Reflections on Vietnam

Looking back I could have handled things a little differently after Vietnam. I think I would have punched a lot of people a lot sooner. I just didn’t know how to react when I got home. We came straight out of a place where the enemy was everywhere, always and all around you. That problem has continued … And I live with constant visual alertness and wariness. It’s automatic. Ingrained. You scan everybody. People in shopping centres. Always checking locks on doors. It’s an ingrained reflex. I can’t switch it off. I don’t know how and we were never given the opportunity. It doesn’t switch off.

Peter Perry

Lieutenant, Royal Australian Engineers, 1st Field Squadron:

Vietnam, 1967-68

As for our Vietnam Veterans, to me they are heroes who were thrown in at the deep end. Kids fighting a war that history was always going to prove to be a waste; a different story from the one we were told when we were younger. Although my personal experiences centre around the Battle of Long Tan and I’m sure that is the reason I have such a close association with not only the battle itself but those that fought and died there as well as their families, my respect and gratitude extends to all our boys … I honestly love them. I think they know I love them and that they have my eternal respect.

Patricia ‘Little Pattie’ Amphlett

Entertainer, Australian Army

Vietnam, August 1966

The war in Vietnam impacted more than just the lives of those who were there: it toppled governments, forced changes to national policy and forever altered lives.

But what of those who were there? Was the war in Vietnam really as crazy as it seemed? And were returning service men and women truly subjected to insults from family, friends and strangers alike?

Reflections on Vietnam lays bare the real-life experiences of some of those who were there, giving insight to the effect of those experiences on those who lived through it.