Mark Dapin - Australias Vietnam: Myth vs history

Australias Vietnam

MARKDAPIN is the author of The Nashos War, which won the Peoples Choice Award and an Alex Buzo Shortlist Prize at the NIB Awards and was shortlisted for the NSW Premiers Literary Award for Non-Fiction. His most recent military history book, Jewish Anzacs, has been highly praised. His novel Spirit House, based on the experience of Second World War POWs on the Burma Railway, was longlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award in Australia and shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literatures Ondaatje Prize in the UK. Dapin is also the editor of the Penguin Book of Australian War Writing. He lives in Sydney, where he works as a journalist and historian.

Australias Vietnam
Myth vs History
Mark Dapin

A NewSouth book

Published by

NewSouth Publishing

University of New South Wales Press Ltd

University of New South Wales

Sydney NSW 2052

AUSTRALIA

newsouthpublishing.com

Mark Dapin 2019

First published 2019

This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this book may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Inquiries should be addressed to the publisher.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of Australia

ISBN 9781742236360 (paperback)

9781742244525 (ebook)

9781742248981 (ePDF)

Design Avril Makula

Cover design Peter Long

Cover image Vietnam war Australian troops returned from Vietnam march through Brisbane, Queensland, 12 November 1970. National Archives of Australia, NAA: A1500, K26967

All reasonable efforts were taken to obtain permission to use copyright material reproduced in this book, but in some cases copyright could not be traced. The author welcomes information in this regard.

This book is printed on paper using fibre supplied from plantation or sustainably managed forests.

Contents

In the way of a good story
The myths I helped to make

I want 15,381 volunteers: you, you, you, you, you, you
The myth of the volunteer in Vietnam

And the winner is
The myth of the rigged ballot

Like thieves in the night
The myth of no welcome home parades

Looking for atrocities in all the wrong places
The myth of Australias My Lai

Seething from a jet plane
The myth of airport demonstrations

Rapists and Baby killers!
Myths of blood, spit and jeers

You calling me a liar?
Myth vs history conclusions

Interviews with a vampire
The myth of my dad and other final thoughts

Abbreviations

Dedication

This book is partially based on my doctoral thesis. My supervisor, Professor Jeffrey Grey, was probably the finest military historian in Australia. On the morning I submitted the final abstract of the thesis for his approval, Jeff died.

He was 57 years old.

When I first approached Jeff at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) he clearly thought I was an idiot. He only changed his mind when my novel Spirit House was longlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award. With this, I seemed to transform in his eyes from a complete idiot to a near-complete-idiot-with-one-single-redeeming-talent. This, I suspect, put me ahead of 90 per cent of humanity.

Jeff finally accepted me as a student but when I turned up to enrol, I couldnt find his office. I was discovered wandering vacantly around the campus by an academic from another faculty, who asked if I were a member of staff or a postgraduate student. When I told him Jeff was my supervisor, the stranger lightly touched my arm and said, You dont have to spend much time with your supervisor, you know. I hardly ever saw mine. Youll probably be alright.