School Assignment On Australian In The Vietnam War.

1. BY
Jordan Cohen
AND
Liam
Pemberton
1962 - 1972

2. The Vietnam War was the longest major conflict in which the Australian Nation has been involved in. Spanning from 1962 to 1972,
Australia's involvement in the war involved approximately 60,000 Australian personnel alone, comprising of mainly ground troops, air
force and navel personnel.
The first instances of war began in 1959, five years after the division of the country into Communist North Vietnam, (led by Ho Chi
Minh), and Democratic South Vietnam, (under the leadership of Ngo Dinh Diem.) With talk of spreading Communism among North
Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh set in motion a guerilla fighting campaign against South Vietnam, led by Viet Cong units, to unite the whole
country under Communist rule. It was then that the United States sought to control the spread of Communism by training the ‘Army of
the Republic of Vietnam’ while also maintaining a heavy military occupancy.
The war claimed the lives of 521 Australian servicemen with a further estimated
3,000 returning home wounded. Far more fortunate than the South Vietnamese death toll
culminating into an estimated 882,000, which included 655,000 adult males, 143,000 adult
females and 84,000 children.
The Vietnam War sparked a world of unrest and disagreement that is still noticeable
in contemporary society. It is impossible to say who came out the most victorious in
the Vietnam War, North Vietnam or the United States, but it is certain that the real
losers were the South Vietnamese. The decade following the end of the war brought
upon the death and imprisonment of over 5,000,000 South Vietnamese civilians under the
consolidation of the Communist rule. For a decade after this war, Vietnamese “Boat People”
were washing up on every beach from Japan to Australia.
It was the largest flood of war refugees ever recorded in a post-war era.
The Vietnam War
"The death of one man is a tragedy. The
death of millions is a statistic." — Joseph
Stalin
Vietnamese Casualties
As A Whole (Dead &
Injured)

3. 
Map Of Vietnam
Geographical Location Of Vietnam
Map Of Vietnam & Neighbouring
Countries
Towards The End Of The War, The City Of
Saigon Fell Under The Control Of The
‘Vietnamese Peoples Army’, Establishing The
New Name Ho Chi Minh City

4. 
Refugees Fleeing Vietnam
Liam Pemberton
Operation Baby Lift In Action

5. After 3 decades of war and instability in Indochina newly elected president, Mr. Nixon declared in 1969 that the US army would
partake in Vietnamisation. This politically based decision led to the evacuation of US troops despite the major role they played in
defending South Vietnam. By 1973 all US troops had been evacuated and all military responsibility was handed back to the South
Vietnamese Army. This shift in military power led to the fall of South Vietnams capital, Saigon, to North Vietnamese forces. As a
result many refugees tried to escape the country through official means, those who were not as fortunate had to risk their lives through
other means of escape.
Weeks before the inevitable fall of Saigon, US military commenced an operation that went by the name of ‘Baby Lift’. It’s aim was to
evacuate orphaned Vietnamese children before the communists gained control of Saigon, it is estimated that thousands of orphans were
saved this way. In the source it shows the US soldiers caring for the Vietnamese children as they prepare to transport them to Australia
and the United States of America for adoption.
Despite the communists new found power in South Vietnam, refugees continued to flee the country in an effort to escape the new
regime, reeducation camps and death. Those who chose to stay and had been associated with the republic of Vietnam and opposed
forces were forced into re education camps where they were ’rehabilitated’, this was seen in the form of torture and oppression.
Those who did choose to escape the country had to do so on overcrowded boats that were barely seaworthy.
As a result many never made it to there destinations being Indonesia, Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia.
When these refugees did land on these shores after months at sea, they were placed in refugee camps that
were notorious for disease and unsanitary conditions due to the overwhelming numbers. It would be years
before these refugees were granted citizenship and freedom in other countries.
Refugees Fleeing Vietnam
Liam Pemberton

