Cathy Wayne

Cathy Wayne
Cathy Wayne publicity shot
Cathy Wayne publicity shot
Background information
Birth nameCatherine Anne Warnes
Born(1949-12-07)7 December 1949
Arncliffe, New South Wales, Australia
Died20 July 1969(1969-07-20) (aged 19)
Da Nang, South Vietnam
Genrespop, rock
Occupation(s)singer, dancer
Years active1965–1969

Catherine Anne Warnes (7 December 1949 – 20 July 1969), professionally Cathy Wayne, was an Australian singer and dancer, who was killed during a tour of Vietnam at a United States Marine Base where she was hosting with others a music concert to entertain the troops during the Vietnam War conflict.[1][2][3][4] Wayne had just finished a song at a Non-commissioned officer's club near Da Nang in South Vietnam[2][3] Wayne was hit by a bullet fired from a .22 pistol, fitted with a silencer, which had been stolen at the base.[5] Wayne was the first Australian woman killed during the Vietnam War.[1][2]

Sergeant James Wayne Killen was originally convicted of the unpremeditated murder of Wayne; at his first court-martial it was alleged that he was aiming for his commanding officer, Major Roger E. Simmons.[1][2][3] Wayne had intended to use money earned from her performances in Vietnam to revive her recording career;[1][3] and to marry her fiancé, Clive Cavanagh, who was the drummer for her performance troupe, Sweethearts on Parade.[2] Killen served two years of his sentence in the US, before a second court-martial cleared him of the charge and he was released.[1][5]

  1. ^ a b c d e Rayner, Michelle (2002). "Warnes, Catherine Anne (1949–1969)". Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB). Melbourne, Vic.: Melbourne University Press. p. 496. Retrieved 21 February 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Digital copy of item with barcode 11531717 – File No.: 62/2/3/2 – Subject: Catherine A. Warnes". National Archives of Australia. pp. 1–125. Archived from the original on 16 June 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d Cockington, James (2001). "The Saigon RSL". Long Way to the Top: Stories of Australian Rock & Roll. Sydney, N.S.W.: Australian Broadcasting Corporation. pp. 138–140. ISBN 978-0-7333-0750-8.
  4. ^ McHugh, Siobhán (1993). Minefields and Miniskirts: Australian Women and the Vietnam War. Melbourne, Vic.: Doubleday. pp. 75–76, 104. ISBN 978-0-86824-490-7. Retrieved 21 February 2009. NOTE: On-line version has limited access.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Green was invoked but never defined (see the help page).