What impact did the media portrayal of the Vietnam War have on the Australian national identity?

    

The Vietnam War was mainly seen as an American conflict although Australia followed them into the war. Australia’s involvement began in 1965 until 1975 when they were withdrawn. Australia’s involvement shaped the general public’s vision of what conflict involving Australian soldiers and changed what they had thought of the ANZAC legend. Memory to conflict could be selective and maybe politically motivated depending on the organisation who was distributing the information. In previous wars, a legend was created like when Charles Bean created the Anzac Book. This created a legend about those who served during the First World War and would have had an impact on how people viewed soldiers. The purpose of the Vietnam War was for the spread of communism to be stopped in its tracks. The media followed in the footsteps of both countries and with nearly free reign began reporting the war from their perspective both at home and in Vietnam. The war in Vietnam was the first war where the public could view images from the conflict in their living rooms from their Televisions. Australia during this time had their White Australia policy, which made the country worried especially when the country was mainly Anglo Saxon and Asia was on their doorstep. Vietnam was the first of many wars, where technology would be used for reporting wars.

   The idea for war in Vietnam was to prevent communism from spreading as the general thought was if one country fell then other countries in Asia would fall to communism. During this time America was in battle with The Soviet Union who was trying spreading their communist ideals throughout the world. Both countries were nuclear powers during the Cold War and both were waiting for the other to launch nuclear strikes against each other. The Cold War had begun not long after the Second World had ended and the allies were occupying Germany. During the Cold War several hot wars occurred during this time. One was the Korean War, which Australians had participated and the other was the Vietnam War, where Australia also followed America. War in Vietnam was nothing new as the history of the country had a reputation of being conquered by many races and nationalities within its history. China had both invaded Vietnam through its many dynasties along with the French who had come later. All would eventually be repelled and America would be the next group to visit the country in the name of conquest and to prevent an ideal called communism to stop spreading. The cold war was one of two events which was occurring during the same time and was when European empires had begun decolonising in Asia.

  People’s perspective of war in their minds was of something brave and heroic. The battle between good and evil was supposed to be one where the good were always victorious. The Television broadcasts of the Vietnam War changed people’s minds and showed them the reality of what war was actually like. They were shown the harsh reality of what was really occurring. Images published and shown on TV are seen to for a perspective of what the promoter wants the viewer to see or remember and then views a memory and an association with an event especially during wars. Memory of an event occurred, when the US wanted to send soldiers to Vietnam was actually manipulated and had not occurred at all. The Americans wanted an event where they could send the military so a story was fabricated of their ships being attacked when they had actually not been, although the media had been manipulated during the time. The event became a national memory. The Cold War during this time was something America had been fighting with communism. The knowledge of Vietnam and the war in Australia was very limited in the way the public interpreted them. In 1968 ninety five percent of Australians had access Television set either at home or elsewhere.

  The first people to be sent to Vietnam from Australia were combat advisors who would train the Vietnamese soldiers in jungle warfare that Australia had learnt while they were in Malaya. The advisors also known as the Australian Army Training Team were in Vietnam to help in the defeat of communism. It had not been until later when armed soldiers went to Vietnam as the advisors were actually unarmed combatants. When Australian troops were sent to Vietnam, several newspapers asked the general public about their opinion of the war. Different newspapers asked the public at various locations throughout the country. The newspapers found mixed responses and many people who did not have any idea of what was going on within the country and even where it was actually located. Some people who replied they did read the papers were not concerned about what was occurring overseas or did not even know about the war. The newspaper surveys found there was a need for better communication when informing the public not only from the news, but through the government too.

  One newspaper ‘The Australian’ was mainly against the war in Vietnam from the beginning and sending Australian troops to the country. The newspaper continued its stance throughout the entire time Australia was in Vietnam. Other Australian newspapers were happy to send troops over to Vietnam and supported the government’s decision. The only fear the media hid hold about America was if Australia would be abandoned by her ally if Australia didn’t fulfil obligations or commitments when we may need help in later years when needed. Television did open up different styles of reporting the war to the rest of the world especially Australia. The media in Australia asked questions in newspaper editorials about sending support to Vietnam, but did not seek out answers to their questions, which had been asked. Vietnam War was known as the television war or living room war. The public influenced by images that were directed to their TV as they were able to access images of the war quickly than in previous generations. The media during this time mainly had near free reign during the war and not all journalists were experienced in reporting about war.

  The American media was seen as a force of manipulation to events during the war. They were actually accused of being the force behind the Americans withdrawing from Vietnam and the war being lost. Many people who reported the war had no experience and actually ignored certain aspects of events which were occurring. Photos were seen as an important part of the war by bringing a visual representation back to the newspaper reading public. Some events where the media had witnessed something occurring like a monk in Vietnam burning himself in protest where they could have prevented did not. The reporter commented about the event “He could have as a human, but as a reporter he could not become involved with politics in another country”. Newspapers published pictures of Vietnam that became see as the war. The public associated images of war with true events although they interpreted the image to what they had thought it to be and not the entire event. The entire war from beginning to start war played out in the media outlets especially through the newspapers within Australia. As a nation people remember events differently or are influenced by through popular culture and even by the media. The memory during the Vietnam War was influenced largely by the media bombarding people at home with images of both the protests and what was happening outside the country as well. Events can be manipulated in such a form that only certain parts remain in memory especially when used with audio visual.

