I N S I D E R NOVEMBER 2020 ART UNION VIP 12

Your membership matters. Thank you for supporting Australia’s veterans and their families.

JOE CAZEY ROYAL AUSTRALIAN ENGINEERS VETERAN

YOUR VIP HEROES DRAW IS HERE

$2 MILLION GOLD

E X C L U S I V E LY F O R V I P C L U B M E M B E R S

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Dear valued VIP member,

Welcome to the VIP 12 Heroes Draw, offering you the chance to win $2 million in gold!

Each Heroes Draw, we introduce a veteran currently using the vital services offered by Mates4Mates, which is funded by the RSL Art Union – and your VIP membership.

This Heroes Draw is dedicated to Joe Cazey, who served in the Royal Australian Engineers as a Field

MESSAGE FROM OUR

ART UNION CHAIRMAN

work, but it needs to be funded and the RSL Art Union is a positive way of this happening.”

Your continued support enables Mates4Mates to provide physical and psychological rehabilitation to both veterans and their families, just like Joe. We simply couldn’t do it without you.

We hope you enjoy reading Joe’s story and wish you the best of luck in this exclusive VIP-only draw.

Yours sincerely,

John Strachan OAM Chairman RSL Art Union

John Strachan OAM Chairman RSL Art Union

Engineer for 25 years. Enlisting in the army straight out of school, he trained as a Field Engineer, and was deployed to Vietnam when he was only 20 years old. This posting would go on to have a lasting impact on his life – one that he wouldn’t fully understand until decades later.

Remaining friends with many comrades from the Defence Force, Joe didn’t have to go far to find a warm introduction to Mates4Mates, where he does yoga and hydrotherapy sessions as a part of his weekly schedule, plus many other organised group activities, such as cycling and bush walking trips.

Read about Joe’s experiences and follow his road to recovery through the pages of this Insider magazine, and go online to rslartunion.com.au/VIP12 to watch his heartfelt video.

Joe embodies everything we stand for when he says, “The work that RSL Queensland does for veterans is good

Joe’s Story Joe Cazey’s story is a familiar one. Enlisting in the army straight out of school, he trained as a Field Engineer, and was deployed to Vietnam when he was only 20 years old. This posting would go on to have a lasting impact on his life – one that he wouldn’t fully understand until decades later.

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Above: Medal ceremony, Beirut (1983)

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Squadron 2IC and Joe (right) outside the mess hall where meals were served, holding a liberated sign from their Artillery Regiment (1966)

Saying farewell to his parents at Garden Island, Sydney before sailing to Vietnam (1966)

ARMY LIFE AS A FIELD ENGINEER Joe Cazey served in the Royal Australian Engineers as a Field Engineer for 25 years, where he was deployed to Vietnam early in his career, and then went onto serve in other locations, including Papua New Guinea, Singapore and the Middle East.

Joe had always wanted to study engineering after finishing high school, but the ‘credit squeeze’ of the 1960’s had hit home, making it difficult to find opportunities in the building industry, so Joe enlisted in the Australian Army to complete his studies.

EMOTIONAL SCARS LINGER LONG AFTER THE EVENTJoe was having flashbacks to his time in Vietnam. There was one particularly traumatic event where he and his soldiers were laying mines. After a short rest break one of them accidentally stepped on a mine, setting it off, and causing several casualties.

Amazingly, the fellow soldier survived despite having horrific wounds including a leg and part of his arm amputated, but Joe lives with the memory and the thought, ‘It could have been me’.

Being deployed to Vietnam as a young, 20-year-old officer, the experience made a big impression on him.

“My Field Engineering unit was always involved in many different activities. We were out with the cavalry in their APC’s, and we were out with the infantry soldiers,” Joe said.

“Our squadron was unofficially known as ‘the tunnel rats’. If tunnels were discovered, we were the people who went down into the tunnels to clear them.”

“We built things, we knocked things down and we laid mines, we destroyed booby traps and provided services, such as water supply.”

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Later in life, long after he had left the army, Joe came to the stark realisation that he had some of the hallmark symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Well, initially I thought I just had the fair wear and tear stuff, such as joints, hearing and skin damage, but in time, I realised that there were other issues, mental health issues, that needed addressing,” he said.

“My biggest issues are from post-traumatic stress.”

The symptoms of post-traumatic stress became obvious after Joe had a cancer scare, which kick-started him into taking more of an interest in his mental health and well-being.

“I’d been in denial for a very, very long time and once I had that bit of a shake up and scare, I realised that there was probably a lot more not working as it should.”

Joe (right) with fellow comrades of the 1st Battalion 83rd Artillery (1966)

Trying to fight the water table as he digs a weapon pit in Nui Dat, Vietnam (1966)

Joe in the troop’s gun pit at Horseshoe observation post and base patrol in Vietnam (1967)

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HELP WAS JUST AROUND THE CORNER Remaining friends with many comrades from the Defence Force, Joe didn’t have to go far to find a warm introduction to Mates4Mates.

