A Vietnam War veteran whose ship collided with a United States destroyer in the South China Sea has lost his compensation claim for post-traumatic stress disorder, digestive problems and sleep apnoea.
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Trevor Jones, 65, completed two tours of Vietnam with the Royal Australian Navy and sought compensation for alleged war-caused incapacities from three life-threatening events.
According to Mr Jones, the incidents left him agitated, overwhelmingly stressed, waking up from nightmares, and drinking more than 10-15 beers plus spirits a day.
But his claim was rejected by the Repatriation Commission and he unsuccessfully appealed the decision before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal of Australia.
The tribunal heard that Mr Jones was aboard the HMAS Melbourne when it collided with a US destroyer in the South China Sea in June 1969, splitting the American ship in half.
After waking to "a loud grinding noise of metal against metal", he ran onto the deck and saw half the US ship scraping alongside the HMAS Melbourne, lifeboats being deployed, and helicopters searching the water.
American soldiers allegedly were lifted on board with Mr Jones, who said he saw some covered in furnace oil, some badly burnt and injured.
After the accident, Mr Jones "hit the grog" in Singapore but allegedly had trouble sleeping and maintaining concentration in the coming months.
According to the documents, he began to drink heavily and felt he could not talk to others about the incident despite it always being on his mind.
Two years later, Mr Jones was in the boiler room of another ship off the coast of Vietnam when scare charges were set off near the boat.
Documents reveal the incident brought the memories of 1969 back to Mr Jones and he feared he would drown or be burnt by the boiler.
"I was physically ill and could not believe this was happening to me again, all the old memories and feelings came flooding back and the bad dreams returned," he said.
The tribunal heard Mr Jones was also showered with debris in the Vung Tau Harbour when a US helicopter exploded floating debris nearby.
After the war, Mr Jones said he began drinking heavily and could not sleep unless he had a couple of beers to settle him down.
In 2002, Mr Jones was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder caused by incidents at sea and he was later diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and alcohol abuse.
But the tribunal heard from Dr Mohamed Milad that "Mr Jones had PTSD but was not suffering from that condition now".
"Over the years his symptoms have subsided and in his current state I consider he continues to experience residual symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, in view of the symptom profile he presents at the moment."
The tribunal affirmed the Repatriation Commission's decision to deny compensation.