6. 
Transport To Australia
Jordan Cohen

7. The Vietnam War forced millions to flee not only their homes but their country. As Communist Viet Cong soldiers torched villages and
raised cities to the ground using guerilla warfare tactics and shock combat, only a select few civilians were offered safety and refuge by
the US and Australian embassies, whereas most were forced to evacuate on unseaworthy ships and rickety boats. These refugees, as a
whole, were known as the Vietnamese Boat People.
The term "Vietnamese Boat People” was used to define all the Vietnamese, about 2 million, who fled their country by any means
necessary between the years 1975 and 1995.The crossing undertaken by Vietnamese refugees is one of pure admiration and
determination. At times, refugees would find themselves at sea for extended periods of time in treacherous conditions, protected only
by rickety old vessels. Many of the refugees did not survive the passage, succumbing to severe storms and sinking from over-crowded
boats. Pirates regularly attacked the slow, defenseless ships, raping the women, stealing whatever valuables were on board and often
murdering the refugees.
The boat people’s primary ambition for asylum involved fleeing to the
surrounding Asian countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines,
Singapore and Hong Kong. Although, over 94,000 Indochinese found themselves
settling in Australia, 2,000 of which arrived by boat. The remaining 92,000 were
fortunate enough to be evacuated out of Vietnam by humanitarian and military
organisations.
The enormous flight of hundreds of thousands of boat people from Vietnam
following the war resulted in an international humanitarian crisis among
Australasian and Asian countries regarding the over-population of communities and
refugee camps. This later led to a dramatic increase in the amount of refugee camps used
to house incoming migrants in Australia and neighboring islands.
Transport To Australia
Jordan Cohen
Vietnamese Migration Routes, (Often, Boats Would
Miss Malaysia & Indonesia And Arrive In Australia

8. 
Initial Housing And
Experience In Australia
Vietnamese Refugees Accepted Into
Jordan Cohen

9. Between the years 1901 - 1972, Australia strongly maintained what became known as the White
Australia Policy on immigration. Under this policy, the immigration of Asian and other non-white ethnic groups was severely
restricted. The Whitlam Government officially ended the policy in 1973 and hence paved way for refugees from South Vietnam and
their families to arrive in substantial numbers to settle in Australia. It was the largest influx of Asian people to settle in Australia since
Chinese settlement during the nineteenth-century gold rush.
As early refugees began arriving on north Australian shores in 1976, the Fraser Government was reluctant to accept such a large-scale
influx of Vietnamese migrants. The controversy caused alarm as the refugees were not undergoing health checks and screening
normally undertaken before migration is permitted. The possibility of Vietnamese re-introducing the extremely contagious and deadly
Tuberculosis virus, which had been eradicated in Australia by the 1970’s, would have proven potentially fatal for many Australians had
a boatload of refugees possessed the disease. It also raised concerns about the security of the northern coastline, with Australians
arguing that if refugee boats could land undetected, so could enemy watercraft. The country became divided on whether or not to
accept war-stricken refugees, with a majority of Australians favoring the refugees side. As a result of this, the Australian people
became a huge influence on the Government's actions towards refugees. The South Vietnamese Government felt that because Australia
was an active ally during war, the country should accept responsibility for some of the refugees who had fled after their country’s
defeat. Humanitarian groups in Australia soon arose to the defense of the arriving refugees, prompting wide scale protests and riots.
Shortly after, Australian attitudes began to change towards accepting South-Asian refugees and by 1981, close to 40,000 Vietnamese
Boat People had been welcomed on Australian soil.
For many, Australia's treatment of the Vietnamese boat people is a proud period in our long immigration history. Although the
Government was motivated to accept Vietnamese refugees via external factors, first and second generation Vietnamese Australians are
still immensely thankful for the hospitality received when they first arrived in Australia. A former Vietnamese refugee who sailed for
17 days before reaching Australia wrote in a Reddit AMA, (Ask Me Anything), “Australian sponsors helped us out a lot. They
recognised our skills and offered us with jobs that would help support our families. Many of us were given immediate citizenship and
placed into the community without so much as a visa. The community met us with open arms. Australia was surreal. Everything was
big and there was just so much to overwhelm the senses. I was very young so the experience was much like a dream at the time.”
Initial Housing And
Experience In Australia
Jordan Cohen
Refugees Were Accepted
Straight Into Society Without
Visa’s (Immediate Citizenship)

