Rifleman With Faulty Vision
(N.Z. Fre«« A«»n.—Copgrlght) MELBOURNE, Aug. 17.
An Australian national service rifleman who was killed In Vietnam earlier this year had twice been ruled unfit because of poor vision, the Minister of the Army (Mr Andrew Peacock) agreed last night But, Mr Peacock said, three eye specialists had ruled that his vision was within the standards for a rifleman. Private Stanley Larsson, aged 23, of Adelaide, died when he stepped on a mine on June 6.
His father, Mr S. W. Larsson, later claimed: “My son couldn’t see four feet in front of his face without glasses.” In a letter to a member of Parliament, Mr Norman Foster, Mr Peacock wrote: “It is true that medical boards of February and May expressed the view that Private Larsson was unfit for the duties of rifleman, but in neither case was this confirmed by the reviewing medical authority,- as on each occasion the visual standard had in fact been within that provided as a rifleman.”
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CX, Issue 32379, 19 August 1970, Page 4
Word Count
166Rifleman With Faulty Vision Press, Volume CX, Issue 32379, 19 August 1970, Page 4
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