New Zealand's Involvement in the Vietnam War

Hi there, this is some work I did for an assessment a while ago, please feel free to use it, however if you do, please ensure to reference it properly. Thank you and DFTBA!

What happened in the Vietnam War?

The Guerrilla War

The guerrilla tactics that the Viet Cong used were brutal and had ongoing mental effects on Veterans of the Vietnam War. The allies (New Zealand, America and Australia) faced a very distinct style of war called guerrilla warfare. This is when at least one side uses small combat groups and creates traps, ambushes etc. and uses the terrain to their advantage. In the case of the Vietnam War the Vietcong used guerrilla warfare tactics.

One of the guerrilla tactics the Viet Cong used was blending into crowds to create confusion. The Allies’ soldiers were faced with an unknown enemy because the Viet Cong soldiers could be anyone, mothers, children, men, teens. Having to face this unknown enemy made it very difficult for allies’ soldiers to distinguish who was an enemy and who was an innocent civilian. “You never knew who was the enemy and who was the friend. They all looked alike. They all dressed alike. They were all Vietnamese. Some of them were Viet Cong. Here’s a woman of twenty-two or twenty-three. She is pregnant and she tells her interrogator that her husband works in Danang and isn’t a Viet Cong. But she watches your men walk down a trail and get killed or wounded by a booby-trap. She knows the booby-trap is there but she doesn’t warn them. Maybe she planted it herself. The enemy was all around you.” (Marine Captain E. J. Banks date unknown). This is a useful analysis from a Vietnam veteran as it is shows from a first-hand perspective the manner in which the war was fought. However it must be treated with caution because it is biased to E.J. Bank’s experience. It shows how effective the guerrilla tactics were in confusing the allies and making it difficult for them to locate an attacker. This would have been useful not only for the attacker’s safety but the confusion and uncertainly would have been mentally taxing on the Allies soldiers.

Figure 1 shows a small section of one of the tunnels under Vietnam used by the Vietcong. This primary evidence shows how small the tunnels were and it also displays how a soldier could not seen around the corners and the dangers that would come with this disadvantage. This evidence is biased as it is only showing a section of the tunnels and so it is hard to grasp the enormity of the tunnel system.

Another guerrilla tactic that the Viet Cong used was the extensive use of tunnels under Vietnam. These were used by Viet Cong as effective ways of travelling across large distances quickly. These tunnels allowed the Viet Cong to pop in and out of the tunnels and they were discreetly hidden and booby-trapped so American soldiers had problems finding and following Viet Cong soldiers into these tunnels. DK publishing talks about how these tunnels were very useful to the Viet Cong because they were so dangerous for the Allies’ to enter. In fact DK Publishing discusses how there were special types of soldiers called ‘tunnel rats’ who ventured into these tunnels to try to find safe ways through and find networks or supply centres. The tunnels were extremely extensive, covering very large areas. Daniel Moran claims that the Viet Cong have said they dug about 30,000 miles of tunnels. Daniel Moran also commented that the tunnels were used for protecting Vietnamese civilians from air attacks by the Americans. No other sources have mentioned this use for the tunnels but it is still possible that in some cases the tunnels could be used for protecting civilians as many sources have shown diagrams which display extensive sleeping areas. This information should be treated with caution as no cross reference is available. This evidence shows the mentally taxing nature of the guerrilla warfare, especially for the tunnel rats. The tunnels were extremely dangerous as shown in previous evidence and a solider going into the tunnel would have been fairly certain he was going to his demise. This would have mentally unhinged soldiers as they watched friends go into these tunnels or went into them themselves to almost certain doom.

This guerrilla warfare had a huge affect on the Allies as 11 % of Allies’ fatalities and 17% of injuries (Daniel Moran 2001) were caused by booby-traps that the Vietnamese had set. These traps were often pitfall traps which were covered and at the bottom contained extremely sharp spikes to pierce   into the skin of the Allies. One can imagine the huge moral impact this would have had on soldiers. “It really got the troops worked up and there was an awful feeling of helplessness.” (Anonymous[1])
“Knocks you back a bit . . . It’s something you, oh, it hurts” (‘Bill M’)
These accounts are firsthand experience of how the soldiers felt about seeing their comrades die in traps set out by the Viet Cong. Whilst they are biased to personal situations they do strongly reflect the views of many soldiers and there are numerous other quotes which portray the same message so I consider them to be fairly reliable. One can see from these accounts the absolute horror that the soldiers faced and we can only imagine the terror this caused.
For a lot of soldiers this tough psychological warfare was the worst part of the war. We can see this today in the huge number of Veterans who are suffering psychological damage because of the Vietnam War.
“There I was, all done up in a bloody suit and all these people were in bloody long dresses . . . and three weeks ago I was walking around dripping with ammunition with a bloody live round up  the spout. And I just could not relate to that evening. I was shitting myself. I had to keep on going outside because I couldn’t breathe.” (Hardie Martin)
“socially and emotionally I was a wreck. . . It was such a terrible experience that I suppose it’s like a lot of depressions if you like . . . much later of course you realise that we’re all going through that in various degrees and we all had this problem.” (Anonymous[2])
These quotes once again are biased because of personal experience but they do give the impression that all the New Zealand soldiers appeared to have similar opinions to them. These quotes are extremely useful for me because they show me the aftermath of the war from the New Zealand Veteran’s perspective. These personal accounts highlight the ongoing effects of the guerrilla style warfare that was going on and the effect it had on soldiers’ mentality. These soldiers had never been exposed to this kind of warfare before and the shock of not knowing the enemy, the traps and the tunnels took them out of their comfort zone and caused ongoing mental health problems which they have had to learn to live with.

