what was the war between Australia and Vietnam called

It was a short step to dobies then by metathesis the word was doughboy.” The term Doughboy seems to have been applied to all infantrymen, even the unit segregated African American troops.ĭiggers: The word Digger has been around since the early days of the gold rush in Australia and anecdotally there is evidence that some Colonial Australians were given the nickname Digger because of their mining endeavors. infantry along the Rio Grande were powdered white with the dust of the adobe soil and hence were called adobes by the mounted troops. The strong bond between the two countries’ military was formalized with the ANZUS Treaty in 1951, a cornerstone of American and Australian national security.ĭiggers and Doughboys: The Art of Allies 100 Years On features incredible artwork from the Australian War Memorial Collection illustrating this unique comradeship between the two countries.ĭoughboys: Laurence Stallings, Doughboy turned historian, wrote in 1963 that there can be little dispute as to the derivation of the name. The military alliance endures today in Syria and Iraq combating the threat of terrorism and as peacekeepers world-wide. The Diggers and Doughboys would support each other through every world conflict after 1945 from Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. They're resourceful, inventive soldiers, with plenty of initiative.” Almost one million American men and women service personnel trained and passed through Australia during the war.Ī pamphlet given to Americans going to fight alongside their Australian counterparts in 1942 related that “the Aussies don't fight out of a textbook. That alliance proved steadfast in World War II when they again fought side by side which turned the tide of the war in the Pacific.

The Diggers and Doughboys became fast comrades not only because their campaign hats and swagger were similar, but also from their shared democratic outlook on military rules, regulations and officers.įrom the 93 minutes that the Battle of Hamel took to today, Australian and American forces have shared an alliance forged from steel.

What was the war between Australia and Vietnam called