North Vietnamese soldiers receiving Australian war pensions
Re: ‘From “The Battle After the War” Ambrose Crowe pp173/4:
“In August 1997, it was revealed that, of the 725 allied soldiers resident in Australia and receiving pensions for service during the Vietnam War, 686 were Vietnamese veterans. Veterans’ Affairs Minister Scott admitted that there may be some North Vietnamese soldiers posing as allied South Vietnamese veterans among that number and receiving a pension. Many of the Vietnamese claimants had no documentation and there was little prospect of accessing service records in Ho Chi Minh City. (Herald Sun, Melbourne 15/8/1997)
North Vietnamese soldiers
One outraged veteran, Major N.A. Watson (Ret) stated that after 20 years of army service including 2 tours of Vietnam, he was required to submit 3 pages of questions detailing units, dates, etc to prove his entitlement to an army pension. (Herald Sun, Melbourne 18/8/1997)
A national disgrace?
Don Tate
ex-4RAR; ex-2nd D&E Platoon; ex-9RAR;
ex-1MIL Hospital