The Allied war effort in Indochina (the French colonies of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam) was a war of aggression which allowed many millions of US dollars of arms sales. All allied service men that I cam into contact with did their duties to the best of their abilities. As an Australian serving with the First Battalion Royal Australian Regiment in Vietnam during 1968 - 1969, I feel that it is my duty to inform readers of how the Australian infantry soldiers saw the war and how they felt about fighting the Vietnamese. Because of the fact that this story is so vast, I am splitting the full story into two volumes. "A Gracious Enemy & After the War Volume One cover events in Indochina from 1770 to 1975, when the Americans withdrew from Vietnam after loosing more than 50,000 war dead. It must be remembered that the US army has a rate of 10 soldiers in support for every "Grunt" at the "Sharp End". When viewed in this way, the American KIA figure for the the Twelve years of US involvement is extremely high. After the American withdrawal in 1975, the Vietnamese Army invaded Kampuchea and removed the Pol Pot Regime from power. The yet to be completed "A Gracious Enemy & After the War Volume Two", deals with events in and outside of Vietnam after 1975 and includes the arrival and successful integration into Australian society of the Vietnamese Boat People
The Allied war effort in Indochina (the French colonies of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam) was a war of aggression which allowed many millions of US dollars of arms sales. All allied service men that I cam into contact with did their duties to the best of their abilities. As an Australian serving with the First Battalion Royal Australian Regiment in Vietnam during 1968 - 1969, I feel that it is my duty to inform readers of how the Australian infantry soldiers saw the war and how they felt about fighting the Vietnamese. Because of the fact that this story is so vast, I am splitting the full story into two volumes. "A Gracious Enemy & After the War Volume One cover events in Indochina from 1770 to 1975, when the Americans withdrew from Vietnam after loosing more than 50,000 war dead. It must be remembered that the US army has a rate of 10 soldiers in support for every "Grunt" at the "Sharp End". When viewed in this way, the American KIA figure for the the Twelve years of US involvement is extremely high. After the American withdrawal in 1975, the Vietnamese Army invaded Kampuchea and removed the Pol Pot Regime from power. The yet to be completed "A Gracious Enemy & After the War Volume Two", deals with events in and outside of Vietnam after 1975 and includes the arrival and successful integration into Australian society of the Vietnamese Boat People
