New Zealand in the Vietnam War
Encyclopedia
New Zealand's involvement in the Vietnam War
was highly controversial, sparking widespread protest at home from anti-Vietnam War movements modelled on their American counterparts. This conflict was also the first in which New Zealand did not fight alongside the United Kingdom, instead following the loyalties of the ANZUS Pact.
's cautiousness towards the entire Vietnam question. While it was recognised that New Zealand should support Vietnam, as Holyoake simply put it;
The government
preferred minimal involvement, with other South East Asian deployments already having a strain on the New Zealand armed forces. From 1961, New Zealand came under pressure from the United States of America to contribute military and economic assistance to South Vietnam , but refused. However, at that time, aircraft were tasked to deliver supplies to Tourane
on the way from RAF Changi
to Hong Kong
from time to time.
In 1962, Australia sent advisors, as the United States had, but again New Zealand refused to make a similar contribution. Instead, a detachment of Royal New Zealand Engineers
and a surgical team was sent to Vietnam, the former consisting of two officers and 20 other ranks. The Engineers were sent to the Southern Republic in a non-combatant capacity to undertake reconstruction tasks in and around the town of Thủ Dầu Một
. At the same time a small administrative headquarters was established in Saigon. These engineers would be withdrawn in 1965. The surgical team was made up of seven men and would eventually grow to sixteen, and remained in the country until 1975. The team worked for civilians at the Binh Dinh Province Hospital, in Qui Nhon
, an overcrowded, and dirty facility almost completely lacking equipment and bedding. This contingent was dispatched in June 1964.
New Zealand non-military economic assistance would continue from 1966 onwards and averaged at US$347,500 annually. This funding went to several mobile health teams to support refugee camps, the training of village vocational experts, to medical and teaching equipment for Hue University
, equipment for a technical high school and a contribution toward the construction of a science building at the University of Saigon. Private civilian funding was also donated for 80 Vietnamese students to take scholarships in New Zealand.
in a combat role. The Engineers were replaced by the Battery in July 1965, which consisted of nine officers and 101 other ranks and four 105 mm L5 pack howitzers (later increased to six, and in 1967 replaced with 105 mm M2A2 howitzers). 161 Battery was initially under command of the United States Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade based at Bien Hoa
near Saigon, but would later serve with Royal Australian Artillery field regiments when it was reassigned to the 1st Australian Task Force
at Nui Dat
, in Phuoc Tuy Province east of Saigon in June 1966. The gunners were noted for their key role in assisting the Australian 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
, during the Battle of Long Tan
, in which 18 Australians were killed holding off a regimental sized enemy force in August 1966. The Battery left Vietnam in May 1971 after providing virtually continuous fire support usually in support of Australian and New Zealand infantry units for six years, with 750 men having served with the Battery since its deployment.
In 1966, when Confrontation came to an end and Australia decided to expand the 1st Australian Task Force, New Zealand came under pressure to increase its commitment and did so. In May 1967, a 182-man rifle company, (Victor One Company) was deployed to Vietnam from the 1st Battalion of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
in Malaysia. In December Victor One was joined by Whisky One Company, also from the 1st Battalion, and they were placed under the 1st Australian Task Force's command, as part of the Royal Australian Regiment
's 2nd Battalion. In March 1968 they were integrated - forming the 2RAR/NZ (ANZAC) Battalion, with New Zealand personnel assuming various positions in the battalion, including that of second in command. The rifle companies were deployed on infantry operations in Phuoc Tuy Province and were replaced several times, usually after a 12-month tour of duty. Whiskey Three Company was withdrawn without replacement in November 1970 and Victor Six Company was withdrawn without replacement in December 1971.
