The way soldiers returned from Vietnam had a bearing on how they recovered from the war, according to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
Those who arrived late at night to no fanfare and the seeming indifference of the military had more trouble adjusting to life at home than those whose return was more public and who had had the benefit of a couple of weeks unwinding on board HMAS Sydney before reaching Australia.
When a battalion sailed into the country aboard the Sydney, the ship was often met by the Minister for the Army, the Chief of the General Staff and other local dignitaries. Those who had just sailed in from Vietnam usually received a parade within hours of their return. However, those who came home in small groups, by aircraft, often arrived at night to little fanfare.
In 1980, some veterans formed the Vietnam Veterans’ Action Association which later became the Vietnam Veterans’ Association of Australia (VVAA).
Established partly as a crisis counselling service and as a vehicle through which to prosecute a case for veterans claiming to suffer from the effects of herbicides and defoliants, the VVAA has played an important role in the lives of some veterans.
By 1987 Vietnam veterans were given a welcome home parade in Sydney. Some 25,000 marched to the cheers of several hundred thousand onlookers.
Five years later, in 1992, a National Memorial for the Vietnam War was unveiled on Canberra’s Anzac Parade.
These gestures meant a great deal to veterans and signalled an acceptance of Vietnam veterans that many had not felt before.
