#147 Ray James

Angus Hordern interviews Vietnam veteran and RSL NSW President Ray James.

Life on the Line tracks down Australian military veterans and records their stories. Ray James is a veteran of the Vietnam War and is currently the President of NSW RSL. He served in the Royal Australian Navy on HMAS Sydney, the Vung Tau ferry. He was also on HMAS Melbourne when it collided with the USS Frank E. Evans in 1969. Ray spoke with Angus Hordern about his life of service – in the military, in the police force and now in the veteran community.

Episodes referenced at the end of the podcast include:

• LIFE ON THE SEA Episode IV 'Collision'

• For School and Country

Collision - Ep IV - Life on the Sea

Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Life on the Sea is a special miniseries of this podcast, interviewing Royal Australian Navy veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars. The fourth episode of this miniseries, 'Collision', hears a sailor on HMAS Melbourne during the tragic 1969 Melbourne-Evans collision give his testimony of the day that saw 74 sailors lose their lives. It also features an interview on the subject with the Melbourne's captain, John Philip Stevenson.

You can listen here to the Season 2 bonus episode with short clips from Captain John Philip Stevenson's 2012 interview with Angus Hordern.

Phil Stevenson's World War II service was chronicled in the World War II documentary miniseries FOR SCHOOL AND COUNTRY.

Mark Kinder

John Philip Stevenson