10. Initially, before Vietnamese refugees were placed freely into communities, many of them
were housed in immense encampments consisting of Quonset huts and tents. These huts
consisted of a semi-circular fashioned, galvanized steel structure that could easily be
transported to accommodate the increasing number of boat people. As the number of
arriving asylum seekers grew, so to did the refugee camps. Since the 1970s, 24 refugee
camps and centers have been established around Australia including the Christmas Island
and Nauru facilities.
Nowadays, it would seem that the South Vietnamese refugees who sought
safety in Australia were the last to benefit from it. In the early 1980s, the
Government became increasingly suspicious of Vietnamese asylum seekers
seeking a better way of life rather than to escape from some form of persecution or war.
The fact that Australia, at first, struggled with the arrival of South Vietnamese asylum seekers
was an early sign of an insecure nation threatened by Asian penetration migration. It is
clear that this anxiety has influenced the national mentality since the mid-19th century.
It is also evident that this anxiety continues to show in immigration policies today, with
the latest policies being to turn back the boats,
There is no doubt that the Vietnamese migration towards the end of the Vietnam War
led to a huge wave of globalization in Australia. Australians have greatly benefited
From the spread of Vietnamese culture and this is predominantly apparent through
Australians deep affection for Vietnamese restaurants.
Initial Housing And
Experience In Australia
Jordan Cohen
Early Vietnamese Refugees Were
Housed In Quonset Huts &
Refugee Camps Before Being
Placed Into Society
Refugee Camps Were Expansive To Accommodate For
Growing Numbers Of Refugees Fleeing The War,
Similar To This Camp In Camp Pendleton, California

11. 
Adaptation To Australian
Culture
Liam Pemberton

12. The mid 1970’s marked a period in time of great ethnic change for Australia as it began to change its once conservative views on
society, due to the arrival of Vietnamese refugees on Australian soil. This change was led by Malcolm Fraser leader of the liberal party
and was sparked because of the obligations Australia had created to South Vietnam in participating in the Vietnam War. This resulted
in the refugees from South Asia being resettled in Australia. Over the next ten year Australia would become home for over 90 000
Indochinese refugees.
Despite the policy change, many still had unrealistic views associated with foreign refugees that resonated from the diminished ‘White
Australia Policy’. This idea soon faded as many Australian citizens began to see the benefits of Vietnamese refugees and multicultural
diversity they brought with them.
Upon arriving in Australia almost all past qualifications that the Vietnamese people had were considered irrelevant in our western
society, despite now knowing this is not entirely true. As a result many Vietnamese people ended up working in lower socioeconomic
jobs, using them as a way of financing their own small businesses. In many cases these businesses took the form of restaurants. In the
picture you can see two neighbouring Vietnamese businesses, this can be explained by the demographics
associated with people of Vietnamese heritage. When these people first came to Australia as refugees they
settled in locations together because of their similarities in traditions, language and religion etc.
An example of this in New South Wales is Cabramatta.
It is widely accepted that many Australian born Vietnamese Australians are associated with higher
socioeconomic jobs because of the work ethic there parents instilled in them.
The new generation of Vietnamese Australians have not only confirmed
their ableness to fit into Australian culture but also their ability to thrive in
this multicultural society.
Adaptation To Australian
Culture
Liam Pemberton
Vietnamese-Born Australian Comedian/Author/Actor, Anh
Do Is A Perfect Example Of A Vietnamese Refugee Who
Ignored The Odds And Sailed For 5 Days In A Leaky Boat To
One Day Succeed In Australia
Vietnamese Tradition
Lives On In
Cabramatta

13. 
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14. 
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