New Zealand's military presence in South Vietnam
was also increased in April 1967 with the arrival of the 1st New Zealand Services Medical Team, a 19-strong tri-service detachment with the role of providing medical and surgical assistance to South Vietnamese civilians and developing local knowledge in this field. The New Zealanders relieved a United States Army medical team at Bong Son in Binh Dinh province. They also treated military casualties who were brought to the Bong Son Dispensary, including Army of the Republic of Vietnam
personnel and Viet Cong prisoners. In June 1969 the team moved to the new 100-bed Bong Son Impact Hospital. The average bed-state was 92 and approximately 46,000 outpatients (mostly civilians) were treated annually before the team's withdrawal in December 1971. In 1967 also, a Royal New Zealand Air Force
pilot was seconded to the Royal Australian Air Force
's No. 9 Squadron
, which was flying UH-1 Iroquois
helicopters as troop transports. Two more RNZAF pilots joined No. 9 Squadron in 1968 and from December 1968 two Forward air control
lers served with the Seventh Air Force
, United States Air Force
.
In November 1968, New Zealand's contribution to the 1st Australian Task Force was increased by the deployment of 4 Troop, New Zealand Special Air Service, comprising an officer and 25 other ranks. The arrival of this Troop raised New Zealand's deployment to Vietnam to its peak - 543 men. The Troop was attached to the Australian SAS Squadron
at Nui Dat and carried out long-range reconnaissance and the ambushing of enemy supply routes until being withdrawn in February 1971, having mounted 155 patrols during its deployment. As American focus shifted to President
Richard Nixon
's 'Vietnamization' - a policy of slow disengagement from the war, by gradually building up the Army of the Republic of Vietnam so that it could fight the war on its own, New Zealand dispatched the 2nd New Zealand Army Training Team Vietnam in January 1971. Numbering 25 men, it assisted the United States Army Training Team in Chi Lang
. In February 1972 a second training team, 18 strong (including two Royal New Zealand Navy
personnel), was deployed to Vietnam and was based at Dong Ba Thin, near Cam Ranh Bay
. It assisted with the training of Cambodia
n infantry battalions. This team also provided first aid instruction and specialist medical instruction at Dong Ba Thin's 50-bed hospital.
Several New Zealand units
were awarded U.S. unit citations for their service in South Vietnam.
One of the first acts of Prime Minister Norman Kirk
's Labour Party
government (elected in December 1972) was to withdraw both training teams and the New Zealand headquarters in Saigon. By then, a total of 3,890 New Zealand military personnel (volunteers) had served in Vietnam, between June 1964 and December 1972. Thirty-seven of them (36 Army and 1 RNZAF) were killed and 187 wounded. The last NZ Troops left Vietnam on 22 December 1972.
New Zealand protests were similar to those in the United States
– criticising the policies of the United States government and challenging seriously for the first time New Zealand's alliance-based security, calling for a more 'independent' foreign policy which was not submissive to that of the United States and denying that communism posed any real threat to New Zealand. Campaigns were also waged on moral grounds ranging from pacifist convictions to objections to the weapons being used to fight the war. In the early 1970s, anti-Vietnam war groups organised 'mobilisations', when thousands marched in protest against the war in all the country's major centres. While Prime Minister Holyoake and his government had their own misgivings about the viability of the war, they were consistent in their public belief that they were maintaining both New Zealand's foreign policy principles and treaty-bound obligations. Despite popular sentiment apparently against the conflict, especially in its final years, Holyoake's National Party was re-elected into government twice during the course of the war.
Protest chronology:
There were also numerous protests at Anzac Day
s, especially in Christchurch
, in which anti-war activists attempted to lay wreaths commemorating the dead of both sides, or 'victims of fascism in Vietnam'.
– the code name for a powerful herbicide and defoliant used by the U.S. military in its Herbicidal Warfare
program during the conflict. In 1984, Agent Orange manufacturers paid New Zealand, Australian and Canadian veterans in an out-of-court settlement , and in 2004 Prime Minister Helen Clark
's government apologised to Vietnam War veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange or other toxic defoliants, following a health select committee's inquiry into the use of Agent Orange on New Zealand servicemen and its effects. In 2005, the New Zealand government confirmed that it supplied Agent Orange chemicals to the United States military during the conflict.
