It's a small piece of paper, but the words written on it changed the course of former serviceman Alan Williams' life. Now he says it is time to 'right the wrong'.
On a small piece of paper, six typed words have caused half-a-century of anguish for Hervey Bay man Alan Williams.
"Having been discharged on a hardship clause, you are in a very grey area now as far as Veterans' Affairs go," Mr Williams said."There was a lot of debate when they first issued the anniversary of the National Service Medal that we should even qualify for that because we were discharged on a hardship clause.
"It was the will of the Australian people who elected Gough Whitlam and his main thing was to end national service. "In retrospect, I don't think the minister for the day understood that we should have provided medals and recognition of these soldiers … made it clear on their papers the reason they ceased service was that the government made a decision to end conscription and end the Vietnam War."
"The type of discharge, or medals received, does not impact a veteran's access to DVA services or support."Thinking back 50 years, Mr Williams remembers being excited watching the national service lottery, waiting for his date of birth to be picked out. Mr Williams said he had made multiple attempts to have his official discharge changed, only to hit roadblocks.
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