Just over five hundred Australians were killed in action in the Vietnam War. Of those who returned, 280 Vietnam veterans have officially been recognised as having committed suicide. Unofficial estimates are higher; at least five hundred and perhaps over a thousand. These staggeringly high numbers are symptomatic of the treatment our governments - both Labor and Liberal - have handed out to our Vietnam vets. Official neglect has been the order of the day.
'The Battle After The War' reveals Australia's shocking treatment of its Vietnam vets. Here at last is a comprehensive account of the Agent orange controversy, the struggle of the Vietnam Veterans Association for a Royal Commission, and the commission's bitter aftermath. Now, more than ever, it is time for the plight of Vietnam veterans and their families to be fully documented. Their situation mirrors a recurring theme in Australia's military history: that of the battle by a group of out-gunned and outnumbered soldiers against a seemingly omnipotent foe. Except that in their case the omnipotent foe is our government reinforced by our bureaucracy.
