The Impact Of Vietnam War On Vietnam Veterans
The Vietnam War had a big impact on New Zealand war veterans.
Between 1964-1972, there was about 4,000 young New Zealanders who had volunteered to service in Vietnam, they were wanting to get out into the world and do something exciting but the thrills of war were soon replaced by the gruesome reality. Things got worse when they finally returned home as they came to face an angry public and were told to get out of their uniform quickly and not to tell anyone where they had been. The full impact of the Vietnam war on the veterans took years to show and research now shows that the emotional and psychological impact of war trauma can be passed down through generations. There was only one official national homecoming parade for the New Zealand Veterans which was held in Auckland in 1971 on the withdrawal of 161 Battery, RNZA and 4 Troops NZSAS but this got interrupted by anti-war protesters. …show more content…
Many of the veterans remember their homecoming to be uneventful and disappointing as they felt ‘shunned’ by the lack of celebration for their efforts overseas.
David Grant was one of the veterans who found it ‘galling’ to come home with the cover of darkness and without their uniform so that they wouldn’t attract too much attention. The absence of a formal welcome home caused the veterans to organise their own welcome home parade in 1998 and a decade after this happened the government followed with the closing of central wellington streets to offer veterans and their families an ‘honour march’ which was followed by a Crown apology by the Prime Minister and former anti-war movement leader Helen Clark. This event ended up marking a significant shift in attitude and understanding for the Vietnam veterans, who are now classed as the most visible group of returned New Zealand
servicemen.
New Zealand war veterans had a harder time getting the medical help they needed after the war as they to had been sprayed by the chemical Agent Orange. After the New Zealand government repeatedly denied that any NZ areas of operations were sprayed, the former 161 Battery commander John Masters produced battle maps that proved New Zealand troops were in fact in the spray zone. As said above, New Zealand Veterans’ Affairs has a support system for Vietnam veterans like annual medical assessments which include a free yearly check-up with your regular medical practitioner but you must be registered as a Vietnam veteran to access this. They also have a children’s card which is for children of Vietnam veterans (including whāngai, adopted children, stepchildren and grandchildren raised as children) and its purpose is to identify you as such to medical professionals but again to access it you must be registered as the child of a Vietnam veteran. This is showing us that New Zealand veterans now have the support that they should have gotten as soon as they had health issues.
New Zealand formed a new alliance because of the Vietnam War.
Australia, New Zealand, and the United States formed a treaty called the ANZUS treaty in 1951 as a mutual defence pact. The U.S used the alliance as a way to try and stop the spread of communism in Asia and the Pacific region whereas New Zealand and Australia it provided them with security against any form of threat the Japanese military resurgence might throw at them. New Zealand feared that if they failed to stand by the United States it might compromise the ANZUS treaty which is a large reason for sending in troops as they didn’t want to compromise this treaty.
Between 1964-1972, there was about 4,000 young New Zealanders who had volunteered to service in Vietnam, they were wanting to get out into the world and do something exciting but the thrills of war were soon replaced by the gruesome reality. Things got worse when they finally returned home as they came to face an angry public and were told to get out of their uniform quickly and not to tell anyone where they had been. The full impact of the Vietnam war on the veterans took years to show and research now shows that the emotional and psychological impact of war trauma can be passed down through generations. There was only one official national homecoming parade for the New Zealand Veterans which was held in Auckland in 1971 on the withdrawal of 161 Battery, RNZA and 4 Troops NZSAS but this got interrupted by anti-war protesters. …show more content…
Many of the veterans remember their homecoming to be uneventful and disappointing as they felt ‘shunned’ by the lack of celebration for their efforts overseas.
David Grant was one of the veterans who found it ‘galling’ to come home with the cover of darkness and without their uniform so that they wouldn’t attract too much attention. The absence of a formal welcome home caused the veterans to organise their own welcome home parade in 1998 and a decade after this happened the government followed with the closing of central wellington streets to offer veterans and their families an ‘honour march’ which was followed by a Crown apology by the Prime Minister and former anti-war movement leader Helen Clark. This event ended up marking a significant shift in attitude and understanding for the Vietnam veterans, who are now classed as the most visible group of returned New Zealand
servicemen.
New Zealand war veterans had a harder time getting the medical help they needed after the war as they to had been sprayed by the chemical Agent Orange. After the New Zealand government repeatedly denied that any NZ areas of operations were sprayed, the former 161 Battery commander John Masters produced battle maps that proved New Zealand troops were in fact in the spray zone. As said above, New Zealand Veterans’ Affairs has a support system for Vietnam veterans like annual medical assessments which include a free yearly check-up with your regular medical practitioner but you must be registered as a Vietnam veteran to access this. They also have a children’s card which is for children of Vietnam veterans (including whāngai, adopted children, stepchildren and grandchildren raised as children) and its purpose is to identify you as such to medical professionals but again to access it you must be registered as the child of a Vietnam veteran. This is showing us that New Zealand veterans now have the support that they should have gotten as soon as they had health issues.
New Zealand formed a new alliance because of the Vietnam War.
Australia, New Zealand, and the United States formed a treaty called the ANZUS treaty in 1951 as a mutual defence pact. The U.S used the alliance as a way to try and stop the spread of communism in Asia and the Pacific region whereas New Zealand and Australia it provided them with security against any form of threat the Japanese military resurgence might throw at them. New Zealand feared that if they failed to stand by the United States it might compromise the ANZUS treaty which is a large reason for sending in troops as they didn’t want to compromise this treaty.