New Zealand soldier wins Victoria Cross

D

Death from Afar

New member
A very proud day for our tiny nation, and I am sure the TFL and SWAT staff will allow me to feel very proud of the army in which I serve::

Special Air Service (SAS) Corporal Bill (Willy) Apiata, 35, will receive the medal for services in Afghanistan in 2004, Prime Minister Helen Clark announced today.

Three other SAS soldiers are also to receive bravery awards for actions during the same mission.

Clark said Apiata's actions were carried out despite extreme danger to himself and there was no question he had saved his comrade's life.

"Corporal Apiata carried a severely wounded fellow soldier across open ground while coming under intense attack. He did this despite extreme danger to himself," Clark said.

The action took place in Afghanistan when the SAS was helping US and British forces fight the Taliban.

New Zealand Defence Force chief Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae said Apiata would appear at a news conference later today.

"It is only normal that public attention will turn to Corporal Apiata," he said.

"In one respect he is an outstanding soldier, but in another respect he is also just an ordinary New Zealander and a humble man. When he was advised he had won the Victoria Cross he said to his commanding officer: 'I was only doing my job boss'."

Apiata will be one of only 13 living recipients of the Victoria Cross.

He was born in the Waikato in 1972 and began his army career in 1989 as a territorial.

He will be presented with his medal by Governor General Anand Satyanand at a special ceremony at Government House in Wellington later this month.

Three other gallantry decorations are also being awarded to other members of the SAS, but they are not being named for security reasons.

All four decorations have been awarded for actions during the same mission.

Defence Minister Phil Goff said it was the extraordinary nature of the award that led authorities to release the name of a serving SAS soldier.

"The Granting of a Victoria Cross is such an extraordinary event that it would be impossible to maintain the confidentiality of the identity of Corporal Apiata," he said.

"We came to the judgment that it was better we announce his name and the circumstances of his winning the award, rather than have the highly probable outcome that that would be leaked somewhere down the track."

"In terms of future deployments, the commander of his unit will have to make a judgment in each instance as to whether he can be deployed given the knowledge people will have of his identity."

The Victoria Cross for New Zealand resembles the British Victoria Cross in appearance and manufacture and is equally hard to win.

Corporal Apiata's Victoria Cross is the 14th awarded since the end of World War Two and the first to a serving member of the SAS anywhere in the Commonwealth.

Cpl Apiata was born in the Waikato in 1972 and grew up in Northland and the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

He joined the New Zealand Army as a territorial soldier in 1989. From July 2000 to April 2001, he served in East Timor as part of the United Nations operated there.

He joined the regular army force in April 2001.

In 1996 he had applied for SAS selection but was not successful, however he reapplied and passed in 2001, training with the SAS in 2002.

He becomes one of only 13 living recipients of the Victoria Cross – the only New Zealander in that group.
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M

mikejonestkd

New member
Being brave means being scared but doing it anyways...

You and your country have much to be proud of.

This world needs a few more heros like him.
 
W

Wild Horse

New member
He becomes one of only 13 living recipients of the Victoria Cross – the only New Zealander in that group.

The above quote sums it up well. The VC is not handed out to just anyone.

Kudos to this fine Soldier, New Zealand should be proud.
 
T

tegemu

New member
Hari Mai Kiwi. I feel a sense of pride in knowing about this soldier and his receipt of the VC.
 
B

BreacherUp!

New member
One, I am glad his chain awarded him this award. However, knowing the nature of this unit's work, and others like it, I'm sure he is not all that happy with the notiriety. Even stated in the article is the prospect of having to scratch his name off of future missions because his name and unit association are now public.

I think it could've been handled differently, and thus allowed this operator the benefit of performing his job in anonymity. I only hope public relations to support NZ's war effort was not the overiding factor in outing his identity.

With that said, congrats!
 
D

Death from Afar

New member
Tegumu-Kia Ora Bro-ake ake kia kaha.

