Vets will not forget the abuse

DECADES have passed since Australian soldiers returned from Vietnam and the scars from their mistreatment at the hands of their communities are still fresh.

Nearly 60,000 Australian men and women served in the Vietnam War between 1962 and 1975, including 521 who lost their lives and more than 3000 who were wounded.

A memorial service for Vietnam Veterans Day will be held at the Thuringowa Cenotaph at Riverway this Sunday at 4pm.

The 50th anniversary of the Battle of Binh Ba will also be acknowledged.

Vietnam veterans can still recall the disgraceful abuse they received when they arrived back home.

These were young men, many in their late teens and early twenties who had lost their mates in combat, and limbs to insidious mines.

Despite their age, the ridicule and abuse they faced is still etched in their memories, alongside being spat on, booed at in the streets at marches, and having paint thrown on them.

I can’t begin to imagine the anguish they felt and the war they fought within themselves as they struggled to integrate back into society without the support of the wider community.

This was exacerbated for the national servicemen who didn’t return to the familiarity of the barracks or sympathetic fellow personnel, but had to become civilians again and erase all signs of their military service.

Questioning Australia’s involvement in overseas conflicts is valid and important, but what should never be contested is support for the men and women we send to serve in them.

The people who demonstrated against the deployment of troops to Vietnam had every right to express their political views.

Where they were wrong, was their rejection of the Australians coming back home.

Vietnam will not be the last unpopular war with low public approval, but we should reflect upon our treatment of its veterans, and make sure we are doing better by the 5000 people leaving the ADF every year.