In auctioning a shirt signed by the Wellington Phoenix squad to benefit others who have lost loved ones in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, the 21-year-old has found the perfect way to honour Flying Officer Dan Gregory.
Fl Offr Gregory was killed along with crewmates Flight Lieutenant Hayden Madsen and Corporal Ben Carson, when their Iroquois helicopter crashed into a Kapiti Coast hill while on the way to a dawn service fly-by on Anzac Day.
Mr Bitchener had just attended the dawn service in Dunedin when his father phoned with the news.
A year and a-half on from that rainy Sunday morning, his grief is still raw.
"I can't speak for anybody else in my family about what it's like, but there are moments when you think of him and it just triggers it off. It's a long process."
The University of Otago student first met Fl Offr Gregory, nicknamed "Red", three years before he married his sister, Sarah, in 2008.
The pair shared a love of football and Mr Bitchener would often be roped into his brother-in-law's Saturday morning army team.
"He was such a nice guy, laid back and fitted in very well with our family - we are quite a sporting family and he was great fun," he said.
"He was mad into soccer, but then he was into most sports and would give everything a crack."
Mr Bitchener instantly thought of him when he had the Phoenix squad sign a special fan's T-shirt at a pre-season match in Dunedin last month.
The shirt has been listed on Trade Me to benefit The Missing Wingman's Trust, founded by Flight Lieutenant Tim Costley last year, after fellow pilot Nick Cree died in an air accident.
Fl Offr Gregory's father and trust member Steve Gregory was moved by the gesture.
"We had no idea he had planned it, and he just said, 'I've got this thing I'd like to do and what do you think?' It was a really nice gesture and very, very genuine," Mr Gregory said.
"Cameron and Dan were very close family and a lot of that was forged on the football fields and cricket pitches, where they shared a lot of good times.
"I'm really pleased that Cameron has found a way to support our charity and honour my son at the same time." - The New Zealand Herald
