# NZ SAS trooper awarded VC **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 2, 2007, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nz-sas-trooper-awarded-vc/410209 "2007-07-02T08:57:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dynamitedave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed655f/32.png) [@dynamitedave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dynamitedave)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nz-sas-trooper-awarded-vc/410209/1 "2007-07-02T08:57:23Z")
Not at all mundane or pointless, but for the first time ever a serving SAS trooper has received the Victoria Cross. Corporal Willy Apiata carried a seriously wounded comrade 70 metres under fire during an ambush in Afghanistan in 2004. > [@](#): > > “When he was advised that he had won the Victoria Cross he said…‘I was only doing my job boss’,” says (General) Mateparae. > [@](#): > > “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. [text article with links to video](http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/488120/1212518) For those who don’t know, the VC is the top award in the Commonweath for bravery and is cast from a captured Russian cannon in the Siege of Sevastopol between 1854-1855. These guys operate under secrecy, and as far as I know this is the first time a serving trooper has been identified. I don’t know how having his details published will effect his career, or will he now be moved into a desk job? ---
**Author:** ![Gumboots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/838e76/32.png) [@Gumboots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gumboots)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nz-sas-trooper-awarded-vc/410209/2 "2007-07-02T10:26:27Z")
[QUOTE=dynamitedave] Not at all mundane or pointless, but for the first time ever a serving SAS trooper has received the Victoria Cross. Corporal Willy Apiata carried a seriously wounded comrade 70 metres under fire during an ambush in Afghanistan in 2004. [text article with links to video](http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/488120/1212518) For those who don’t know, the VC is the top award in the Commonweath for bravery and is cast from a captured Russian cannon in the Siege of Sevastopol between 1854-1855. These guys operate under secrecy, and as far as I know this is the first time a serving trooper has been identified. I don’t know how having his details published will effect his career, or will he now be moved into a desk job? [/QUOTE] Who knows what will happen but wasn’t he the most humble sounding bloke ever. Good on you Willy. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nz-sas-trooper-awarded-vc/410209/3 "2007-07-02T22:18:15Z")
I saw the news in yesterday’s paper. A very great honour.