| Scope note |
Australia announced to send military instructors to Vietnam on 23 May 1962. The first Australian troops committed to Vietnam arrived in Saigon on 3 August 1962. This group of 30 advisers was collectively known as the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam. As the conflict escalated, so too did the pressure for an increased Australian commitment. This commitment grew to involve the Australian Army, Navy and Air Force as well as civilian support such as medical/surgical aid teams, war correspondents and officially sponsored entertainers. By the time of the final withdrawal of the Australian Embassy Guard on 1 July 1973, approximately 60,000 Australian men and over 500 Australian women had served in the Vietnam War. Of these, more than 500 were killed or listed as missing presumed dead, and 3,131 were wounded.
The Department of Veterans Affairs reviewed and subsequently extended the date range for Vietnam from 1972 (when Australian combat forces were withdrawn) to 1975 (when the war ended with the North Vietnamese capturing Saigon). After the withdrawal of the 1st Australian Task Force from Phuoc Tuy Province in 1972 a few members of the Australian Army Training Team remained until 1973 and there was also a small army guard detachment in the Australian embassy until the very end. |