In December 2006, the New Zealand Government, the Ex-Vietnam Services Association (EVSA) and the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association (RNZRSA) agreed to, and signed, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) following the recommendations of the Joint Working Group, designated with advocacy for Veteran's concerns. . The MoU provides formal acknowledgement of the toxic environment New Zealand Vietnam Veterans faced during their service abroad in Vietnam, and the after-effects of that toxin since the service men and women returned to New Zealand. The MoU also makes available various forms of support, to both New Zealand Vietnam Veterans and their families. . New Zealand writer and historian, Deborah Challinor, includes a new chapter in her second edition release of Grey Ghosts: New Zealand Vietnam Veterans Talk About Their War that discusses the handling of the New Zealand Vietnam Veterans' claims, including the Reeves, McLeod and Health Committee reports, and the reconciliation/welcome parade on Queen's Birthday Weekend, 2008, also known as 'Tribute 08'.
From 1962 until 1987, the 2,4,5T herbicide was manufactured at an Ivon Watkins-Dow plant in Paritutu, New Plymouth
which was then shipped to U.S. military bases in South East Asia. There have been continuing claims that the suburb of Paritutu has also been polluted.
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
was highly controversial, sparking widespread protest at home from anti-Vietnam War movements modelled on their American counterparts. This conflict was also the first in which New Zealand did not fight alongside the United Kingdom, instead following the loyalties of the ANZUS Pact.
Initial contributions
New Zealand's initial response was carefully considered and characterised by Prime Minister Keith HolyoakeKeith Holyoake
Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, KG, GCMG, CH, QSO, KStJ was a New Zealand politician. The only person to have been both Prime Minister and Governor-General of New Zealand, Holyoake was National Party Prime Minister from 20 September 1957 to 12 December 1957, then again from 12 December 1960 to 7...
's cautiousness towards the entire Vietnam question. While it was recognised that New Zealand should support Vietnam, as Holyoake simply put it;
- "Whose will is to prevail in South Vietnam? The imposed will of the North VietnamNorth VietnamThe Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
ese communistsCommunismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and their agents, or the freely expressed will of the people of South VietnamSouth VietnamSouth Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
?"
The government
Second National Government of New Zealand
The Second National Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 1960 to 1972. It was a conservative government which sought mainly to preserve the economic prosperity and general stability of the early 1960s...
preferred minimal involvement, with other South East Asian deployments already having a strain on the New Zealand armed forces. From 1961, New Zealand came under pressure from the United States of America to contribute military and economic assistance to South Vietnam , but refused. However, at that time, aircraft were tasked to deliver supplies to Tourane
Da Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
on the way from RAF Changi
Changi Airbase (West)
The Changi Air Base , or Changi West Complex is a military airbase located in Changi to the eastern tip of Singapore, in reference to the existing facilities of Changi Air Base. It was named as such on 29 November 2004 after the opening of a new eastern facility that same day...
to Hong Kong
RAF Kai Tak
RAF Kai Tak was a Royal Air Force station in Hong Kong. It was opened in 1927 and used for seaplanes. The RAF flight operated a few land based aircraft as well as having spare aircraft for naval units.-History:...
from time to time.
In 1962, Australia sent advisors, as the United States had, but again New Zealand refused to make a similar contribution. Instead, a detachment of Royal New Zealand Engineers
Corps of Royal New Zealand Engineers
The 2nd Engineer Regiment is housed in Linton Military Camp that is situated approximately 10 km South of the City of Palmerston North. Raised on the 1st of July 1993 the Regiment is the only major military engineer Unit in the New Zealand Army. Linton Camp has been known throughout the Army...
and a surgical team was sent to Vietnam, the former consisting of two officers and 20 other ranks. The Engineers were sent to the Southern Republic in a non-combatant capacity to undertake reconstruction tasks in and around the town of Thủ Dầu Một
Thu Dau Mot
Thủ Dầu Một is the capital town of Binh Duong province, Vietnam. It is located at around .The town has an area of 88 km², population is 158,000, and is located 20 km north of downtown Ho Chi Minh City, on the left bank of the Saigon River, upstream from Ho Chi Minh City...
