KEY POINTS:
A four month search by Red Cross for a nurse who earned service medals while serving in the Vietnam War has ended successfully - in Wales.
Red Cross aid worker Isabel Harris (nee Beaumont) never personally received her General Service and New Zealand Operational Service medals after the war.
The Tribute 08 event held in Wellington over Queen's Birthday weekend honouring Vietnam veterans and their families prompted Red Cross to make an effort to find her and another medal recipient, welfare officer Avis Wilkes.
While the latter was tracked to Dunedin in time to receive her presentation at the event, the job of finding Mrs Harris was more difficult.
But Red Cross said Mrs Harris recently heard of the search from her adopted home of Wales and contacted the organisation here.
She had worked at the Vung Tau 1st Australian field hospital for 12 months from April 1970.
She was accredited to the New Zealand Army and carried the rank of Assistant Superintendent.
Red Cross said Mrs Harris was responsible for helping to maintain morale among injured soldiers with the provision of reading material, establishing a radio service and "offering a friendly face and listening ear".
She will be presented with her medals by New Zealand's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Derek Leask, in London on September 3.
Mrs Harris and Ms Wilkes were the only two New Zealand Red Cross aid workers deployed to Vietnam accredited to the New Zealand Army.
- NZPA
