"Australians were supportive of Menzies Governments' decision to send troops to Vietnam in support of President Diem's Resistance of Ho Chi Ming. To what extent is this true?".
The Vietnam War was fought to support our alliance with the US and in the effort to stop the spread of communism. The war lasted from 1965-1972 during this period changes and support of the war changed and became less throughout the years. Political groups, social and religious groups all shaped the public's support of the war. Views of Save Our Sons, the Catholic Church and Menzies Government will be focused on in the text. Menzies view on the Vietnam War was that at all costs it had to be fought by Australians and won, he greatly supported the war against communism that it was to neutralize the threat and to serve our alliance with the US under the ANZUS treaty. Australian citizens were influenced to believe this way of thinking as well. Menzies had a strong belief in the domino theory that would take place if South Vietnam wasn't handled properly. In a quote from the commonwealth parliamentary debates on the 21st of April 1965, Menzies states "I subscribe to the Domino theorybecause I believe it obviousthat if war ends with some compromise that denies South Vietnam a real and well protected independence, Laos and Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia will be vulnerablehas formidable realities to Australia". IN this quote it shows how committed Menzies was to this idea of a domino effect, he persuaded the genre public to also adopt this way of thinking. On the 28th of April 1965 announced a battalion of Australian troops would be sent to Vietnam to help the conflict and to protect life in Australia as they knew it from the heat of communism. In Menzies speech announcing this he says "Providing guarantees and assurances of our securitythe takeover of South Vietnam would be a direct military threat to Australia".