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The first troops to return from Vietnam to New Zealand
were given the traditional military parade through a New Zealand city.
The protest movement showered the returning soldiers with abuse and
rotten fruit and subsequent returning soldiers did not receive a returning
parade.
In 1998 the government decided to hold a parade in
Wellington for Vietnam War veterans, and many of the veterans attended a
weekend of rememberences.
The section After The War was written prior to this parade and
reflects the apprehension many of these veterans felt at attending the
parade. In fact New Zealanders turned out in thousands to acknowledge the
contribution those who volunteered to serve in Vietnam. There
were the veterans and their families, families representing those who lost
their lives in Vietnam, families that came to acknowledge those who served
in the forgotten war and some anti-war protest groups.
An exhibition that accompanied the parade provided an opportunity for
people to express thoughts about the war and the role of those who
volunteered and thousands of comments were received. Many of the veterans
who attended the parade and read the comments on the exhibition have
indicated that the event was significant in bringing about some healing to
the issues raised by New Zealanders' attitudes to those who served.
Have your students read the pages After The War and
identify the significant issues the returning veterans faced.
Have your students use the internet and other sources to conduct
some research into:
- the effects of chemicals such as Agent Orange and the issues faced
by American and New Zealand veterans to receive recognition of the
health issues they and their families faced
- the issues involved for New Zealand veterans
to receive support for psychological injuries from the war
- the consequences for families of the returning veterans
- the impact of the attitudes New Zealanders showed to returning
Vietnam veterans
- the responsibility governments and armed forces have for
ensuring returning combat forces receive appropriate
counseling and treatment to process the effects of their war
time experiences.
Popular Culture Activity
This material has been produced by UNITEC Institute of Technology
under contract to the Ministry of Education.
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