Australian Admits Vietnam A Mistake

Australia’s prime minister during part of the Vietnam War says his government was wrong to send soldiers to fight alongside the United States in Vietnam.

Sir John Gorton’s comments, published today, come shortly after an admission by Robert McNamara, defense secretary under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, that the war was “terribly wrong” set off angry recriminations.

Australia committed 50,000 troops to the war between 1964 and 1972. About 500 were killed.

Gorton, prime minister from 1968 to 1971, told The Australian newspaper he initially had supported the war against North Vietnamese communists in the early 1960s because he feared for Australia’s security.

But he said he changed his mind after he became prime minister and now regards the war as a terrible mistake.