Sad news of first Australian military death in Iraq (we had already lost two journalists) Interesting that it should occur with an Australian flying for the British air force, not with our troops there:
I had a bad feeling: grieving mother
By Brendan Nicholson and Angela O'Connor
February 1, 2005
Paul Pardoel's parents did not know he was flying into Iraq with his elite Royal Air Force transport squadron until they got the call from the British high commission to say that he had been killed there.
John and Margaret Pardoel were at home in Boronia when the call came from Group Captain Steve Duffield, a defence attache at the British high commission, to say their son's Hercules transport plane had crashed and Paul, 35, was one of those killed. He became Australia's first military casualty in the conflict.
"He said he knew Paul and that he was a fine young man," Mr Pardoel said.
Paul rang his parents regularly from Britain but did not tell them he was flying into Iraq.
"This is a military thing, and nobody talks about it," his father told The Age last night.
They knew he was likely to be flying to the Middle East, "but the Middle East is a big place", Mr Pardoel said. "From what I can gather, he was going backwards and forwards."
Mrs Pardoel said she had guessed her son had gone to Iraq when she failed to hear from him last Friday, her 72nd birthday.
Yesterday, when she heard the 6.30am news that a British Hercules had crashed, "I had a bad feeling", she said.
She and her husband started making phone calls in a bid to locate their only son.
His death was confirmed five hours later.
Mrs Pardoel said the family had been toldthere was no chance Paul had survived. "They were shot to pieces," she said.
Mr Pardoel said Paul had always been keen on flying, and graduating from the Australian Defence Force Academy had been a high point of his life.
He served as a navigator with the Royal Australian Air Force for a decade, but resigned three years ago and joined the Royal Air Force.
Mr Pardoel said he thought his son had wanted to broaden his experience.
He had been living in England with his wife Kellie and their children Jordan, 7, Jackson, 5, and India, 2.
Mr Pardoel said he had spoken to his daughter-in-law, whose parents had flown to England to be by her side. "She is the one that needs a lot of help and comfort," he said. "She is crying most of the time."
The Pardoels last saw their son in England 21/2 years ago. They were looking forward to the family returning to Australia in the middle of the year when Paul was hoping to start a new career.
Mrs Pardoel said her son was a happy and popular person. "They called him Pardy," she said.
The Defence Department issued a short statement last night saying only that it could confirm "that a former member of the Royal Australian Air Force who had enlisted in the Royal Air Force was a casualty".
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2005/01/31/1107020331849.html?from=top5
More on the poor fella:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/Iraq/Australian-airman-dies-in-Iraq-crash/2005/01/31/1107020331830.html
And 14 others died in the same crash.....British troops I assume.
