Victor Slockee discusses his own and his brother and cousin’s war service in Vietnam, as well as the ongoing ramifications of his service including PTSD. Victor explains the difficulties he experienced upon returning home from the conflict, from both the public and the RSL, and the fight he had to go through in order to get a pension. He also speaks about his fears for the mental health of aboriginal Diggers today when they return from war, he hopes the Defence forces have learnt from Vietnam and other conflicts and so improved their efforts in providing timely assistance and counseling for all returned soldiers.

This interview took place on 24 April 2015 in Tweed Heads and was conducted by Dr Allison Cadzow as part of the Australian Research Council-funded research project Serving our Country: a history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the defence of Australia.

The interview recording above is made available to be viewed here by permission of the interviewee(s), Victor Slockee. The recording may not be copied, reproduced or communicated in whole or in part without the prior permission of the interviewee(s). Requests for permission for use of this material should be made to the Serving our Country research project: our contact details.

• Return to Victor Slockee’s participant page.