The Vietnam War is impacted in many ways, these impacts can cause the Vietnam War to become more disturbing. The attitudes of the Australian public towards to war, the role of media, the type of warfare and technology, and returned soldiers and their families all impacted the Vietnam War How these impacts are used can give a negative or positive effect on War, in this case it is negative.
The Vietnam War was the “longest conflict Australians has been involved in”[1] and this is a major reason why soldiers returned home with psychological effects. Returned soldiers came home with gruesome memories of war: “And I can still hear Frankie, lying screaming in the jungle Til the morphine came and killed the bloody row” This quote from the song “I was only 19” by Redgum in 1983 proves that soldiers keep horrible memories that they experience at war. These few lines tells us a lot about what it was like in the war, it is very reliable as it was only released in 1983 by an Australian folk group, where returned soldiers could tell their story and what they had seen. This song tells the world a “soldiers experience in the Vietnam war”, which is very descriptive and will be appropriate for older audiences. These horrific memories caused a lot of mental effects, such as Post Traumatic Disorder, which occurs 1 in 8 returned soldiers of war[2]. Symptoms of Post Traumatic Disorder, which a lot of retuned soldiers experience is nightmares, distressing thoughts, feeling as though the war is still happening and physical symptoms such as sweating, muscle tension and rapid heart rate. These symptoms can cause isolation and detachment, which can tear Families apart.
At the beginning of the war, the government’s attitude towards war was very powerful and persuasive using conscription to make men, mainly young men to join the army, which made many people devastated to see their family members have to join the army. The government also used propaganda to persuaded men to join the army, their case being; “Men with a purpose” should join the army. (Photo 1) The outcome of conscription caused angry attitudes, which resulted in the establishment of many groups protesting, one being the “Save our Sons”. Members being mainly mums whose sons were old enough to be put into the army. The SOS conducted vigils, handed out leaflets, held petitions, approached members of parliament and held a float on the May Day parade, which all fought against the “conscription of youth”. The “Save our Sons” float (photo 2) was shown during the 1967 Mayday Parade on a Brisbane Street, created to show the negative attitudes of the Australian people towards the Vietnam War. The float is aimed at the government, trying to change their mind about conscription. The float told us what the Australian people wanted, “no conscription”, and because this source is an actual photo it is very reliable.The bad attitudes of the Australian people towards the Vietnam War resulted in protestors, which would be seen by other Australian citizens, which would turn their attitudes towards war to be negative. 2 protestors in Wichita, Kansas in 1967 claiming the US have control of the “Saigon puppet”, the protestors are trying to get the publics attention (mainly men), to persuade them to have a negative attitude towards war (photo 3). This photo is very useful because it also has text, which makes it easy to understand, it is reliable because it is a primary source. The Australian government decided to send an Australian battalion (army, squad)[3] to Vietnam on the 29th of April 1965. As Menzies thought is would make Australia more “secure against the threat of communism”, though the decision was not supported by some newspapers and most Church Leaders, which lead to bad attitude towards war. [4]A public opinion poll found on a government website (photo 4) conducted in September 1965 displays the attitudes of the public, which shows 56% of the public wanting Australia to continue to fight in Vietnam, whilst 28% does not. This is very useful source aimed at anyone interested in the Vietnam War because it tells us accurate statistics about what the Australian public attitudes were towards continuing the fight Vietnam. The Australian public attitudes can be shown through Media:For example (photo 5) these specific newspapers made in sydney 1997 for an adult audience, is put together to give a negative view on war. Every article is from the war period, which makes it very reliable. These newspaper articles give a negative view on war, “The war that can’t be won”, which will bring bad attitudes from the Australian Public. The attitudes towards war were shown by the Moratorium Movement (Anti War conference) in 1971, where thousands of people gathered together to protest against war (photo 6). The running of this event displays a large amount of people not wanting Australian soldiers to go to war, it is not an appropriate place for children, more for adults. People had different attitudes/views towards the Vietnam War; some people were ok with Australian troops fighting in the war, where others weren’t and this split Australia into 2 groups, for the war, or against. [5]“Two blokes there were pretty good mates, but one supported Australia’s involvement and the other didn’t ... They ended up getting stuck into each other ... Fist fights broke out all over the place.” This quote displays that people’s attitudes towards war can pull relationships apart, the splitting of relationships can occur to all audience, though in this chase it is between young and older adults.
The role of Media in the Vietnam War is to express the public views/attitudes towards certain events, ideas, people etc. In this specific newspaper (photo 7) the news is very negative towards the Vietnam war, which will cause the readers to have negative outlook on war. Additionally the role
of media to persuade readers to accept their (the company’s) point of view, for
example Posters used propaganda (photo 8) “persuade the readers to accept their
point of view”, which is to join the army.In contrast the
role of media is to bring the atmosphere and visual imagery to you, so you are
able to experience what it is like over in Vietnam.So therefore the
role of media is to persuade readers to accept their point of view, but also to
express the publics point of view, and that is why the media can be confusing,
as you are not sure if the point of view is bias or not. In addition the role
of media is to bring the atmosphere and visual imagery to you, so you are able
to see what is going on and what it is like over in Vietnam.
The technology back in the Vietnam War is very different to modern military technology, now the technology is much more advanced for example “Advanced sighting system”[6](photo 9), compared to the “rifle, ammunition and hand grenades”, which was the military technology used in the Vietnam War. Source B (photo 10) is for a teenage audience, as it is from a high school textbook, created to give information to Year 10 students, it is very reliable because text books are read over my teachers and many students. Australian Troops were hit by a deadly chemical called Agent Orange, which has cause cancer, birth abnormalities and toxic brain dysfunction. Medical study
(Photo 11)[7]“found
clear links between a range of cancers and exposure to herbicides such as agent
orange”. This photo/source
is being used by a teenage audience, created to tell students the horrible
effects of Agent Orange. This newspaper article was used in 1994 on the
McLennan report, making this very reliable.
In conclusion the technology used, the attitudes of the public, the role of media and returned soldiers impacted the Vietnam War dramatically. Some times positively for example the technology used wasn’t as powerful as it is now days decreasing the death rate, but also negatively, returned soldiers have post traumatic stress disorder. Overall the impacts of the Vietnam War is what made the Vietnam War so famous and destructive.
[5] History Zone 2, pg 168, Source B, 17-7-2012 From a recollection by Jim Frazer of the Australian Railways Union, describing what happened when the union organised a lunchtime meeting at a Victorian Railways workshop to discuss the Vietnam War issue in 1965.