11am, 26th April 2023
Burwood: C2.05.01
Waurn Ponds: IC2.108
Zoom link here.
Return to Vietnam: veterans’ journeys, memory myths, and the Anzac legend in contemporary Việt Nam
In this paper, I explore the links between veterans’ memories, their returns to Việt Nam, and the Anzac legend. I show how Australian veterans’ return journeys have echoed the pilgrimages to Gallipoli, unpack widespread memory myths about the Vietnam War among veterans, and reveal how veterans’ return experiences in contemporary Việt Nam are framed to continue the Anzac story. I conclude by reflecting the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan in Vung Tau, where veterans’ claims to Anzac threatened the spirit of reconciliation between Vietnamese and Australian veterans.
Dr Mia Martin Hobbs is an oral historian of war and its legacies. Her research interests include the Vietnam War, the War on Terror, memory, trauma, place, gender, peace, and security.
Photo: Pipers lament at the dedication of the Long Tan Cross in 1969 (AWM)