By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A Vietnam War veteran has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for his welfare work for his brethren for 25 years.
At a state and local level, Simon Leigh Bloomer has presided over Carry On Victoria, a welfare arm of the Returned and Services League of Australia.
His brief is also to assist in welfare and governance on the board of Dandenong-Cranbourne RSL sub-branch.
“I’m a bit humbled (by the OAM).
“But I feel appreciative that they’ve recognised Carry On is worthwhile of recognition.”
Ten years ago, Carry On was a little-known, publicity-shy organisation, Mr Bloomer said. While not exactly “overt”, it had now made itself known to veterans in need of help.
With 100 volunteers, it provides and maintains social housing in Dandenong, Mornington Peninsula, Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong and Mildura.
It also provides secondary and tertiary education grants of up to $4000 for veteran families, as well as emergency relief for utility bills.
Mr Bloomer said he felt he “came out OK” after his 11 months of war service. He married and tended a family.
“But there were a number of veterans not going so well. We have been ensuring they got as much help as was needed.”
His ethos to help others stems from growing up in a step-family of nine boys, he says.
“We all had to get along and we all had to help each other where we could.”
In 1994, Mr Bloomer was recruited to Carry On’s Dandenong branch by his step-brother and president of Dandenong-Cranbourne RSL, John Wells.
There was a sharp need to house and financially help the legion of veterans and war widows who were “doing it tough”.
“The members at Dandenong were all ageing at the time,” Mr Bloomer recalls.
“We’ve gone full circle – now we’re all ageing.”
The torch is passing to veterans from the post-Vietnam wars, who are joining the Dandenong RSL board.
There’s also a changing of the guard at Carry On’s low-rental single-bedroom unit villages in Noble Park.
Two decades ago, tenants were predominantly World War II servicepeople and widows.
Now the residents’ age differences are becoming marked, as more from the Vietnam War and latter conflicts are moving in.
At the villages, Carry On members are out and about with a listening ear – taking care of the tenants and keeping the units in good repair.
“We don’t offer our members a social activity, we offer them a job,” Mr Bloomer says.
In the past 15 years, veterans assistance has improved. In no small part from the “groundwork” of the Vietnam vets, he says.
“The post-Vietnam veterans have also stepped up and put their face to the Government. And there’s been more support for them than in prior years.”
He’s rightly proud that Carry On – now 88 years old – has been able to connect with this younger generation.
