The controversial Vietnam War had a huge impact on Australian society in the 1960s and 1970s. Did Australia have to go there? Did we really have to invade a country that wasn't at war with us? The topic of Vietnam is very controversial because there is no real right side. Because we did go we stopped communism, but communism may have never reached our shores if didn't go. The war was unlike any other. But did we have to do it to save our way of life? These are some reasons that disagree with following statement "That Australia should never have been involved in the Vietnam War."
The main point for Australia going to war was to stop the spread of Communism. The spread of Communism was like the toppling effect of Dominos; hence it was called the Domino Theory. The theory stated that if a country were to fall to Communism the neighboring countries would eventually become Communist.
English: From George L. MacGarrigle, The United St...
U. S. soldier carries a M67 recoilless rifle past ...
A U.S. riverboat (Zippo monitor) deploying napalm ...The possible chance that the Domino Theory was to eventually reach Australia's close neighbors was extremely worrying to the government at the time. They feared that Communism would reach Australia and an overthrow of government was imminent. And so it began. In May 1962, Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced that a small group of Australian military advisers, expert in jungle warfare, would be sent to assist the South Vietnamese government.
The Australian Government had relied on America to help protect us throughout all other wars. When America decided to go to war with Vietnam, they called upon the members of SEATO and ANZUS. Almost all the countries in SEATO refused to send troops to Vietnam. Australian government on the other hand saw an opportunity to strengthen its ties with America so they began to send troops to Vietnam. To further...