With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Official war history says alcohol abuse posed problems for Australians fighting in Vietnam

CANBERRA, Australia — Alcohol abuse during the Vietnam War was a significant problem for Australian troops who were supplied with the equivalent of more than five cans of beer per soldier per day during the latter years of the conflict, an official record says.

But some Australian commanders regarded beer as a lesser evil than the heroin and marijuana that gained popularity with allied U.S. troops fighting in the conflict, according to the third and final volume of the official history of the Australian Army in Vietnam, “Fighting to the Finish,” which is being published Tuesday.

“A few Australian commanders said the Aussies had a drinking culture and they were safer keeping that under control then allowing them access to what could have been far more damaging,” co-author Ashley Ekins told The Associated Press on Monday.

“It was a big problem that every Australian task force commander had to confront,” said Ekins, an Australian War Memorial historian....

Read entire article at AP