New Zealand service personnel and civilian volunteers were in the jungles, skies, hospital wards, training camps, villages, and offices of South Vietnam from 1963 to 1975. Joining the US-led campaign to curb the spread of communism in South East Asia, New Zealand’s military force in the Vietnam War peaked at 548 in 1968. Over seven years, more than 3000 served from Army, Navy, and Air Force. Thirty-seven were killed and 187 wounded. Around 200 non-combatant aid workers and medics complemented the khaki contingent, with a civilian surgical team first to arrive in 1963 – and last out of South Vietnam in 1975. Two civilians died. Although New Zealand troop deployments and losses were small in comparison to other wars, the country’s involvement in the Vietnam War was notable for the strength of opposition it drew, and for its ongoing effects within families and communities four decades after it ended.
New Zealand's Road to Vietnam
40,000 vibrations clutch the cool air
this thin and bulbous target breathes the fear
flying clear of humidity and the oppressed state
for only the crew will share its fate
My face pressed against the glass
yet observing the surreal with each pass
as the reluctant surfer weaves a path
to descend into the dragons hearth
Embraced in more than mist and tears
and landscape bludgeoned by the years
of village life flattened above the ground
what purpose is this freight inbound
Long shadows chase the downhill run
alone and serene we are someones son
each urgent task seeking a safe retreat
a half way house refreshed and then repeat
Chris Brownie, 41 Squadron, 1971-73
https://vietnamwar.govt.nz/memory/memor ... 1-squadron