  Protestors of the Vietnam War used several incidents of events which had occurred under command of Australian soldiers. One of these events was the alleged water torture, where a female Vietcong soldier was tortured by Australian soldiers. Some of the anti war protestors used this event to attack the myth of the Aussie ANZAC. Various protest groups gathered for a mass protest called a moratorium, which had been successful in America. The first Moratorium was held on the eight of May in 1970. This was a peaceful march and riots had been expected in the cities although none occurred. People were surprised at the numbers that did appear in the cities especially in Melbourne where between 50,000 to 100,000 people attended. Myth through the Vietnam War has been something that triggers the collective national memory. One of these is images of protest movements or the deliberate exclusion of an actual even to make it seem something that it was not. When the American president was in the city of Melbourne his car was covered in paint by several protestors who were amongst the crowd welcoming him. Images of the painted vehicle circled the world. Another was of one woman during a march for returned soldiers. She covered herself in red paint and smeared some paint on several soldier. Memory of the crowds and the march are drowned out and replaced by those of a woman covered in paint.

  Movies can be influential in providing memories of events especially when one person was recording another’s memories of a war and found the events being played out were actually from a movie and not his own memories. Movies about wars like Vietnam can portray people differently on screen than what it is like in Real life. The hero who is misunderstood or who wants to fit in do what is expected of them like Rambo, movies create a myth about what happened during events which have occurred. Popular culture during the Vietnam War flourished and affected public memory of events especially when influenced by Hollywood films and war novels about the conflicts. Many were from America especially films which stared celebrities like John Wayne who was more known for his western films. The movies did lead to other literature to being written by Veterans of the conflict. The experiences in Vietnam during and after the war did emerge amongst Australians create their own version through popular culture that played with the national memory. Many ideas and movies came from America, although several bands performed songs they created about the Vietnam experience. Bands like Redgum and Cold Chisel sang songs like ‘I was only 19’ and ‘Khe Sanh’ dedicated to the veterans and events which took place. The images used by Redgum were actually of American events and not totally Australian. The use of popular culture helped the veterans on the road to recognition.

  Attendance during ANZAC Day during the 1960s and 1970s was at an all time low during the Vietnam War. The sights and sounds of the Vietnam War, which was associated with the Australian was actually an American public memory. When the veterans to Vietnam returned from service they were treated differently to those who had served in the two world wars. They never rose to the legendary status of the Anzac and were either ignored or seen as problems that could be ignored. Around ten years after the Vietnam War the healing process for the veterans had actually begun when Welcome Home marches in the cities of Sydney and Melbourne were used as recognition to those who had served. It was not until 1992, when a national memorial in Canberra had been constructed. Smaller memorials and plaques had been appearing since 1982 in towns across Australia. Vietnam War memorials have increased since the 1980s. There are many monuments dedicated to the Vietnam War throughout the country. The soldiers who served during the war have been dedicated during the ANZAC day parades and the battle of Long Tan is commemorated every year. The official history of the Vietnam War has recently been published through the Australian War Memorial, which would cover all aspects of the conflict.

  Technology since the Vietnam War has changed especially the style of reporting than the use of the media. The mass media saturation exposure of an event like the Gulf War provided live viewing on events from the actual battle field until later events where new techniques were used like blogs and direct access to hot spots with both sides playing the game. Lessons learned from the war in Vietnam that there was a need for the military to explain their roles to the public clearly. Information to be clearly communicated to the public did tend to change when there was a conflict in communication between the reporting of events in Vietnam and from what Parliament house was sending out, which caused confusion amongst the public. Australia’s role in Vietnam can also be seen in future wars that include the American government. One would be the involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan when Australia joined in to help hunt down weapons of mass destruction and terrorist cells. Australia follows America even though would be seen later that the public and media were lead to believe there was something dangerous when there was not. The media in the later conflicts were fed information and censured to make sure that the military could control some aspect of their involvement. 

   Australian and overseas media were used during the events of the Vietnam War to push agendas and create memories of events. Motivation and reasons to send soldiers into war were used by governments to explain why. The time of the Vietnam War was when the Cold War in America was in full swing and their war against communism. The media’s role during the war in Vietnam was in bringing images straight to the living rooms of people back home. After the war popular culture played its part with restoring the reputation of the soldiers who had served overseas and the public accepted the service men as the war they had viewed was different to what they had believed in their minds how they perceived war. Pictures and video told stories to people of events which have become part of the national memory to the war. Many of these images, which Australians perceived as their own were actually from American events. The technology the media used evolved since Vietnam until the internet and live streaming became part of the war experience, which is well known today and accepted. Each war brings new memories the general public recognises as being part of that conflict, which has occurred. Memories of events are not part of war either as larger events could be depicted by a single event like protests amongst dignitaries from other countries being welcomed or events influencing the public and major events occurring at home like criminal trials.

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