The use of Agent Orange

The use of Agent Orange in the Vietnam War has had ongoing health and economic impact in Vietnam, America and New Zealand. Agent Orange was a chemical herbicide used in the Vietnam. It removed large areas of foliage. The allies used this chemical to take out large areas of forest to expose Viet Cong hiding spots. This included finding tunnel entrances and above ground buildings. Debbie Levy, author of ‘The Vietnam War’ reports that the spraying of this chemical began in 1962. The chemical itself was colourless. It was given the nickname ‘Agent Orange’ because of the orange strips painted on the side of its containers. This is reiterated in what DK Publishing says it agrees that the spraying of the herbicide began in 1962. DK publishing then goes on to say “Most jungles could recover from two sprayings, but a third killed them. Mangrove swamps, however, died after only one spraying. More than 72 million litres (19 million gal) of herbicides were sprayed during the campaign – 60 percent of the Agent Orange.” Because this information can be crossed referenced I can trust it to be reliable and as it is fact biased it is more likely to be reliable rather than skewed by perspective. These statistics show how much foliage would have been damaged over the course of the Vietnam War. This loss of foliage has affected Vietnam economically because a lot of once fertile land which could be used for agriculture has been destroyed and is still unable to be used today due to the use of the herbicide Agent Orange. There has been a lot of coverage on the Chemical Agent Orange because it causes birth defects in the children of anyone exposed to it. This presented a huge problem as thousands of Vietnamese had been exposed to this chemical, as had numerous Americans, Australians and New Zealanders. NZ History has stated that there were as many as four million cases of people being exposed to the chemical in Vietnam. NZ history also reported that US veterans had been given a $180 million settlement from companies which produced Agent Orange. However another source (Adam Hibbert in his book Chemical and Biological Warfare) says the number of Allies’ children affected by the use of Agent Orange is pitiful compared to the million Vietnamese citizens affected with the number growing by the thousands every year. This evidence highlights the ongoing affects on the children of soldiers and Vietnamese citizens. These birth defects have caused anguish and economic instability within families and within Vietnam, America and New Zealand. These children born with birth defects tax our healthcare systems and they cannot be economically contributing members of society. There is currently no exact number of veterans soldiers’ children being affected by Agent Orange in New Zealand but like the rest of the Allies countries and Vietnam, New Zealand has suffered an economic impact as the affects of Agent Orange have been taxing on the health system. A study in 2004 concluded that Veterans had been exposed to a ‘toxic environment’ and this had health effects on veteran’s children. (NZ History) I believe this source is reliable as it has always been able to be cross referenced in the past. The Government has formally apologised to veterans who were exposed to the herbicide Agent Orange. Both NZ History and the veteran’s news paper ‘Tribute 08’ discuss the apology given to New Zealand Veterans’. Since these sources agree on the evidence I can count it as credible. This evidence shows that the use of Agent Orange has had a significant impact on Veteran’s children’s lives and has caused them many health problems which has affected their lifestyle.  

 

Figure 2 this picture shows two children of Vietnamese people who were exposed to the chemical, Agent Orange. We can see the scale of the damage o them and how disfigured their bodies are. This primary evidence is biased as it is only showing two out of thousands if not millions of examples. It helps to highlight some of the ongoing physical effects of Agent Orange.

Prisoners of War

Both the allies and the Vietnamese took prisoners of war. These prisoners were treated poorly and were often tortured for military intelligence. Like many other wars throughout the duration of the Vietnam War people from both sides were taken captive and in many cases interrogated. This was a regular occurrence on both sides to gain military intelligence. DK Publishing reported that more than 660 US servicemen were taken as prisoners of war; most were held in North Vietnam. The majority were either tortured or abused. During one occasion “American prisoners of war were marched under military guard through the streets of Hanoi in 1966. They were filmed for propaganda purposes, and their images broadcast around the world.” (DK Publishing in their book Vietnam War) This source has proven very reliable in many cases and has been able to be cross referenced so I will accept this statement as fact. This shows that the Allies’ prisoners of war were treated poorly and paraded around the streets for propaganda purposes like a bunch of puppets. DK Publishing has stated that these men were often tortured, presumably for military information.

