Daddy Wayne died on the 15th January, 1994 from Cardiomyopathy. He suffered this terrible disease from the time he was 35. Daddy Wayne believed it was due to his war service, and the subsequent spaying of Agent Orange he was poisoned with, that lead to his ultimate demise.
For many years Daddy Wayne hounded our government for a health Study. He did not see this come to pass in his life time.Upon his death I took up the cause and since 1994 I have wrote numerous letters to our Australian government seeking a health study, not just for our Vietnam Veterans and their Children, but for all service men past present and future.
Below is one of numerous letters I wrote, distributed to Ministers of Defense, Parliamentarians alike and finally, to Mr Johnny Howard himself.
Remembering our Vietnam Veterans... and their family's.
40th Anniversary of the battle of Long Tan
My Dad fought in the Vietnam conflict. Fortunately for us, he made it home; unfortunately for Dad, he did not come back to the same world of which he left. He came home to a hostile world. It was a world in which he was ostracised, labeled a child killer. My Dad, a quiet, unassuming and all round good bloke, never spoke in his defense so this, being the 40th Anniversary of the battle of Long Tan, I wish to put the record straight.
The mines my Dad laid around the villages were to protect the innocent Children from the enemy. As it turned out for one young girl, the enemy was not my Dad, nor was it VC. But her very own Father. A Father, who sent his own Daughter to my Dads camp specifically with the intention of offering herself sexually in return for rations of food or cutlery. The Father whom when she returned home empty handed, beat her. Bloodied and screaming the Child ran for her life. Unfortunately, she ran straight into the mine fields laid that same day by Dad. Terrified and screaming for her to stop, my dad watched helplessly as she hit a mine and was blown into a million pieces. She was only 5. One of my Dads deepest regrets was that he never gave that little girl anything. One simple fork would have saved her life.
Along with the mental demons there was the daily physical pain. The suffering from numerous hospital visits because as he allowed himself to be a guinea pig for the purpose of research. The numerous letters he wrote to our government begging for assistance that went unheard. A constant daily reminder of the horror endured.Not to mention the foot rot brought about from walking extreme distances without taking off his boots. Neither a pharmaceutical grade cream nor granny’s home remedy could ever get rid of that damn rot. In fear everyone showered in thongs .
The worst of it all was the disease, disease that I and many thousands of others believe to have been brought upon from a pesticide, dumped by the barrel loads from helicopters directly onto our own troops.The battle did not stop in Vietnam, but continued on within Dad every day shortening his life. Eventually tired of the fight, he succumbed to disease and passed. But it doesn’t end there. The battle continues on.
Now I suffer a similar fate to Dad. I am terminal, end stage lung disease and fighting for my life. As my father before me, I will fight to the end and accept my fate in distaste. But will it stop with Dad and I? What will become of the Grand Children? Will they too succumb to disease and die before their time? will they be tortured, destined to suffer, robbing them of life? How does one look a Child in the eye and tell them they are going to die, and not be able to explain why? When will this end?This cause will not be forgotten, for our Children, Grand Children and Great Grand Children will keep fighting. We may die, but our voice will remain!
So, on this remembrance day, I will be at the Shrine. And even if I stand alone, I will celebrate the life of an extraordinary man and many more Vietnam Veterans who have suffered and are still suffering today.Yet not only will I stand in the memory of the Veterans, I will also be a voice for the invisible Children. The Children, who not only carry on their Fathers mental demons of War, but also as I and many other believe, the defective DNA that is killing them. Defective DNA caused by a simple pesticide commonly referred to as “Agent Orange”.
After over 13 years of hounding our government with letters of similar ilk, I never once received a reply. Finally I got a reply to the above letter, personally written by Mr Howard himself. It was nice to read him acknowledge the suffering. Our Government has since announced a “world first health study into the effects of Veterans and their Children from War Time Service” allocating 13mil. To date this study is still underway and will take many years of research, 13mil just scrapes the surface. Finally our Government recognises the need for a health study of this kind. What is to come of it? who knows, let’s just hope it is not swept under the carpet. Well done to Childrens of Vietnam Veterans Health Studies (COVVHS), keep up the good work guy’s.
One of only 2 photos I have of Daddy Wayne.
Here he is in his official capacity as Commodore of the Sommerton Yacht Club. Shortly after this pic was taken, Daddy Wayne took to sea to compete in a yacht race, suffered a massive heart attack, fell overboard, and drowned. Fittingly, in memorium, his ashes were released off the shores of Brighton Beach, with a gun salute.
R.I.P Daddy Wayne.
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