Clarence Williams discusses his service in the navy from 1959 to 1971, including time serving during Konfrontasi and the Vietnam War. Clarence completed an apprenticeship with the navy, and was a head engineer by the age of 22. Clarence explains how much he enjoyed his time in the navy, but this is tempered with the reception by the public on his return to Australia and the difficulties he knows exist for ex-servicemen and women dealing with PTSD and accessing pensions. Clarence also discusses several missions he was involved in during his time in the navy.

This interview took place on 23 April 2015 in Tweed Heads and was conducted by Dr Allison Cadzow with Craig Greene 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), Clarence Williams. 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 Clarence Williams’ participant page.