98yo WWII veteran honoured as charity celebrates centenary
World War II veteran Jack Sealy is honoured for his more than 20 years of service to Legacy by cutting the ribbon on the latest leg of a global torch relay celebrating the veterans' charity's 100th anniversary.
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00:00 (INDISTINCT CHATTER)
00:02 98-year-old World War II veteran Jack Seeley
00:07 is one of the last of his kind.
00:09 I am, we are pretty sure,
00:13 the last man standing from...
00:17 ..in the district from World War II.
00:20 And now he's being honoured not just for his service
00:23 but the contribution to his community.
00:25 For over two decades, Jack was a local leader for Legacy,
00:28 a charity that supports veterans' families.
00:31 To mark 100 years of operations,
00:33 a torch relay has travelled the globe,
00:35 starting at the Posiers Memorial in France to London
00:38 and now nearing the end of an Australia-wide tour
00:41 of all 44 Legacy clubs.
00:43 For Jack's family in the New South Wales town of Queenbeyan,
00:47 seeing him receive top honours is a dream come true.
00:50 (APPLAUSE)
00:51 Oh, incredible.
00:53 We're just so proud of him
00:55 because he's just such an amazing man.
00:57 Up until three years ago,
00:59 he was still going over to fire control, working there.
01:02 He was still working for Legacy.
01:05 Kayleen Connell's husband, Adam, served 23 years in the Army
01:10 but died of pancreatic cancer five years ago.
01:13 She says Legacy's support kept her family afloat.
01:16 They do, like, help you with your bills if you need.
01:20 So, because, you know, we're only on one income,
01:23 like a lot of people are anyway,
01:25 but he was...my husband was the breadwinner,
01:29 and so then not to have that is a massive impact on our life.
01:34 Sometimes it feels that you're not...
01:37 Like, you've been forgotten once it's all over,
01:41 like, months down the track.
01:43 So at least you've got them to support you because, yeah,
01:46 you just... 'cause otherwise you'd be just lost without them.
01:49 Kayleen's daughter, Emily,
01:51 was only months away from finishing university when her father died.
01:55 Legacy stepped in to help pay for her petrol
01:57 so she could travel to uni and also bought her textbooks.
02:00 They also helped me obtain a Westpac loan
02:05 through...that's for Legacy beneficiaries in particular,
02:09 obtain that loan so that I could put some money towards my HECS debt
02:13 and pay off some of my units, which was great.
02:15 Really appreciated it.
02:17 The relay will reach its final destination in Melbourne on 13 October.
02:21 .