Brave men, those SAS guys:

Elite SAS soldiers presented with rare presidential honour
Ian Stuart, added by NZPA - 204 views, 0 comments

AUCKLAND —
Usually the SAS operates well out of the public eye, its activities shrouded in secrecy.

The soldier was one of nearly 200 fighting men and women from the 1 NZSAS group who received the ribbon of the award bestowed on them by Mr Bush in 2004.

The presidential citation read that it was for "extraordinary heroism and outstanding performance of duty in action against the enemy in Afghanistan".

The SAS were deployed into the heart of the war against terrorism a month after the September 11 attack on New York, in 2001.

The ribbon took three years to reach the soldiers at their Papakura base because uniform regulations required a different mounting bar for the New Zealand army uniform.

The citation was rarely awarded to American military units, let alone units outside the US, said American defence attache to New Zealand, navy captain Rick Martinez.

"This is a very special award. All New Zealanders should be very proud of this SAS group," he said.

The last time a presidential unit citation was awarded to any country other than an American military unit, was in 1966.

That also went to a New Zealand army unit -- 161 Battery, Royal New Zealand Artillery -- for its work in Vietnam in 1965 and 1966.

Today was different for another reason -- it was the first time journalists were allowed inside the SAS compound at the camp, but under severe restrictions.

Photographs could be taken, but not so they showed SAS soldiers' faces. The soldiers could not be named and had earlier been ordered to say nothing to journalists.

The media was told if they did not sign an order agreeing not to identify SAS soldiers (to allow the soldiers to do their job safely and properly) they would be escorted off the base.

The SAS commanding officer, who was also on the unidentifiable list, told the troops their mission as members of Task Force K-Bar in support of the US war on terrorism was a success.

It was to destroy, degrade and neutralise the Taliban and al Qaeda leadership in Afghanistan.

They did so with one dead (an Australian soldier) and two wounded (both New Zealanders) in a display of tenacity, outstanding courage, tactical brilliance and operational excellence, he said.

The soldiers, men and women, were presented with their ribbons by Mr Goff, Capt Martinez, army chief Major General Lou Gardiner, and Navy deputy chief Rear Admiral Jack Steer.

After the presentation Mr Goff told them the SAS "prides itself on its discreet and unassuming nature.

"I know it does not seek or even welcome accolades. However, I believe New Zealanders would want to be aware of, and acknowledge your contribution and achievement," Mr Goff said.

After the ceremony Mr Goff said it was not only a day for the SAS unit to be proud, it was a day for the entire country to be proud to have "such a body of defence force people that serve so efficiently and so courageously on their behalf".
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T

tegemu

New member
Death from afar, one of the highlights of my 45 years in the NAVY, was to train 75 Sqdn in the A4K aircraft. My running mate at the time was Sgt Tangi Keith, my first Maori, a great man and one hell of an A/C Mechanic. An honor bestowed on me and one other Chief, was to be made an honorary member of their Sgt's Mess. When I got married they arranged for a SGT. to fly here to present me a present from the mess, a Tai Aha. I don't have the marriage anymore but I do have the Tai Aha.
 
4

45Marlin carbine

Moderator
I wish the best for the servicemen from NZ and Aus that stand with American forces against this evil, if only all our 'allies' were that courageous.
 
J

jimpeel

New member
First, let me extend my heartiest congratulations to Corporal Apiata for a job well done.

There is much information to be found on the VC and the battles and campaigns for which they were awarded.

A very good dissertation on the VC

The list of recipients by campaign

And just to show how up-to-date the listings are, go HERE and you will find the name Bill Apiata complete with a picture of this great hero.

Rourke's Drift was the battle upon which the movie "Zulu" was based. Eleven VC were awarded in that battle.

So venerated are those who have recieved the VC that this was said about forfeitures of the VC:

“The King feels so strongly that, no matter the crime committed by anyone on whom the VC has been conferred, the decoration should not be forfeited. Even were a VC to be sentenced to be hanged for murder, he should be allowed to wear his VC on the gallows.”
--King George V in a letter to his Private Secretary, Lord Stamfordham, 26 July 1920
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