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Subscriber only A Mackay father says Australian Defence Force personnel are banding together to prevent their mates from taking their own life as the system falls short. West Mackay resident Phil Rutherford said while his son had served in mainly peacetime deployments for 11 years as an engineer, he, as well as many in the ADF, had been suicidal. Mr Rutherford s father-in-law also witnessed four decades of trauma at the frontline as a paramedic. He then left the profession to study psychology so he could help his former co-workers after they attended fatalities. Their experiences are why Mr Rutherford is backing the Daily Mercury s
âThat (day) affected me and I know it affected some of the other boys as well.â
He now experienced mood swings and anxiousness in large crowds but could not explain why, and nor did he need to in the company of veterans. East Timor and Afghanistan veteran Mark Preston at the Mackay Remembrance Day commemorative ceremony at Jubilee Park in 2020. Picture: Zizi Averill
âYou canât compare Vietnam to the Middle East to East Timor or any other conflict ⦠each has its own experiences,â Mr Preston said.
RSL Queensland state president Tony Ferris said the communityâs need for the organisationâs support was âfar greater and more complex than ever beforeâ.
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Subscriber only More than half of the patients who visit Mackay GP Kerry Summerscales are veterans or first responders because she knows first-hand the trauma of being on the frontline. Dr Summerscales served in the Australian Defence Force for 30 years including at Bougainville, Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands. She helped save countless lives abroad, and has turned that dedication to ensuring fellow Australian veterans survived civilian life. Dr Summerscales has thrown her support behind the Daily Mercury s Hub for our Heroes campaign to develop a social club in Mackay and a first responders and veterans wellness and treatment centre at Kinchant Dam.
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Subscriber only Leslie Palmer needs medication to sleep, haunted by the seconds 51 years ago that killed eight of his mates and left him with lifelong physical and mental injuries. The Vietnam War veteran and president of Mackay Veterans Group suffers a severed nerve and post-traumatic stress disorder but he counts himself lucky after the incident on February 28, 1970. Mr Palmer said he and his 8th Royal Australian Regiment battalion comrades had been chasing the enemy through Vietnam s Long Dien mountains. We knew we were in a minefield, Mr Palmer said. We did the prodding of the bayonets into the ground to make sure there were no mines in front of us.