The lives of four local Vietnam War pilots who died on duty were honoured on the eve of Anzac Day at the monthly meeting of Millicent’s South East Family History Group.
Mount Gambier Community RSL President Bob Sandow shared the stories of four old scholars of Marist Brothers Agricultural College; Anthony Casadio, John Friedrichs, Reginald Van Leuven and Errol Kavanagh.
The Mount Gambier Catholic school is nowadays known as Tenison Woods College. Mr Sandow has a special interest in military history including the four pilots who are dubbed the “Tenison Flyers”.
During his 35-minute address, the guest speaker displayed archival photographs as well as items from the museum at the Mt Gambier Community RSL. Mr Sandow gathered his information from official military records, serving personnel, family members of the deceased pilots and former flying colleagues.
He said the RSL Lieutenant Casadio’s final letter to his girlfriend ahead of his death on active service in the Vietnam War in 1968. The helicopter pilot had been attached to an American unit and received a number of decorations. Born in Port Lincoln, Lieutenant Casadio had spent his formative years in Mount Gambier where he was an outstanding schoolboy sportsman.
After serving in the Vietnam War, Flight Lieutenant Friedrichs was attached to the RAAF Roulettes which was an aerial acrobatics team. He was killed after his Mirage jet crashed in a training exercise.
Before joining the RAAF, he had spent four years in training to be a Catholic priest. Commander Kavanagh hailed from Millicent and was a sailor and pilot. His aircraft crashed during a Canberra air show almost 30 years ago.
Flight Lieutenant Van Leuven was killed at the age of 26 while flying a RAAF helicopter in Queensland in 1974. He had been undertaking flood relief operations. Like the three others, he had a distinguished flying record in the Vietnam War.
Mr Sandow revealed there was a fifth “Tenison Flyer”. “His name is Jack Mayfield, he flew with the others and is very much alive,” he said.
