47-year wait for medals

A Kawhia veteran’s family has closure after 47 years.

The New Zealand Army has presented Barry Wahanui’s family with the medals he earned while serving in Malaya and the Vietnam War.

Wahanui died in 1969, aged 29, in a car accident in Malaysia while recuperating from malaria.

The long-running medal quest started when his family investigated getting Wahanui in the National Book of Remembrance, but discovered he didn’t meet the criteria. Instead, they discovered that the former soldier had medals that hadn’t been claimed.

The medal situation was a bit of a no-man’s land, said Wahanui’s niece Maxine Moana Tuwhangai.

‘‘When we were told about the medals, we had to apply for them, and while doing that we found out that two medals that he was to originally be presented with were now in the hands of a collector in America.

‘‘We couldn’t get them back, so we had to apply for replacement medals,’’ Tuwhangai said.

Just over three months later, the army presented the medals to the family on the Mokai Kainga Marae on August 18, with around 300 to 400 people in attendance.

Wahanui was adopted into the Tuwhangai family when he was seven.

Wahanui served with Whiskey Company in Vietnam. He was then promoted to corporal and posted to the Mortar Platoon at Terendak camp before falling ill.

The family are glad he could finally get official recognition. ‘‘It was an emotional day …‘‘ his brother, Nick Tuwhangai, said. ‘‘It brought back memories of our brother who went away as a young man and got killed over there.’’