Infertility

He has had three heart attacks, triple-bypass surgery and 12 strokes.

Stories like these are a timely reminder of the intergenerational damage that war causes.

Decisions made by Menzies and Holt in the 1960s are still being felt by families today.

Likewise decisions made by John Howard to send soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan could have ramifications for the families of those soldiers for the next 40-plus years.

At least in the times of Menzies and Holt more than 50 per cent of the Parliament had served in the military - they understood the horrors of war.

These days there is only one parliamentarian who has served in a war - the Labor MP Graham Edwards, who lost both legs in Vietnam.

Edwards thinks it's time the suffering of the children of veterans was recognised.

"If nations are going to send young men off to fight in wars, they've just got to be prepared to accept the cost that those people bear in terms of their health.

If a child of a veteran can trace an illness back to the direct service of their father or mother I think that the Veterans' Entitlement Act should be extended to cover them." This would mean health-care coverage for mental and physical ailments.

It has been acknowledged that children of veterans have a higher rate of spina bifida, cleft palate and cleft lip.

The high suicide rate suggests significant mental health issues as well.

Eighteen years after Karen's sister committed suicide, 37 years aft...

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