. At the same time a small administrative headquarters was established in Saigon. These engineers would be withdrawn in 1965. The surgical team was made up of seven men and would eventually grow to sixteen, and remained in the country until 1975. The team worked for civilians at the Binh Dinh Province Hospital, in Qui Nhon
Qui Nhon
Qui Nhơn , also Quy Nhơn, is a coastal city in Binh Dinh province in central Vietnam. It is composed of 16 wards and five communes with a total of 286 km². Quy Nhon is the capital of Bình Định province. As of 2009 its population was 280,900. Historically, the commercial activities of the city...
, an overcrowded, and dirty facility almost completely lacking equipment and bedding. This contingent was dispatched in June 1964.
New Zealand non-military economic assistance would continue from 1966 onwards and averaged at US$347,500 annually. This funding went to several mobile health teams to support refugee camps, the training of village vocational experts, to medical and teaching equipment for Hue University
Hue University
Huế University is a university located in Huế, the former imperial capital of Vietnam; this university is one of the important regional universities of Vietnam...
, equipment for a technical high school and a contribution toward the construction of a science building at the University of Saigon. Private civilian funding was also donated for 80 Vietnamese students to take scholarships in New Zealand.
Military assistance
American pressure continued for New Zealand to contribute military assistance, as the United States would be deploying combat units (as opposed to merely advisors) itself soon, as would Australia. Holyoake justified New Zealand's lack of assistance by pointing to its military contribution to the Indonesia-Malaysian Confrontation, but eventually the government decided to contribute It was seen as in the nation's best interests to do so—failure to contribute even a token force to the effort in Vietnam would have undermined New Zealand's position in ANZUS and could have had an adverse effect on the alliance itself. New Zealand had also established its post-Second World War security agenda around countering communism in South-East Asia and of sustaining a strategy of forward defence, and so needed to be seen to be acting upon these principles. On 27 May 1965 Holyoake announced the government's decision to send 161 Battery, Royal New Zealand Artillery to South VietnamSouth Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
in a combat role. The Engineers were replaced by the Battery in July 1965, which consisted of nine officers and 101 other ranks and four 105 mm L5 pack howitzers (later increased to six, and in 1967 replaced with 105 mm M2A2 howitzers). 161 Battery was initially under command of the United States Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade based at Bien Hoa
Bien Hoa
Biên Hòa is a city in Dong Nai province, Vietnam, about east of Ho Chi Minh City , to which Bien Hoa is linked by Vietnam Highway 1.- Demographics :In 1989 the estimated population was over 300,000. In 2005, the population wss 541,495...
near Saigon, but would later serve with Royal Australian Artillery field regiments when it was reassigned to the 1st Australian Task Force
1st Australian Task Force
The 1st Australian Task Force commanded the Australian and New Zealand Army units deployed to South Vietnam between 1966 and 1972. 1 ATF was based at Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province...
at Nui Dat
Nui Dat
Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province was the location of a prominent Australian military base in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The site was chosen by Lieutenant General John Wilton in 1966 and was built mainly by men from the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment...
, in Phuoc Tuy Province east of Saigon in June 1966. The gunners were noted for their key role in assisting the Australian 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
Royal Australian Regiment
The Royal Australian Regiment is the parent regiment for regular infantry battalions of the Australian Army and is the senior infantry regiment of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps...
, during the Battle of Long Tan
Battle of Long Tan
The Battle of Long Tân was fought between the Australian Army and Viet Cong forces in a rubber plantation near the village of Long Tân, about north east of Vũng Tàu, South Vietnam...
, in which 18 Australians were killed holding off a regimental sized enemy force in August 1966. The Battery left Vietnam in May 1971 after providing virtually continuous fire support usually in support of Australian and New Zealand infantry units for six years, with 750 men having served with the Battery since its deployment.
