April 14, 2015
Veterans welcome defence help with claim
The lead claimant in the military veterans’ Waitangi Tribunal claim has welcomed an offer by the Defence Force to host hearings on military bases and help with research.
John Bluett says the veterans have been scraping around for years to meet expenses of mounting the claim, which will cover issues like the exposure of soldiers to nuclear testing and Agent Orange herbicide.
He says it’s important to collect the oral evidence, because veterans are dying off at an alarming rate.
"Once our generation is gone, the guys who served in Vietnam, will all that be forgotten? It's the inter-generational damage that could happen. There's got to be a whakapapa tree from the Vietnam veteran down through the ages. We are worried about the generations of mokopuna coming after us, if there is going to be any damage to them," Mr Bluett says.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH JOHN BLUETT CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MjgwNTY=
Copyright © 2015, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com