Posted on 04/25/2010 4:04:50 PM PDT by naturalman1975
FRED Collett is a true-blue Australian war hero but the Federal Government has turned its back on the 100-year-old World War II Digger in his moment of need.
Mr Collett escaped the clutches of the Germans in a rickety old wooden dinghy at the height of the war, dodging bombs at sea for three weeks to warn fellow soldiers of the enemy advance.
But 69 years after his daring escape from a PoW camp in Greece to the island of Crete in April 1941, the Federal Government has told the ailing war hero "you're not eligible" for compensation.
Mr Collett believes the Government wants him to "hurry up and drop dead" in his rundown shack at Mount Ossa, north of Mackay, after the Department of Veterans' Affairs "controversially" knocked back his claim for a one-off $25,000 payment for being a PoW in Europe.
.....
Since the introduction of the compensation scheme in 2007, the Federal Government has paid out 2456 PoWs held in Europe.
But because Mr Collett escaped - which was his military duty under the law of the time - he is sadly destined to get nothing for his wartime heroics.
However, men who surrendered and served out the rest of the war in a PoW camp in Austria are all eligible for the money.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
No matter what a GOOD MATE is he.
Hero = no reward.
Vote conservative next time Fred.
Shameful this. He certainly deserves better.
Cordially,
Congressman Billybob
So, where’s the Australian veterans group accepting donations on behalf of this hero? I can find $20 to send him. If a few thousand more do this, this guy might get 1%-2%, of what he’s due
I’ll let you know when I find out. I am fairly sure somebody will be organising something.
“No good deed goes unpunished” Clare Boothe Luce
Count me in too,just tell me where to send the money.
Let all of FR Know. I’ll let the local POW Association and all the Veterans Group here know too.
First they come for your guns and then they come for your honor..
please add me to your ping list for this Digger.
this is not acceptable. I would be more than happy to send a check.
I’ll let you know when I find out. I am fairly sure somebody will be organising something.
&&&
Please ping me, as well. This is shameful.
be very positive of where you are sending money....I’ll collect it if you want to send it to me and maybe I’ll forward it to the veteran.......be very careful
Collecting donations at this point would reduce pressure on the government to do this.
The Sunday Mail (the newspaper in which this article appeared) is gathering signatures in an online petition at http://www.petition.fm/petitions/helpfred If you would care to assist by adding your real name to that petition, it would be of great help potentially.
The Minister for Veterans' Affairs does seem open to the idea of an act of grace payment being made, but the final decision is in the hands of the Finance Minister.
I’ll let the crack about “American wars” pass, because as far as I’m concerned, he’s getting screwed over. If Australian law allows the Commonwealth government to stiff him on POW compensation because he escaped shortly after he got caught, Australian law is messed up.
He’s 100 years old. I think by that age, you’re entitled to be crotchety about whatever you like, whether it makes sense or not. :)
Signed
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.