In 1966, when Confrontation came to an end and Australia decided to expand the 1st Australian Task Force, New Zealand came under pressure to increase its commitment and did so. In May 1967, a 182-man rifle company, (Victor One Company) was deployed to Vietnam from the 1st Battalion of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
The Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment is the main combat unit in the regular New Zealand Army. It was formed 9 January 1947 as the New Zealand Regiment with a single infantry battalion as part of the newly created infantry corps....
in Malaysia. In December Victor One was joined by Whisky One Company, also from the 1st Battalion, and they were placed under the 1st Australian Task Force's command, as part of the Royal Australian Regiment
Royal Australian Regiment
The Royal Australian Regiment is the parent regiment for regular infantry battalions of the Australian Army and is the senior infantry regiment of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps...
's 2nd Battalion. In March 1968 they were integrated - forming the 2RAR/NZ (ANZAC) Battalion, with New Zealand personnel assuming various positions in the battalion, including that of second in command. The rifle companies were deployed on infantry operations in Phuoc Tuy Province and were replaced several times, usually after a 12-month tour of duty. Whiskey Three Company was withdrawn without replacement in November 1970 and Victor Six Company was withdrawn without replacement in December 1971.
New Zealand's military presence in South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
was also increased in April 1967 with the arrival of the 1st New Zealand Services Medical Team, a 19-strong tri-service detachment with the role of providing medical and surgical assistance to South Vietnamese civilians and developing local knowledge in this field. The New Zealanders relieved a United States Army medical team at Bong Son in Binh Dinh province. They also treated military casualties who were brought to the Bong Son Dispensary, including Army of the Republic of Vietnam
Army of the Republic of Vietnam
The Army of the Republic of Viet Nam , sometimes parsimoniously referred to as the South Vietnamese Army , was the land-based military forces of the Republic of Vietnam , which existed from October 26, 1955 until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975...
personnel and Viet Cong prisoners. In June 1969 the team moved to the new 100-bed Bong Son Impact Hospital. The average bed-state was 92 and approximately 46,000 outpatients (mostly civilians) were treated annually before the team's withdrawal in December 1971. In 1967 also, a Royal New Zealand Air Force
Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
pilot was seconded to the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
's No. 9 Squadron
No. 9 Squadron RAAF
No. 9 Squadron was a unit of the Royal Australian Air Force. The Squadron saw active service in World War II and the Vietnam War before being disbanded in 1989.-Fleet co-operation:...
, which was flying UH-1 Iroquois
UH-1 Iroquois
The Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a military helicopter powered by a single, turboshaft engine, with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor. The helicopter was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet the United States Army's requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter in 1952, and first flew...
helicopters as troop transports. Two more RNZAF pilots joined No. 9 Squadron in 1968 and from December 1968 two Forward air control
Forward air control
Forward air control is the provision of guidance to Close Air Support aircraft intended to ensure that their attack hits the intended target and does not injure friendly troops. This task is carried out by a forward air controller . For NATO forces the qualifications and experience required to be...
lers served with the Seventh Air Force
Seventh Air Force
The Seventh Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea....
, United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
.
In November 1968, New Zealand's contribution to the 1st Australian Task Force was increased by the deployment of 4 Troop, New Zealand Special Air Service, comprising an officer and 25 other ranks. The arrival of this Troop raised New Zealand's deployment to Vietnam to its peak - 543 men. The Troop was attached to the Australian SAS Squadron
Australian Special Air Service Regiment
The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR but commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army...
at Nui Dat and carried out long-range reconnaissance and the ambushing of enemy supply routes until being withdrawn in February 1971, having mounted 155 patrols during its deployment. As American focus shifted to President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
's 'Vietnamization' - a policy of slow disengagement from the war, by gradually building up the Army of the Republic of Vietnam so that it could fight the war on its own, New Zealand dispatched the 2nd New Zealand Army Training Team Vietnam in January 1971. Numbering 25 men, it assisted the United States Army Training Team in Chi Lang
Chi Lang
Chi Lang is a district of Lang Son Province in the Northeastern region of Vietnam.As of 2003 the district had a population of 77,910. The district covers an area of 703 km². The district capital lies at Dong Mo....
