Claude Malone
Claude Malone served as a combat engineer in the Vietnam War. Based at Nui Dat, he worked with ordinance of all kinds including clearing landmines and defusing unexploded bombs and mortars. Claude explains the ongoing skin and related illness he has had since Vietnam, which he attributes to exposure to Agent Orange defoliant used by US forces in the conflict. He also talks about the mental scars of his service and the difficulty he had returning from war to civilian life, which he dealt with by drinking heavily at that stage of his life. Claude also discusses his experiences with racism in the army, and how in recent years he has become more involved in Anzac Day services, particularly in Cherbourg where he grew up, now that both Vietnam and Aboriginal veterans are better acknowledged and included in commemorations.
- Listen to Claude’s interview at the Brisbane Yarn Up;
- Return to the Brisbane Yarn Up page.