Weighty tome, beautifully produced

Oliver Riddell reviews New Zealand's Vietnam War.

NEW ZEALAND'S VIETNAM WAR
Ian McGibbon
Exisle, $89.99, hbk

Vietnam: how that name reverberates down the decades for New Zealand.

We are told, as if to explain the bad press it has had, that it was the only war in which New Zealand was ever on the losing side.

What about New Zealand's land wars?

Now, at long last, we have a definitive and exhaustive official account of New Zealand's reluctant, but certainly not half-hearted by those serving there, involvement in Vietnam.

It is long overdue, considering that we officially withdrew from Vietnam nearly 40 years ago.

It has been written by perhaps our best military historian, who is general editor (war history) at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage in Wellington.

The book is a treasure trove of detail - 704pp, including the Roll of Honour, order of battle, diplomatic representatives, team leaders and senior officers, honours and awards, biographical notes on service personnel, statistical breakdown of the forces involved, selected formal directives and orders, explanatory notes and bibliography (should further reading be required).

I was pleased to note that the index was so complete as to include the name of a former girlfriend who served at Qui Nhon Hospital.

It has been written for the military and academics, and benefits from knowing its readership.

New Zealand's Vietnam War is a weighty tome, but happily is beautifully produced.

Considering the number of photos available, they do not swamp the text, as they certainly could have.

McGibbon says New Zealand troops "formed part of a conspicuously small coalition of the willing" in Vietnam, which is absolutely true.

Only five countries were prepared to back South Vietnam with combat military forces.

Yet in this sea of tragedy, New Zealand's effort was but a drop.

At their peak contributions, there were 1000 Americans for every New Zealander.

A 548-strong contingent could only have a minuscule impact on the war.

The 3000 New Zealanders who served in Vietnam were only half the numbers who served in the Anglo-Boer War or Korean War.

Yet their presence provoked vastly greater conflict and debate at home than any other war in which New Zealand has been involved.

This was reflected in the Parliaments and governments of the day.

National prime minister Keith Holyoake made it quite clear that he did not want any troops there, while his minister of defence, Dean Eyre, wanted "to drop a basin-full of bombs" on Hanoi.

Labour prime minister Norman Kirk had promised to withdraw the troops as soon as elected, and did.

McGibbon understates the widespread nature of the opposition to New Zealand's involvement, implying that it was limited to the left-wing radicals and the trade union movement.

This may be because of his professional relationships with soldiers, and may reflect their attitudes.

It makes his accounts of the problems Vietnam veterans have faced in the decades since suspect.

It was only very, very reluctantly that successive governments dealt with the health problems from which the veterans suffered, mainly from exposure to the dioxin contaminant in the defoliant agent orange to which they might (or might not) have been exposed.

In retrospect, this reluctance does no credit to those involved.

It took decades to achieve any sort of justice or even acknowledgement for veterans, and the process is certainly not over yet.

For most of the period of nearly 40 years, it was National Party governments - which had sent them there - which dragged the chain.

Generally, his account of the postwar wrangles is so objective as to fail to do justice to the passions involved.

The veterans felt that on their return and once back here they were treated shabbily.

So they were, and McGibbon does not skimp in describing those feelings, but does not respect the attitudes that gave rise to them.

This is just one of several examples in the book showing that it can be a mistake for military historians to stray into the field of political analysis.

For example, McGibbon correctly recounts that as a student radical Helen Clark had actively opposed New Zealand's presence in Vietnam.

He says it was very ironic that it was she, as prime minister, who in 2008 had to apologise officially in Parliament for the failure of successive governments to address Vietnam veterans' concerns, and says it "brought tears to the eyes" of some veterans.

All that is true, but he cannot resist having a dig at Clark.

He says Clark had "vowed never to allow any repetition of such an effort (as New Zealand's involvement in Vietnam). Ironically she led an administration that also felt compelled to commit a much smaller token force in support of an American-led effort in an Asian war."

If she ever reads this book, Clark may be surprised that a military historian is unable to distinguish between the sets of circumstances of the Vietnam and Afghan wars.

McGibbon gives the best account I have ever read of how important Vietnam was in helping mend race relations in New Zealand.

In the 1960s, New Zealand was a racist society - generally unacknowledged.

What a sea-change there has been in attitudes to Maori since then.

Reports from historic foreign conflicts suggest Maori and Pakeha servicemen have generally got on well overseas; better than at home.

But those better relationships seemed to come home after Vietnam, instead of just staying offshore.

That is an important reason why Vietnam should be recalled with some gratitude.

Vietnam was the first time New Zealanders had fought under American rather than British leadership.

That did wonders for general attitudes to Americans here, which more or less survived the later non-nuclear imbroglio.

Britain had already signalled that it wished to be relieved of geo-political-military responsibility for New Zealand, but we were slow to get the message.

Our involvement in Vietnam changed that.

This book fills gaps in our knowledge of ourselves, and is very welcome.

Oliver Riddell is a Wellington writer.