashing through the wall of
the president's palace in Saigon.

I knew the things that
had happened... (COUGHS)
crashing through the wall of
the president's palace in Saigon.

I knew the things that
had happened... (COUGHS)

I knew the things that
..pardon me...

..pardon me...

..to those South Vietnamese people

that worked with the Allied forces.

What was going to happen to them?

Everybody just deserted
these people...

..after all these years and

all the blood, sweat and tears
that blokes like me

and all the others that have gone
through to save these people.

And it was...

They just...you know, the
Allied forces just walked away.

GRAHAM EDWARDS: The Vietnam War
was a tragedy

visited on Australia and America,

but it was a greater tragedy
visited on the country of Vietnam.

You know, Australia paid a price...

..the Vietnamese country
and the Vietnamese people

..the Vietnamese country
paid a bigger price.

paid a bigger price.

That's the horror of war.

The Vietnam War was a criminal act
by the Australian government

The Vietnam War was a criminal act
and by the American government.

and by the American government.

VASSELLA: My making.

I learnt more in Vietnam

than I ever have since,
I learnt more in Vietnam

than I ever have since,

about how life operates,

how it works,
and how I should work.

MAN: For me, it was
a bloody big wake-up call.

Well, for me it was military
advancement,

for Australia
it was an embarrassment,

and for many of those taking part,
it was a tragedy.
for Australia
it was an embarrassment,

and for many of those taking part,
it was a tragedy.

Vietnam, to me,
was the best part of my life

Vietnam, to me,
and the worst part of my life.

and the worst part of my life.

EARLE: A disaster,

waste of effort.

Shouldn't have been there.

And I don't know if I should
say this or not,

And I don't know if I should
but I think surely,

but I think surely,

just saying, "I respect
your service" is not enough.

Can't say that to Errol Noack,
can you?

And the 500-odd other guys
that lost their lives over there

or carry injuries, wounds,
psychiatric conditions, yeah.

Uh...I hope I don't
offend anyone with that.

Captions by Red Bee Media

Copyright Australian
Broadcasting Corporation