Veteran Bill Kane marks Remembrance Day

At Resthaven sites around South Australia, commemorations are being held to mark Remembrance Day, paying special tribute to those residents and clients who served in the wars.

One of these is veteran Mr William (Bill) Kane OAM, of Resthaven Westbourne Park, who served in the Royal Australian Navy from 1963-1973. Bill was deployed in three wars, including the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation (1963-1966) and Vietnam.

Bill joined up at the age of 20, eventually serving as a Petty Officer and then Chief Petty Officer (at the time, he was the youngest Chief Petty Officer the Navy had promoted).

Serving on the HMAS Sydney between October 1971 and March 1972, Bill was involved in the transportation of troops, vehicles and equipment both to Vietnam, and then bringing troops home to Australia. Bill noticed a pronounced change in the men on their way home.

‘They were very gaunt, very quiet,’ Bill says. ‘They stared a lot. Everything was sad about them.’

HMAS Sydney made her last trip home from Vietnam in 1972 when the war ended for Australia. Bill was onboard.

‘It was quite an experience, the last trip,’ Bill says. ‘For one thing, the hospital onboard filled up completely, and we had to use the mess to house more sick and injured troops.’

With three children under the age of six, Bill felt the pull to be closer to his family, and he left the Navy in 1973. However, he remained a strong advocate for veterans and their rights. He volunteered for 18 years with the Australian Federation of Totally and Permanently Incapacitated Ex-Servicemen and Women (TPI) as a National Secretary and made many trips to Canberra, speaking with politicians, in particular Prime Minister John Howard, lobbying for better pay and compensation. In June 2010, he received an OAM for this work.

Alongside this volunteer work, Bill was employed by the government in the Apprenticeship Commission, and then in Industrial Affairs.

Bill and Barbara

Visiting Port Lincoln while on leave in 1965, Bill met his wife-to-be, Barbara.

‘The second time he took me out he said he wanted to marry me,’ Barbara says.

Because of Bill’s work and travel, the pair had only spent about six weeks together in their 12 months of engagement.

The couple were married in 1966 and in the years following they had three children – Tracey, Jason and Linda.

‘Bill was often away for up to six months at a time,’ Barbara says. ‘We would write every day, but it would take a while to receive his letters. Sometimes we would get a big stack of them which we would have to put into date order to make sense of what was happening.’

‘He was always very supportive of me and the children,’ Barbara says. ‘He is an extremely good man. He accepted people as they were, and that they make mistakes, and then he would help them to find a solution. He is a very positive person.’

Always one to support servicemen and women, on Remembrance Day Bill would often attend the RSL memorials and events, and take part in the ANZAC Day marches. This year, Bill will attend Remembrance Day services at Resthaven Westbourne Park. Resthaven’s Coordinating Chaplains will lead a dedicated service at each site, with veterans encouraged to wear their service uniforms and medals.

Thank you for your service, Bill.