Many veterans are still paying the price for their service. The average life expectancy of Vietnam veterans is only 56 years.
Veterans also suffer higher than average levels of suicide and marriage breakdown.
Now a South Australian veteran has painted a mural depicting our involvement in the war, an artwork that's proving an emotional touchstone for veterans who view it. Mike Sexton reports. I couldn't talk to anybody, I couldn't talk to my family. My family only just recently found out what I'd been actually doing over in Vietnam. Derek Walsh was a young commercial artist before he was conscripted and sent to Vietnam in 1970.