. In February 1972 a second training team, 18 strong (including two Royal New Zealand Navy
Royal New Zealand Navy
The Royal New Zealand Navy is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
personnel), was deployed to Vietnam and was based at Dong Ba Thin, near Cam Ranh Bay
Cam Ranh Bay
Cam Ranh Bay is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in the province of Khánh Hòa. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kilometers / 180 miles northeast of Hồ Chí Minh City / Saigon.Cam Ranh is...
. It assisted with the training of Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
n infantry battalions. This team also provided first aid instruction and specialist medical instruction at Dong Ba Thin's 50-bed hospital.
Several New Zealand units
Non-U.S. recipients of U.S. gallantry awards
-Individual Awards for Valor:Other than the awards to unknown soldiers of World War I, the Medal of Honor, the highest United States valor decoration, has not been awarded to a non-U.S. recipient. The highest valor decoration which non-U.S. individuals may receive is the service crosses of the...
were awarded U.S. unit citations for their service in South Vietnam.
Withdrawal
In line with reductions in American and Australian strength in Vietnam, New Zealand began the gradual withdrawal of its combat forces as the training teams were arriving. Prime Minister Holyoake said in 1971 that New Zealand's combat forces would be withdrawn by "about the end of this year," and they were - Whiskey Three Company went in November 1970, the SAS Troop and 161 Battery followed in February and May 1971 respectively, and Victor Six Company and the tri-service medical team left with the 1st Australian Task Force in December 1971, ending New Zealand's combat involvement in the Vietnam War,this may have been due to protests in New Zealand.One of the first acts of Prime Minister Norman Kirk
Norman Kirk
Norman Eric Kirk was the 29th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974. He led the Parliamentary wing of the New Zealand Labour Party from 1965 to 1974. He was the fourth Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand, but the first to be born in New Zealand...
's Labour Party
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
government (elected in December 1972) was to withdraw both training teams and the New Zealand headquarters in Saigon. By then, a total of 3,890 New Zealand military personnel (volunteers) had served in Vietnam, between June 1964 and December 1972. Thirty-seven of them (36 Army and 1 RNZAF) were killed and 187 wounded. The last NZ Troops left Vietnam on 22 December 1972.
Protest
Although New Zealand's involvement in the war was very limited compared to the contributions of some of its allies, it still triggered a large anti-Vietnam War movement at home.New Zealand protests were similar to those in the United States
Opposition to the Vietnam War
The movement against US involvment in the in Vietnam War began in the United States with demonstrations in 1964 and grew in strength in later years. The US became polarized between those who advocated continued involvement in Vietnam, and those who wanted peace. Peace movements consisted largely of...
– criticising the policies of the United States government and challenging seriously for the first time New Zealand's alliance-based security, calling for a more 'independent' foreign policy which was not submissive to that of the United States and denying that communism posed any real threat to New Zealand. Campaigns were also waged on moral grounds ranging from pacifist convictions to objections to the weapons being used to fight the war. In the early 1970s, anti-Vietnam war groups organised 'mobilisations', when thousands marched in protest against the war in all the country's major centres. While Prime Minister Holyoake and his government had their own misgivings about the viability of the war, they were consistent in their public belief that they were maintaining both New Zealand's foreign policy principles and treaty-bound obligations. Despite popular sentiment apparently against the conflict, especially in its final years, Holyoake's National Party was re-elected into government twice during the course of the war.
Protest chronology:
- 1967: 21 arrests during an Auckland protest against the visit of South Vietnam’s Premier, Air Vice-Marshal KyNguyen Cao KyNguyễn Cao Kỳ served as the chief of the Vietnam Air Force in the 1960s, before leading the nation as the prime minister of South Vietnam in a military junta from 1965 to 1967...
