Part of the 12-metre mural Touched by Fire, a tribute to the 504 Australians killed during the Vietnam War.

Seeking kin of Vietnam War dead:
I seek assistance in tracing the next of kin of the following Air Force personnel who were killed in action in Vietnam.

This is to include the images of the war dead on the mural Touched by Fire, which is 12-metres long and depicts the Australian experience in Vietnam.

The artwork, by Vietnam veteran Derek Walsh, shows the faces of those 504 young Australians who paid that terrible price in defence of their country.

As the curator of the mural, and as we are about to have a second edition of our book – which explains the different panels of the mural – printed in the new year, we are seeking assistance in finding the next of kin of the following Air Force members:

• 051626 Squadron Leader Robert M. Hayes.
• 0118325 Pilot Officer Ronald W. Betts.
• 16657 Flying Officer Robert M. O’Hanlon.
• A17233 Corporal Raymond B. Weston.
• A318937 Leading Aircraftman Peter R. Knight.
• A222023 Leading Aircraftman Gaetano LaGrasta.
• A119739 Aircraftman Peter J. Sheriff.
• A118817 Leading Aircraftman Ronald D. Hewitt.

We have not included any likeness of them, but have left a blank space on the mural.

From the responses we have had from all the other next of kin who have seen this work, we know that they will be pleased to have their sons and fathers included on it.

The aim of this project is both as a healing and an educational tool – we travel the mural around Australia and the United States showing our involvement in the Vietnam War.

I am sure these families will be relieved to know that their sacrifice has been shared by so many others.

We are a registered non-profit entity. We do not charge for admission nor to display the mural – we rely on donations and the sale of our books and other memorabilia to cover our transport costs and to add to the collection of other items of interest to those who served in the period of the Vietnam War.

I can be contacted on (08) 8384 8728 or e-mail tbfa@senet.com.au

• Graham S Bridgland
  Curator
  Touched by Fire mural.

Deduction frustration
Like many other Defence Force members I am required to pay child support to support children from a previous relationship.

My payments are taken directly from my pay on direction from the Child Support Agency and it is not possible for me to vary this amount in any way.

For some reason DEFPAY does not forward these payments to the Child Support Agency every fortnight, as DEFPAY does with any other allotments that I have taken from my pay account.

For some reason DEFPAY forwards these payments to the Child Support Agency at a date at their convenience some time during the month following when actual deductions are made. Sometimes no payments are forwarded in a month and two payments are made during the following month.

Unfortunately, because DEFPAY does not actually forward my payments to the Child Support Agency when they are actually deducted from my account, I receive letters from the agency advising me that my account is in arrears. Quite frankly I am tired of the inconvenience of having to contact the agency on a regular basis to justify that I have actually made the payments (remembering that I have no power to vary the deduction in any way) and trying to convince the agency that the fault lies with the Department of Defence and not me.

The agency views me as a bad debtor which is certainly not the case. I have no doubt that all other Defence Force members who make similar automatic payments to the Child Support Agency from their pay also experience the same embarrassing problems.

I would like to know when the Department of Defence is going to accept responsibility for this problem and will start to forward “my money” to the Child Support Agency when I actually have the payment deducted from my pay. Is the Department actually profiting from any interest made on such payments by members before forwarding the payments? I would hope not as, after all, it is not the Department’s money in the first place.

The simple solution to this problem is to forward the payments from each effected member's pay account each pay day as happens with every other allotment.

• Wing Commander Peter Davis
  DDRPOL DRES-AF

  Official response:
  Like all allotments deducted from military members, Child Support payments are deducted from members on a fortnightly basis and remitted to the organisation, in this case the Child Support Agency (CSA), on a fortnightly basis. There is no manual intervention into the remittance process by DEFPAC. The deduction amounts are remitted to CSA by the relevant pay day and there is no withholding of amounts deducted from a member’s pay by Defence.
  
  DEFPAC receives a number of complaints from members who have been advised by the CSA that payments have not been received from Defence. Investigation of these complaints has revealed that the fault lies with the CSA reconciliation system and the knowledge level of CSA case managers.
  
  When a member contacts DEFPAC, as a service to members, the member’s CSA case manager contact details are forwarded to the relevant area in CSA.
  
  The matter is then resolved through liaison with the CSA and the member’s CSA case manager.

• Matthew Radisich
  Director Defence Pay Bureau
  
  

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