Ron Privilege is an ambassador for peace.
Bruce Hunt        www.communitypix.com.au   d463055
Camera IconRon Privilege is an ambassador for peace. Bruce Hunt        www.communitypix.com.au d463055 Credit: Supplied/Bruce Hunt        www.communitypix.com.au d463055

Edgewater veteran now a South Korean Ambassador for Peace

Justin BianchiniJoondalup Times

IT is an honour Ron Privilege will think of with pride this Anzac Day.

The Edgewater resident and former Wanneroo-Joondalup RSL president is now an Ambassador for Peace.

South Korea bestowed on him the title and a peace medal in gratitude for his service “in restoring and preserving our freedom and democracy” with the Australian navy during the Korean War.

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He served on the destroyer Tobruk in 1953 and then as a peacekeeper from 1954 to 1958 during the Malayan Emergency.

The honour caps off a journey in recent years that started when he and wife Denise went to Seoul in 2015 as guests of the South Korean Government as part of a “revisit program”.

He caught a bullet train to Busan to take part in a ceremony to honour 341 Australians killed during the conflict.

“It was an especially significant visit for Ron as he was able to visit the grave site of his school mate John Hanley, who did not survive the war and died at the age of 19,” Denise said.

“During that visit the local school children and officials reiterated their gratitude for all veterans involved in the conflict.”

The acceptance of his award, in front of Denise, his son Brendan and the Korean ambassador, was an opportunity to thank his family and supportive Edgewater neighbours.