Personal  

The Cold War had an impact on me in many different ways. For me, the most significant event was serving compulsory military service in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It worked this way: those who turned 20 years of age at a particular point in time had their names, or at least their birthdays, on marbles put into a barrel. A sufficient quantity of those birthdates was pulled out of the barrel to satisfy conscription requirements for each period of time. My birthday is 24 February. I was just so petrified, so worried, so anxious that that marble would be pulled. Those unfortunate enough to be conscripted were required either to put their occupational training on hold and undertake that military service, which included going to Vietnam, or, in the alternative, to finish their training if they were partway through, then defer their employment until that conscripted military service was undertaken.

So many people work in scripted roles whose lives were both physically and mentally ruined, shattered by the Vietnam War. Not the least of those outcomes was that returning veterans from Vietnam were not appreciated nor admired by the population as a whole. Rather, they were spurned and criticised for the fact that their efforts helped to create havoc within Vietnam for the local populations.

Although that has now been put to rights, the consequences of the Vietnam War are such that those impacted still have the horror of those 1970s periods built into their psyche, their thinking, and what happened to them.

Political

The Cold War placed Australia in an invidious position, requiring it to choose which political ‘team’ to support. 

Without hesitation, Australia always fell in behind America. One of the things during the Cold War that I most remember is our Prime Minister of the time saying that Australia was “all the way with LBJ “ – Lyndon B. Johnson, the American President.

 America – historically proven to be one of the most, if not the most, aggressive countries in the world when it comes to starting war – 

As always, Australia followed like a little lapdog. So it has been that we’ve had troops and resources channel into supporting America in a Multitude of overseas conflicts. The worst experience was probably that of Vietnam, where our engagement in the Arthur military “initiative” always gave a sense of being right there with the United States.

In many respects, that Cold War attitude has never faded! It also means that Australia has become increasingly isolated within its own region, with its neighbours. Apart from New Zealand, we are in essence the odd country out in this corner of the world. With relationships between America and us facing increasing strains, I feel that the vulnerability that began during the Cold War is certainly spilling over into the present. I am reminded of the words written by Professor Hugh White in his Cordially Essay, “Sleepwalking to War,” which were both realistic and dire.

Social

In social terms and in general interactions with people, the Cold War had little impact on me. That was largely because my living situation throughout most of the Cold War period was one of rural isolation, then school isolation, from the broader social context.

At the back of my mind, and probably most other people in their late teens, 20s, and early 30s, was just what might happen in terms of any explosion on the world stage and the consequences of that, certainly as they got older, on their economic and family circumstances.

The fear that existed for myself and many others coming into their 20s in age terms was the apprehension associated with the Vietnam War and whether or not we were likely to be conscripted and forced into military service. That was a shadow that hung over me and, I suspect, over the majority of people, particularly men, my age. Conscription was for men, not for women.

Educational and cultural changes

Educationally and culturally, the predominant theme at the time was to look with admiration upon “the West” and those countries that stood, in democratic terms, against totalitarian governments and, certainly, against communism. Communism was “dirty”. As always, education played a significant role in shaping the thinking patterns that underpinned students’ conceptual development. Their abhorre3ence at the elements of persuasion that were part of this period, in large part, influenced people to regard Vietnam Veterans as people who were traitors rather than as people helping in the American/Australian efforts to ‘liberate’ the power and influence of the communist spread in that part of the world.

Media and communication

Knowing what was going on in the world was slower, and Father as Victoria, then is the case these days. We learned about what was happening with respect to everything, including the Cold War and its impacts, through the radio, newspapers, and discussions with others. What we knew was often listened to by the pit of media coverage.

Telephone communications were expensive for long-distance calls, and a per-word price limited telegrams; therefore, “express” mail was really out of the question. Newspaper reports were often days late by the time you received them. Radio was a better option, but again it was limited by the fact that shortwave radio was at least unreliable and often very, very ecstatic if you were listening on the wireless.

Personal Opinion

My personal involvement in the Cold War was limited to thoughts about the fear of military service, the priority I placed on men’s lives, the disruption the Cold War might cause to my career, and my very real concern about myself and the impact of the Cold War on impersonal terms. When I wasn’t called up, the primary focus of the Cold War disappeared from my thinking.

This was partly due to where I was living and partly to my preoccupation with a new career in teaching. For the most part, aside from my two years of training, college life was remote, and we were rather out of touch with what was happening in the broader world.

You would hear about what was going on, often beyond its immediate currency. Still, it seemed distant and far away, and world Affairs faded into the background because of the primary focus on living and working 1200 km from Perth and 600 km from the nearest town. There was no Radio, and communication with the outside world was by VJY radio transmission.

From time to time, I would hear of unfortunate things happening to people connected to the war emerging from this period, and how it was negatively impacting them. That made me remotely empathetic, but the personal distance from what was happening obviously dulled my sense of and sensitivity to the pitiless savagery of the Cold War and its consequences.

Henry Gray.

April 9 2026