“A mutual friend introduced me to Mates4Mates, because another one of our compatriots was coming to Queensland to speak at a gathering about Kokoda Trekking. I attended that night and I joined Mates4Mates the following day,” he said.

But as an older generation veteran, Joe recalls some hesitation about getting involved.

“Initially I was a bit standoff-ish, because I thought it was mainly for younger ex-service personnel and that I didn’t need to be going there every day.”

“But everyone has been really welcoming, and I have since become a lot more involved.”

“I do yoga and hydrotherapy regularly as a part of my weekly schedule, and I do organised cycling and bush walking trips with the group too. There is a whole raft of activities on offer – coming here three times a week is not at all uncommon.”

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FINDING PEACE OF MIND WITH RESTORATIVE YOGA One of Joe’s biggest issues was that he had difficulties sleeping. Every night he was having terribly broken sleep, which was slowly eroding away his quality of life.

“Life without sleep, or broken sleep, is not very much fun.”

Through Mates4Mates, Joe has found attending restorative yoga classes incredibly helpful.

“Yoga has been probably the most beneficial thing. Again, I was a bit cynical to start with thinking ‘This can’t possibly have a positive effect!’, however it has been marvellous.”

“Yoga has given me skills and practises that have allowed me to get a much better night’s sleep.”

Your VIP Club membership enables Mates4Mates to reach Australia’s veterans and their families, and provide access to vital support services. Thank you – we simply couldn’t do it without you!

“Mates4Mates has done this for me, so it’s been wonderfully beneficial,” Joe said.

A HEARTFELT THANK YOU The activities that have helped Joe are offered by Mates4Mates, which is funded by the RSL Art Union – and your VIP membership.

“I’d like to say an extremely large thank you!” Joe said.

“Mates4Mates is having a very positive impact on people, including myself, and without the funding it just wouldn’t exist.”

“The work that RSL Queensland does for veterans is good work, but it needs to be funded and the RSL Art Union is a positive way of this happening,” he said.

Watch Joe’s interview at

rslartunion.com.au/VIP12

VIP Heroes Draw 12 (VIP12L) is conducted by Returned & Services League of Australia (Queensland Branch) ABN 79 902 601 713 of ANZAC House, 283 St Pauls Terrace, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006 under QLD Licence No. 29819, NSW Authority No. GOCAU/2332, ACT Permit No. R20/00154. VIC Permit No. 10325/20 and SA Permit No. M13920. Close date: 8pm (AEST) Wed 16/12/20. Draw Date: Drawn 10am (AEST) Wed 23/12/20 at ANZAC House, 283 St Pauls Terrace, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006. Promoter: John Strachan, Locked Bag 4032, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006. Proceeds are for the purpose of veteran welfare and support in Australia. 1st prize $2,000,000 gold bullion. The maximum number of tickets is 2,573,000, which may include a maximum of 540,330 bonus tickets. Winners notified by Registered Mail. Results published on Fri 28/12/20 in Courier Mail, The Australian, www.rslartunion.com.au. Selling costs and market variations apply when selling gold bullion. Some items shown in pictures are for display purposes only. To be entered into VIP Heroes Draw 12, an entrant must be an active VIP member as at 12.01am (AEST) on draw open date (18/11/20), have a valid entry in VIP12 and be 18 years of age or over. Sales agents have been appointed by RSL Art Union for the sale of VIP memberships, which they may receive a commission based contribution between 0.1% and 4.7% of the total gross proceeds from each art union draw, depending on the sales agent, as amended from time to time. Information is correct at time of printing. Terms and Conditions apply. Please refer to our website for up to date details, and Terms and Conditions at www.rslartunion.com.au *Prize value valid from VIP 12, subject to State/Territory Licensing approval

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Australia 1300 775 847 (1300 RSL VIP) New Zealand 0800 450 970 International +61 7 3088 5878E: vip@rslartunion.com.au • www.rslartunion.com.au/VIPClub

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Terms & Conditions apply. Information correct at time of printing. Dates may change without notice, subject to State & Territory licensing approval. Check rslartunion.com.au for more information.

OPENYour tickets will be allocated and payment taken

DRAWNKeep your phone close – you could be the lucky winner!

$5K PAY DAYBonus VIP-only $5,000 cash draws

QUARTERLY CASH Bonus VIP-only $100,000 cash draws

VIP HEROES DRAW Exclusive draws just for our VIP members!

Important dates: 25 April – ANZAC Day; 11 November – Remembrance Day

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$50 MILLION IN PR IZES TO BE WON IN 202 1 !

Your VIP membership has guaranteed your entry into 58 draws next year. Check out the 2021 calendar for details.

Bonus weekly cash draws worth $5,000 each

Bonus quarterly cash draws worth $100,000 each

Guaranteed entry into all 10 prize home draws

Plus two $2 million* gold VIP Heroes Draws every year