Kiwi corporal awarded Victoria Cross 

A member of the SAS has been awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroic life saving actions in Afghanistan, making him the first New Zealander to receive the award since the end of the World War II. 

Corporal Willy Apiata, 35, has received the VC for extreme bravery under fire in Afghanistan in 2004.

Three of his SAS colleagues have also received gallantry decorations for their part in the same incident, although their names will not be released for security reasons. They are receiving the New Zealand Gallantry Decoration and the Gallantry medal.

Prime Minister Helen Clark says Corporal Apiata displayed stunning courage and selflessness, risking his life to save a colleague in a situation of extreme danger.

"The citation for his award describes how he carried a fellow soldier suffering serious arterial damage to safety," Clark told a special news conference at the Beehive.The Victoria Cross is the highest recognition for gallantry that can be awarded to members of the armed forces of Commonwealth countries and Apiata's award is the first to a serving member of the SAS anywhere in the Commonwealth.

"The requirement in terms of bravery and so on is just so high that it has to be something really extra special to warrant the award of the Victoria Cross," says New Zealand Defence Force historian John Crawford.

The rescue mission

It was 3.15am one morning in Afghanistan in 2004 when a troop of SAS soldiers came under fire from 20 enemy fighters with machine and rocket propelled grenades.

Apiata was blown off the bonnet of his vehicle in the attack and one of colleagues was seriously injured. Apiata picked up his colleague and carried him 70 metres in what was described as broken, rocky and fire-swept ground under heavy fire. He placed his colleague into safety and then joined the counter attack.

The government says Corporal Apiata showed little regard for his own life when he saved his colleague who would certainly have died from loss of blood otherwise.

Defence Force chief, Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae, said awards of this nature were a great honour and serve to highlight the calibre of New Zealand Defence Force personnel.

"Today's announcement is an incredibly proud moment for New Zealand, the New Zealand Defence Force and the NZSAS. All four recipients have shown incredible strength of character in adverse conditions and embody the ethos and values of the New Zealand Defence Force. "

Willy Apiata

Thirty-five-year-old Apiata grew up in the tiny town of Te Kaha in Northland, a world away from Afghanistan where he fought against al Qaeda. And while the Nga Puhi descendent has now joined the ranks of New Zealand's elite war heroes, he sees himself as an ordinary person.

Nevertheless, it was his extraordinary bravery in saving a colleague that earned him the Victoria Cross - a momentous honour he is struggling to come to terms with.

"Just finding out about this at nine o'clock yesterday (Sunday). Still trying to deal with all the emotions and it's...a real overwhelming experience," he says.
 
Former Defence Chief Bruce Ferguson recommended Apiata be awarded the VC. Current chief General Jerry Mateparae describes Apiata as both an outstanding soldier and a humble man.

"When he was advised that he had won the Victoria Cross he said...'I was only doing my job boss'," says Mateparae. 
 
But the softly spoken Apiata says although the honour is huge, it is not big enough to change his life. 
  
"It hasn't changed me at all. I'm still just one of the boys back at work and always will be," he says.

Other recipients

The first Kiwi military member to win a Victoria Cross was English born Major Charles Heaphy during the New Zealand wars in 1864.

One of the country's most famous recipients was Captain Charles Upham, the only New Zealand combat soldier to have been awarded the Victoria Cross twice.

For a full list of New Zealand Victoria Cross winners click here.

For the story of the Victoria Cross in New Zealand Click here and you can also learn the origins of the Victoria Cross.