A decorated New Zealand army veteran says his four-decade career has been unfairly tarnished by a disciplinary entry he insists never happened, Stuff reported.
According to Stuff, Garry White, now 74, joined the army as a rifleman in 1969 and went on active duty in Vietnam two years later. Over the next 42 years, he served in East Timor, Singapore, Malaysia and across New Zealand, rising to the rank of Warrant Officer Class 1. He retired in 2011.
In 2021, White applied for the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, which recognises 14 years of exemplary full-time service. To his astonishment, the Defence Force rejected his application, citing a record that stated he had broken a curfew in Vung Tau, Vietnam on November 10, 1971.
White says he has “absolutely no recollection” of any such offence and his platoon mates also deny it occurred. Affidavits from two senior officers who served alongside him support his claim, noting that no official signatures or charge documents exist in the surviving file, Stuff reported.
“I never broke a curfew. I only found out it was on my record 50 years later,” White said. “It seems the word of some unnamed and unidentifiable person is preferred over mine and my two commanding officers. Does that sound fair?”, as quoted by Stuff.
Despite appeals from White’s lawyer, supported by sworn statements, the NZDF has refused to amend the file. In March this year, Brigadier Grant Motley wrote that while supporting documents had long since been destroyed, service and pay records confirmed the conviction and fine.
White said the dispute has already cost him $6000 in legal fees. “They can shove the medal, to be honest, but I want that stupid thing out of my file,” he said, Stuff quoted.
A Defence Force spokesperson told Stuff there was “nothing further to add” beyond Motley’s letter.
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