# US allies in Vietnam war? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 11, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709 "2009-04-11T01:33:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tetranz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@tetranz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tetranz)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709/1 "2009-04-11T01:33:41Z")
I wonder if someone could point me to a website with factual information about which countries were allies with the US in the Vietnam war. To be convincing, I guess I’m looking for something other than Wikipedia. I’ve search around but haven’t really found it in one place from, say, a government site. I think I know the answer but the reason for my question is that my partner’s daughter in tenth grade is learning about the war at school and was told by her teacher that lots of countries were involved including Canada and the UK ☹ . As a Kiwi, that was a bit sad for me to hear since I always thought that Australia and New Zealand were the only other countries involved. Australia even had a draft. I now know I was wrong too because I didn’t realize that South Korea, Philippines and Thailand were also there. Today they had a visit from a Vietnam veteran who is also supposed to be some sort of expert on the history of the war. It seems like the best he could tell them was that about 34 countries were involved. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709/2 "2009-04-11T01:56:21Z")
> [@](#): > > my partner’s daughter in tenth grade is learning about the war at school and was told by her teacher that lots of countries were involved including Canada and the UK The teacher might be confusing the Korean War and the Vietnamese War. Or maybe the teacher’s an Ann Coulter fan. Either way, scary to think this person is in charge of educating children. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709/3 "2009-04-11T02:03:19Z")
According to Wiki, the countries fighting with the U.S. were: South Vietnam South Korea Australia Philippines New Zealand Khmer Republic Thailand Kingdom of Laos You might use that as a starting point. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709/4 "2009-04-11T02:38:16Z")
Wikipedia is a starting point because articles cite their own sources. For example, [here is a direct link to all the cites in the ‘Vietnam War’ article.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War#Notes) Two cites of interest are probably [_Allied Participation in Vietnam_ by the Department of the Army](http://www.history.army.mil/books/Vietnam/allied/) and [this page from the Army History Unit, Australian Army](http://www.defence.gov.au/army/ahu/HISTORY/vietnam_war.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709/5 "2009-04-11T04:40:33Z")
Keep in mind, too, that while Canada was never actively part of the war, a large number of Canadians enlisted in the US millitary to fight. Canada, along with Hungary, Indonesia, and Poland, also sent troops in what was known as Operation Gallant, which was intended to monitor the terms of the Paris Peace talks. Canada would eventually pull out of the operation to be replaced by Iran, because the blatant bias of Poland and Hungary made the monitoring ineffective. ---
**Author:** ![tetranz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@tetranz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tetranz)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709/6 "2009-04-11T16:58:52Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Wikipedia is a starting point because articles cite their own sources. For example, [here is a direct link to all the cites in the ‘Vietnam War’ article.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War#Notes) Two cites of interest are probably [_Allied Participation in Vietnam_ by the Department of the Army](http://www.history.army.mil/books/Vietnam/allied/) and [this page from the Army History Unit, Australian Army](http://www.defence.gov.au/army/ahu/HISTORY/vietnam_war.htm). Thanks. That US Army one is the sort of thing I was looking for. ---
**Author:** ![SanDiegoTim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709/7 "2009-04-13T16:34:30Z")
Korea and Australia rendered the most assistance. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709/8 "2009-04-13T16:57:06Z")
Weren’t the French there first? ---
**Author:** ![SanDiegoTim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709/9 "2009-04-13T17:03:04Z")
Not sure when the French arrived, but their last stand was May 1954 where they were brutally defeated at Dien Bien Phu. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709/10 "2009-04-13T17:07:14Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Keep in mind, too, that while Canada was never actively part of the war, a large number of Canadians enlisted in the US millitary to fight. Pretty much a wash, though, balanced by the number of Americans who came to Canada to avoid the draft. Hard numbers are difficult to come by, but the number of [draft dodgers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_and_the_Vietnam_War#Draft_dodgers) (20,000 to 30,000) seems roughly on par with the number of [Canadians who joined the US military](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_and_the_Vietnam_War#Canadians_in_the_U.S._military) (about 30,000). ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709/11 "2009-04-13T17:31:52Z")
You forgot Poland. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709/12 "2009-04-13T17:46:37Z")
Thai veterans of the war are very proud of their role. I was not quite over here at the time, but I understand that back in the 1960s, Beatles songs were popular choices for bar bands. And when they sang “A Day in the Life,” the lyrics “The English army had just won the war” became “The Thai army had just one the war” and was met with rousing applause. Do you remember the old domino theory? Thailand believed in it wholeheartedly. Still does. Thailand largely remains convinced that US involvement in the Vietnam War kept the domino from falling here. Now, you may not agree with that, you may dispute that, but it is largely taken for granted here and is one of several reasons why the US remains popular here, and was so even during the Bush presidency. Back then, it was dangerous to go into certain areas of the North and Northeast. Communists held sway over large portions of those areas. (See _Volunteers_, starring Tom Hanks, Sigourney Weaver and John Candy; a comedic look at a serious situation.) The feeling is the US action stalled for time. It allowed the Thai government to build the infrastructure that allowed it to win the hears and minds of the people, such as roads, electricity and all