Australian Defence Force suicides: Six mothers united in grief and drive to spare others their pain

Six mothers carrying the burden of the loss of their veteran sons and the drive to spare other parents their pain, united in grief and vowed to never give up until their children's’ death was “properly investigated” along with hundreds of other veterans.

• ‘How war broke our boy Brock’
• Dead on Anzac Day, haunted by war’s horrors, broken by red tape

Six mothers carrying the burden of the loss of their veteran sons to suicide have delivered on their promise to never give up until their children’s deaths were “properly investigated”.

After years spent collecting signatures and lobbying politicians, the women, who want no other families to suffer the loss of a beloved son or daughter, have achieved justice, with the Prime Minister announcing a rolling inquiry with the powers of a royal commission into veteran suicide.

One of the devoted mothers driving the push for a royal commission was Glenda Weston, whose Afghanistan veteran son Bradley Carr was born on Remembrance Day and died on Anzac Day last year.

L-R: Nikki Jamieson, mother of Private Daniel Garforth, Colleen Pillen, mother of former Private Michael Powers, Glenda Weston, mother of former Private Bradley Carr, Julie-Ann Finney, mother of former navy Petty Officer Dave Finney and Jan Hewitt, mother of former Private Brock Hewitt at the Save Our Heroes Summit. Picture: Jonathan Ng

His final years were plagued by the torment of fighting ­bureaucrats and by pain from injuries and trauma sustained in Afghanistan, including witnessing the explosion that killed his friend Private Benjamin Ranaudo.

“The Defence Force and politicians don’t see us going to the cemetery and screaming at the ground hysterically,” she said. “But once you’re gone from the ADF, you’re gone.”

Adelaide mother Julie-Ann Finney, whose son David took his own life in February last year after the DVA ignored his pleas for help, started a change.org petition calling for a royal commission into military suicide.

The Daily Telegraph backed those calls in June, along with other brave mothers of lost Afghanistan veterans Jesse Bird and Brock Hewitt, Colleen Pillen from Sydney whose son Michael Powers died before he was due to be deployed to Iraq, and Nikki Jamieson, whose son Daniel Garforth died at a barracks in Darwin.

Michael John Powers, 29, took his life before being deployed to Iraq.

Sydney mum Colleen Pillen. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Ms Jamieson had to bury her army private son Daniel, 21, who took his own life on November 20, 2014 after he was “singled out” and “ridiculed” by some senior officials.

She said a Royal Commission was needed to “unpack the issue related to veteran ­suicide so we can move forward into a new era rectifying the mistakes from previous governments”.

Ms Pillen said her son ­Michael, 29, was severely bullied and “rejected on every corner” when he tried to get psychological help.

“They look for good people and then they treat them so badly and lose them. My son was a good soldier and they lost a really good man,” she said.

Jan Hewitt’s son Brock toured Afghanistan for nine months, serving with a cavalry squadron, but was medically discharged in 2012 at the age of 22.

She said he never recovered from his period of service and if more help had been available he might still be alive.

“They get months of training to build them up to be the men the ADF want them to be, but when they come back to civilisation they just let them go,” Mrs Hewitt said.

“Our Brock went to ­Afghanistan but our Brock didn’t come back and he ­struggled big time.”

After his death on Australia Day last year, Ms Hewitt and her husband made it their mission in life to be the voice of their veteran son.

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Originally published as Australian Defence Force suicides: Six mothers united in grief and drive to spare others their pain