On the 29th of April, 1962, Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced to parliament that Australia would send combat troops to South Vietnam. Australia's commitment consisted predominately of army personnel, by significant numbers of air force and navy personnel and some civilians also took part. Australian's support for South Vietnam in the early 1960s was in keeping with the policies of other nations to stem the spread of communism in Europe and Asia. They became deeply involved in the War in 1965. By 1972 in December, more than 50,000 Australian personnel had served in the war. Out of those troops, 2398 were injured and 521 never made it home. The Vietnam War was the longest major conflict in which Australians have been involved; it lasted for ten years.
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