of that. Even in the 1980s, when I first arrived, there were pockets it was not safe to be, but today, thanks to the head start the government had courtesy of the communists being bogged down – or so that’s believed – there is nowhere you can’t go. The domino theory was often treated as an academic exercise in the US and elsewhere in the West, but it was very real here. Imagine being Thai and seeing neighbor after neighbor become involved in communist strife. People saw this country as next and were very scared. Very, very scared. Thailand contributed a lot of troops and allowed a lot of US bases on its soil and was glad to do so. After 1975, with the fall of all of Indochina, Thailand was convinced – and remains so – that they had dodged a bullet and that only the intervention of the US in Indochina had slowed the tide and saved them. Again, this can be disputed, but this is what is _truly believed_ here. Side note: Ho Chi Minh lived in Thailand’s Northeast in part of the 1920s and 1930s. He was here on assignment from the party to stir up communist support among the local ethnic Vietnamese. The house he lived in has some sort of plaque ourtside, and a sapling he personally planted is now quite a large tree. Also: A Vietnam vet I knew told me how bad-ass the South Korean units were. He said the Vietnamese would ALWAYS go around them, being afraid to fight them, whereas the Americans were regarded as largely a bunch of pussies. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709/13 "2009-04-13T19:49:08Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Also: A Vietnam vet I knew told me how bad-ass the South Korean units were. He said the Vietnamese would ALWAYS go around them, being afraid to fight them, whereas the Americans were regarded as largely a bunch of pussies. We used to watch the ROK Marines “play” in their off time. They lived in the hooches near us and would play games in the sand outside. The games were basically geared to see who could take the most pain and inflict same on others. They had a rep of no mercy for the VC/NVA captives, and would supposedly decapitate them and disembowel them to both send a “don’t fuck with us” signal and to insult their beliefs about the after-life. They were some hard mofos. ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709/14 "2009-04-13T22:17:34Z")
> [@SanDiegoTim](#): > > Not sure when the French arrived, but their last stand was May 1954 where they were brutally defeated at Dien Bien Phu. Vietnam was up to that point a French colony. ---
**Author:** ![hpearl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@hpearl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hpearl)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709/15 "2012-05-13T08:12:56Z")
[http://www.americanwarlibrary.com/vietnam/vwatl.htm](http://www.americanwarlibrary.com/vietnam/vwatl.htm) I think this link can help you. best wishes! ---
**Author:** ![Zweedo\_Rodriguez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b487fb/32.png) [@Zweedo\_Rodriguez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zweedo_Rodriguez)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709/16 "2012-05-13T10:33:15Z")
Canada was involved in the Vietnam war. > [@](#): > > Between 28 January and 31 July 1973, Canada contributed 240 military personnel and 50 officials from the Department of External Affairs to Vietnam under the International Commission for Control and Supervision. [http://www.parl.gc.ca/content/LOP/ResearchPublications/prb0006-e.htm#appendix2](http://www.parl.gc.ca/content/LOP/ResearchPublications/prb0006-e.htm#appendix2) Also: > **[International Commission of Control and Supervision](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Commission_of_Control_and_Supervision)** > > The International Commission of Control and Supervision (ICCS) was an international monitoring force created on 27 January 1973. It was formed, following the signing of the Paris Peace Accords ("Paris Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam"), to replace the similarly-named International Commission for Supervision and Control in Vietnam (ICSC). > The organization comprised military and civilian staffs, provided by four nations. Initially, these were: Canada, Hungary, Indonesia a... ---
**Author:** ![Dufus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c77e96/32.png) [@Dufus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dufus)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709/17 "2012-05-13T14:25:49Z")
Britain provided some support. They built the American Air bases in Thailand. Special Forces were also involved on active service. Units were sent from Britain to Fort Dix. At Fort Dix they “resigned from the British Army and re-enlisted in the US Army”. After completing their tour in Vietnam, the returning “GI’s” were discharged from US Forces and re-enlisted in the British Army on their return to the UK. This allowed Harold Wilson, (the British Prime Minister), to stand up in Parliament and announce “No British Troops are in Vietnam”. Twenty two British Servicemen were killed in action in Vietnam. ---
**Author:** ![Dufus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c77e96/32.png) [@Dufus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dufus)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709/18 "2012-05-13T14:34:58Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The teacher might be confusing the Korean War and the Vietnamese War. Or maybe the teacher’s an Ann Coulter fan. Either way, scary to think this person is in charge of educating children. Wow, have you come to the right place! ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709/19 "2012-05-13T15:29:20Z")
> [@Dufus](#): > > Britain provided some support. They built the American Air bases in Thailand. Special Forces were also involved on active service. Units were sent from Britain to Fort Dix. At Fort Dix they “resigned from the British Army and re-enlisted in the US Army”. After completing their tour in Vietnam, the returning “GI’s” were discharged from US Forces and re-enlisted in the British Army on their return to the UK. This allowed Harold Wilson, (the British Prime Minister), to stand up in Parliament and announce “No British Troops are in Vietnam”. Twenty two British Servicemen were killed in action in Vietnam. Some British troops went with the Australians, on a similar basis. I think the Aussie and New Zealander SAS are so tightly connected to the original one that that sort of thing is quite common. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709/20 "2012-05-13T15:33:33Z")
I would hope the kid in the OP has graduated by now. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-allies-in-vietnam-war/492709.md?page=2)