According to RSL NSW, the Vietnam War was the cause of the greatest social and political dissent in Australia since the conscription referendums of the First World War.
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Many draft resisters, conscientious objectors, and protesters were fined or gaoled, while soldiers met a hostile reception on their return home.
The war was the longest 20th century conflict Australians participated in, involving 60,000 Australian men and more than 500 women.
Initially a group of 30 ‘training team’ advisers went to Vietnam in 1962. However as pressure for an increased Australian commitment grew, participation increased to include a battalion in 1965 and finally, in 1966, a task force.
More than 500 Australians were killed in the Vietnam War (Army 478, RAN 8, RAAF 14) or listed as missing presumed dead, and 3,131 were wounded.
The war ended in 1972 but a limited number of personnel remained until 1975 assisting refugees almost until the moment of South Vietnam's surrender.
