How the story of one Indigenous soldier is raising questions about race relations in Australia.
In this podcast, we follow the story of Thomas Henry ‘Buddy’ Lea, his time in the Vietnam War under the Australian military and race relations in Australia.
During the Vietnam War, 1955 -1975, Australia sent troops to fight alongside the Americans in the region. Amongst those sent included approximately 500 indigenous people, of which we are focussing on Thomas Henry ‘Buddy’ Lea.
He served in the Australian military for 35 years, a career that is to be pulled into question after looking into race relations in Australia.
Australia during the period of the Vietnam War was a divided nation amongst lines of race, with indigenous people being relegated to the outskirts of society.
With this in mind, why would someone like Buddy serve this nation? And how are race relations in Australia approximately 50 years later.
Featured image by Ryan Stone via Unsplash.