The Thai fiancee of an indigenous Australian war veteran has had her visa request rejected despite the backing of former senator Fred Chaney.
John Schnaars, 67, from Western Australia, has been championing the cause of recognising war graves for indigenous and non-indigenous Australians for more than a decade.
But Schnaars is fighting a new cause after immigration officers at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok denied his fiancee Jan Bunlom, 43, a six-month visitor visa.
"The character reference about myself from Fred Chaney, obviously meant nothing to this person who made the decision," Mr Schnaars told AAP.
"You just feel a real big kick in the gut," he said.
"I'm not going to give up. I call her on the phone twice a day and then on Skype each night."
His case has been taken up by Liberal member for Hasluck, Ken Wyatt, like Mr Schnaars from the Noongar people of WA.
Mr Wyatt told Schnaars he is forwarding letters of appeal to Immigration Minister Scott Morrison.
Former Liberal Senator Chaney has known Mr Schnaars through his work on veterans' war graves and described him in a letter supporting the visa application as a "fine citizen, of good character, and whom he admired".
Since 2001, Mr Schnaars has led the "Honouring Indigenous War Graves Inc", recognised in 2012 by the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Perth Awards.
The program ensures indigenous veterans buried in unmarked graves are properly recognised with a headstone in a formal ceremony to mark the final resting place.
The group has located 180 unmarked graves of indigenous veterans across Australia - most in Western Australia.
There are a further 30 scheduled services set for 2014.
The formal ceremonies can be emotionally charged as families remember loved ones as the flags of Australia and the indigenous community are raised.
The voluntary work has been recognised by the Department of Veteran's Affairs as well as cooperation with Australian War Graves.
Mr Schnaars, a Vietnam War veteran, had signed up voluntarily for national service in the 1960s, completing his time as a centurion tank gunner in Vietnam before returning to home in 1968.
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