. - 1967: A big fight between police and protesters outside the home of the American consul at Paritai Drive in Auckland
- 1969: Flour bombs, paint and eggs thrown in protest over a visit of a high-ranking United States politician
- 1969: Fire crackers thrown at an election meeting addressed by the Prime Minister with 30 arrests.
- 1970 January 15: US Vice president Spiro AgnewSpiro AgnewSpiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Richard Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland...
arrives in Auckland as part of a goodwill visit to US Allied SE Asian nations and is greeted by several hundred anti war protesters. The protests turned violent after police attempted to disperse protesters, both sides blamed each other for the violence which resulted in many arrests and the first violent modern protest in New Zealand history before the 1981 Springbok Tour1981 Springbok TourThe 1981 South African rugby union tour of New Zealand was a controversial tour of New Zealand by the South Africa national rugby union team, known as "the Springboks"...
. - 1971: Protests in Dunedin reached the National Party's convention in the centre of the city, resulting in scuffles with police and two arrests and on 30 April, Nationwide anti-war demonstration attracts 30000 people to the streets demanding New Zealand's immediate withdrawal from Vietnam.
There were also numerous protests at Anzac Day
ANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
s, especially in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, in which anti-war activists attempted to lay wreaths commemorating the dead of both sides, or 'victims of fascism in Vietnam'.
Agent Orange
Like veterans from many of the other allied nations, as well as Vietnamese civilians, New Zealand veterans of the Vietnam War claimed that they (as well as their children and grandchildren) had suffered serious harm as a result of exposure to Agent OrangeAgent Orange
Agent Orange is the code name for one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. Vietnam estimates 400,000 people were killed or maimed, and 500,000 children born with birth...
– the code name for a powerful herbicide and defoliant used by the U.S. military in its Herbicidal Warfare
Herbicidal warfare
Herbicidal warfare is a form of Chemical warfare in which the objective is to destroy the plant-based ecosystem of an area. In contrast to other forms, its use is not prohibited by international agreement...
program during the conflict. In 1984, Agent Orange manufacturers paid New Zealand, Australian and Canadian veterans in an out-of-court settlement , and in 2004 Prime Minister Helen Clark
Helen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...
's government apologised to Vietnam War veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange or other toxic defoliants, following a health select committee's inquiry into the use of Agent Orange on New Zealand servicemen and its effects. In 2005, the New Zealand government confirmed that it supplied Agent Orange chemicals to the United States military during the conflict.
In December 2006, the New Zealand Government, the Ex-Vietnam Services Association (EVSA) and the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association (RNZRSA) agreed to, and signed, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) following the recommendations of the Joint Working Group, designated with advocacy for Veteran's concerns. . The MoU provides formal acknowledgement of the toxic environment New Zealand Vietnam Veterans faced during their service abroad in Vietnam, and the after-effects of that toxin since the service men and women returned to New Zealand. The MoU also makes available various forms of support, to both New Zealand Vietnam Veterans and their families. . New Zealand writer and historian, Deborah Challinor, includes a new chapter in her second edition release of Grey Ghosts: New Zealand Vietnam Veterans Talk About Their War that discusses the handling of the New Zealand Vietnam Veterans' claims, including the Reeves, McLeod and Health Committee reports, and the reconciliation/welcome parade on Queen's Birthday Weekend, 2008, also known as 'Tribute 08'.
From 1962 until 1987, the 2,4,5T herbicide was manufactured at an Ivon Watkins-Dow plant in Paritutu, New Plymouth
New Plymouth
New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated....
which was then shipped to U.S. military bases in South East Asia. There have been continuing claims that the suburb of Paritutu has also been polluted.
External links
- VietnamWar.govt.nz - includes resources, ideas for teachers, a veterans' roll and a place to contribute memories and images
- New Zealand and the Vietnam War (NZHistory.net.nz)