The Allies took in a significant number of Vietnamese prisoners of War. Whilst this was often to gain military intelligence it was also, because they were fighting an unknown enemy, to find out who was a member of the Viet Cong and who wasn’t. Often people who were only suspected of involvement were taken in and tortured to try and achieve a proclamation of guilt or a list of names of people involved in the war.
“I myself watched an interrogation in a Mekong Delta town . . . Soldiers had brought in a lean youth in black cotton pyjamas who looked like any peasant. The soldiers wired his fingers to a field telephone, [and] then cranked it as an officer spoke with surprisingly gentleness to the youth, trying to extract either information or a confession. The youth gritted his teeth, his facial muscles taut as the electricity coursed through his body, and he finally blurted out a few words.” (S. Karnow 1983)
This is a very useful account of someone being tortured. However, it must be treated with caution because it is a personal account and contains bias. Also it may not reflect other cases of people being tortured.  This shows the brash treatment the Vietnamese prisoners of war received and how they were tortured often without conviction. This evidence also proves that the Vietnamese at least were being tortured for military intelligence.
New Zealand soldiers were captured alongside the American soldiers and treated the same way as them. Since there were significantly fewer New Zealand soldiers than American soldiers less, of them were captured and taken prisoner. However these soldiers would have been treated just as badly as the Americans as no distinction would be made between the Allies. DK Publishing comments on how all prisoners were released once the American forces had moved out of Vietnam. This means any New Zealand soldiers who had not yet been released when New Zealand pulled out would have come home separately to their comrades.

Why did New Zealand form an Alliance with America?

New Zealand sided with the Americans in the Vietnam war because America pressured New Zealand to do so. The Vietnam War was the first time that New Zealand had fought in a war and not been in alliance with Great Brittan (Great Brittan did not participate in the Vietnam War). According to NZ History New Zealand was ‘under pressure’ by the Americans to fight alongside them. Both NZ History and a book by Wyatt and Wilson Print called New Zealand Army agree on the following facts. New Zealand’s involvement was initially quite small with New Zealand sending a small non-military force in 1964 including mechanics and medical assistants. This involvement increased in 1964 when New Zealand sent 25 Army engineers. Finally in 1965 New Zealand sent 161 Battery in a combat capacity to provide military support. The battery was joined by several infantry units before they returned home in 1971. New Zealand had a force of 543 at its peak. There were 37 fatalities and 187 casualties. This number of fatalities and casualties seems small in comparison with the number of American soldiers who lost their lives (58,209) or Vietnamese (about 1.5 million soldiers and 2 million civilians).
“The US did not want to be seen intervening alone in the civil war of another country . . . it [America] sought the active support of other nations to give the American presence in Vietnam international credence. . . The Americans canvassed both Australia and New Zealand for their support.” (Grey Ghosts New Zealand Vietnam Vets talk about their War written by Deborah Challinor) This source is supported by other sources such as NZ History so I can trust it to be reliable. This source shows that America needed allies and essentially pressured New Zealand into supporting it. New Zealand would have agreed to support America to keep up good foreign relations. Whilst New Zealand’s involvement was limited these sources show that the involvement that New Zealand had was due to the pressure of the US which needed allies to intervene in another countries civil affairs. Since the Vietnam War New Zealand has changed its foreign policy in regard to alliances with other countries and becoming involved in civil matters in another country. “Labour leaders called for ‘new thinking’ in foreign policy that would allow New Zealand to pursue a more independent course in world affairs, that would incorporate a ‘moral’ dimension, and that would better reflect the country’s character as a small multicultural nation in the South Pacific.” (NZ History) this information is not brought up in any other sources. However NZ History has been able to be cross referenced in many cases and this gives the source credibility so I can count the evidence it provides as fairly reliable. This quote shows the beginning of the move towards a more independent New Zealand which was caused by New Zealand being pressured into going into the Vietnam War by the Americans.

