From 1967 and 1971, some 280,000 United States military personnel left the conflict zone in Vietnam and visited Sydney, Australia, on ‘Rest and Recreation’ (R&R) leave. Designed to offer the men a temporary respite from the war, the troops enjoyed a range of activities from the beaches to the nightlife of the infamous red-light district in Kings Cross.
This presentation examines the complex relationships that underpinned R&R, exploring the tensions around gender, race and foreign policy. To do so, it draws on an alleged rape of an Australian woman by an American serviceman while on R&R, a case had the potential to be a substantial disruptor in American-Australian relations. It speaks to the racial tensions heightened by African American servicemen in Sydney. It also sheds light on the way victims of rape were treated in Australia in this time period. Using archival evidence, this article reveals the tensions between individual crimes and the wider war effort, arguing that the alleged crime was understood in terms of the relationship between the Allies, rather than for its impact on women and soldiers.