Four decades on, Australia's war in Vietnam remains poorly understood, the Australian War Memorial's head of military history Ashley Ekins says.
The conflict was so controversial and opposition so strong, assessing it critically became difficult once it was over.
"It certainly had an impact on every aspect, on foreign relations, on strategic and defence policy, on planning for the future," Mr Ekins told AAP on Monday.
"Reaction against what had gone on in Vietnam influenced many of the later developments in all those areas."
During a period of almost 10 years, more than 60,000 Australians served in Vietnam and more than 500 died.
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On the home front, the war produced vehement opposition and bitter divisions.
Vietnam is the subject of the War Memorial's latest annual history conference to be held on Thursday and Friday.
A range of Australian and international historians and veterans will discuss aspects of the war.
Mr Ekins, co-author of the last two volumes of the Vietnam war official history, said the social wounds remained in Australia for decades afterwards and still existed in some veterans.
"That made it difficult to explore. I have argued we are starting to see the war clearer now with the hindsight of four decades," he said.
"We see it in a longer perspective and can perhaps understand better the course and the conduct and the consequences."