The Effects of the War on people back home

Protests in New Zealand

The protests in New Zealand affected the views of the youth in society at the time. It is well documented that in New Zealand there were a significant number of protests about the Vietnam War. Protests in New Zealand began in 1965 (NZ history) with a couple of people. However, by the end of 1971 there was up to 35,000 people taking to the streets per protest with placards because they want New Zealand to “follow its own independent path in foreign policy” (NZ History) as opposed to following others . An effective method that protesters used, both to gain more protesters and to display their message to the general public was their propaganda posters. These called for ‘mobilisations’ which are essentially mob protests. A significant number of the protesters at the time were youth, mostly university students. “The Vietnam War took place at the time of tremendous change . . . young people were changing the face of society and culture”  (Debbie Levy in her book The Vietnam War). NZ History shares the same view, that whether or not it was brought about by New Zealand’s controversial involvement in the Vietnam War, New Zealand’s youth’s perspectives were changing “The Vietnam conflict thus brought with it a polarisation of opinion and a questioning by many New Zealanders of the government’s alliance policies, especially among younger people” (NZ history). Having two sources that strongly agree that youth’s views were changing around the Vietnam war not only gives both sources credibility but it shows that the New Zealand youth’s views were changing and progressing into the views we see in society today. We will never be able to determine exactly what brought about this change. However these two sources agree that the controversial Vietnam War provided a starting point for this paradigm shift.

 

Figure 3 in this piece of primary evidence we see young New Zealanders taking to the streets to voice their opinion on the War in Vietnam. We can see in this photo that it is primarily youth protesting and this highlights the point that it tended to be the young generation who were starting the social reform that protested against New Zealand’s involvement in the Vietnam War. This picture whilst useful does not show all the protesters so other sources have to be used to gauge the general age of the protesters.

Protests in America

The protests in America surrounding the Vietnam War had a large impact on people’s lives at the time. New Zealand’s protests mirrored those in America; however, the protests were bigger and resulted in the deaths of four University students. Debbie Levy discusses this in her book “The Vietnam War” She claims that the war was ‘still tearing at the fabric of American society’ even as the soldiers were coming home. In America anti war protests began in 1966 and by 1967 they were ‘common’. Debbie Levy’s use of the work ‘common’ shows that these protests were large and frequent. Any kind of large and frequent protests would have been a huge disruption for people’s lives as they would have closed streets and businesses. On top of this the police had to get involved to quell the protests. Debbie Levy talks about how the police ‘used tear gas and clubs to break up an antiwar demonstration in Madison, Wisconsin, in the late 1960s’. This kind of brutality from the police force could have physically injured people and it would have shocked the entire country and caused many shifts of view points toward the defence department. The most notable case which would have caused this is the demonstration at Kent State University where on May 4 1970 “hundreds of students had gathered to protest at Kent State. Ohio Governor James Rhodes called out the Ohio National Guard to keep the situation under control. The protesters set fire to a building. They threw stones at the soldiers. In the midst of the confusion, the guardsmen fired into the crowd. Four students were shot. Eleven others were wounded. The sight of Americans killing Americans stunned the nation” (Debbie Levy in her book ‘The Vietnam War’). Debbie Levy’s book it a good source of information and it shows the protests in America at the time. No other sources found discussed the protests in America in such depth so it is hard to cross reference for reliability. However any parts which are able to be cross checked match one another, leading this source to be able to be considered reliable. All of these examples show the grotesque nature of the protests. Having so many deaths and injury caused by other Americans as a result of the Vietnam War clearly affected the lives of many Americans especially those directly involved in the protests. This shows that the protests had a large impact on many lives of Americans even if they themselves were not involved in the protests.

New Zealand Soldiers Coming Home

New Zealand soldiers were treated with resentment and disrespect when they returned home from war. Unlike other wars when New Zealand soldiers returned home from war, they were treated poorly. They were shunned by society and called ‘baby killers’. The war was so controversial and so many people disagreed that New Zealand should have been involved in the first place that the New Zealand Government could not hold public ceremonies. “You sort of expected to be, I suppose, welcomed with open arms, so to speak. But you weren’t, you know. We were shunned.” (Dave Douglas date unknown). “So when we got to the door we had to follow the ropes all the way to the [terminal]. They said, you’ll see people out there, they’ve got placards saying Babykillers and Christ knows whatever else. He said ignore them, don’t even look at them, just get out of the plane and take off into the bus . . . No sooner had you stepped out of the plane and these people are YAH! Shoving placards in your face” (Matt G. Date unknown). Both these sources provide an interesting insight into the welcome home the soldiers received. Whilst they are biased because they are personal accounts, they show that many of the soldiers had a hard time returning to New Zealand because they received so much scrutiny from the public. The New Zealand Government couldn’t hold public ceremonies for them because “A welcome home parade for 161 Battery was disrupted by a small group of protestors who accused New Zealand soldiers of being murderers and threw red paint, symbolising the Vietnamese blood on their hands” (NZ History). This source can be cross reference with the book ‘Grey Ghosts’ by Deborah Challinor who reports the same event but comments that they also threw eggs and threw themselves under the band. This shows both the disrespect and the resentment the protesters showed for the Veterans upon their home and how unwelcomed this would have made them feel.

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[1] Sourced from Grey Ghosts New Zealand Vietnam Vets talk about their War

[2] Sourced from Grey Ghosts New Zealand Vietnam Vets talk about their War