Willie Apiata
Bill Apiata | |
|---|---|
 CPL Apiata on a school visit, 3 August 2007 | |
| Nickname(s) | Willie |
| Allegiance |  New Zealand |
| Service/ | This file may be deleted after Saturday, 17 November 2007. New Zealand Army |
| Years of service | 1989-Present |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Unit | 6 Bn, RNZIR NZ SAS |
| Awards | Victoria Cross for New Zealand Navy and Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation (US) |
Corporal Bill Henry "Willie" Apiata, VC (born 28 June 1972 in Mangakino, New Zealand) is a member of the Special Air Service of New Zealand and the first recipient of the Victoria Cross for New Zealand. He received the award on 2 July 2007 for bravery under fire during the Afghanistan conflict in 2004, after carrying a wounded compatriot across a battlefield to receive medical treatment.
Corporal Apiata is the first and only recipient of the Victoria Cross for New Zealand, as opposed to the Imperial Victoria Cross previously awarded.[1] There are no living New Zealand recipients of the (Imperial) Victoria Cross, which was last awarded to a New Zealander for actions in the Second World War. Between 1864 and 1943, 21 members of the New Zealand forces were awarded the Victoria Cross including Captain Charles Upham, awarded a bar to the Victoria Cross in 1945 for gallantry in Egypt in 1942.[2]
Biography
Apiata is the youngest of four children with three older sisters. His parents separated, and he has not had contact with his father for several years. His youth was spent in Northland before moving to Te Kaha. He attended Te Whanau-a-Apanui Area School in Opotiki, which he left at the age of 15. [1]
He enlisted in the New Zealand Army on 6 October 1989 in the Territorial Force Hauraki Regiment of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment. He unsuccessfully attempted to join the Special Air Service in 1996. From July 2000 to April 2001 he served in East Timor as a member of New Zealand's third Battalion Group as part of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor. On his return he became a full-time soldier. His second attempt to join the SAS in November 2001 was successful.[1]
He is separated from his partner, the mother of his son (born 2003).
Apiata affiliates to the Ngā Puhi iwi (tribe) through his father, but also has a very strong affiliation to Te Whānau-ā-Apanui (the iwi of his partner) from his time in the eastern Bay of Plenty. Bill's home marae are Tukaki Marae in Te Kaha and Ngati Kawa Marae in Oromahoe.[1]
Victoria Cross
Citation
Apiata (then a Lance Corporal) was part of a New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS) Troop in Afghanistan that came under attack from about 20 enemy fighters while holed-up for the night in a rocky rural area. The troop was attacked with rocket propelled grenades, destroying one of the troop's vehicles and immobilising another. This was followed by sustained machine gun and automatic rifle fire from close range.
One of the grenade hits blew Apiata off the bonnet of the vehicle in which he was stationed. Two other soldiers in or near the vehicle were wounded by shrapnel; one of them, who can only be identified as Corporal 'D', was in a serious condition. After finding what cover was available, the three soldiers found that Corporal 'D' had life-threatening arterial bleeding and was deteriorating rapidly. Apiata assumed command of the situation.
The three were about 70 metres in front of the rest of the troop, so Apiata decided the only option available was to carry Corporal 'D' back to the rest of the troop. Miraculously none of them were hit during the brave act. After getting Corporal 'D' to shelter, Apiata went back outside to rejoin the battle.
On July the 2nd, 2007, Apiata was awarded the VC for his bravery. In part the citation for the award reads[3]:
"In total disregard of his own safety, Lance Corporal Apiata stood up and lifted his comrade bodily. He then carried him across the seventy metres of broken, rocky and fire swept ground, fully exposed in the glare of battle to heavy enemy fire and into the face of returning fire from the main Troop position. That neither he nor his colleague were hit is scarcely possible. Having delivered his wounded companion to relative shelter with the remainder of the patrol, Lance Corporal Apiata re-armed himself and rejoined the fight in counter-attack."
Three other SAS soldiers also received bravery awards for actions during the same mission. Two received the New Zealand Gallantry Decoration and one the New Zealand Gallantry Medal.[4]
Ceremonies
The official ceremony to award the medal itself took place on 26 July 2007 at Government House, Wellington. The ceremony was presided over by Anand Satyanand, the Governor-General of New Zealand with the Prime Minister Helen Clark and his fellow army colleagues in attendance.[5] A separate homecoming ceremony was held in his home town of Te Kaha.[6]
Medal ribbons
Corporal Apiata's medal ribbons, worn on his left breast, are:
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File:NZOSMRibbon.jpg
File:EastTimorRibbon.jpgFile:UN Medal for East Timor.jpgFile:NZGSMAfgPrimaryRibbon.jpg
- Top row: The Victoria Cross for New Zealand, the New Zealand Operational Service Medal.
- Bottom row: The New Zealand East Timor Medal, the United Nations Mission in East Timor Medal (UNAMET) [7], the New Zealand General Service Medal for Afghanistan.
- On his right breast he wears the emblem of the US Navy and Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation .[8]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d "Press kit related to July 2007 gallantry awards (NZ)" (PDF). NZ Government through news agency. 2 July. Retrieved 2007-07-01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=and|year=/|date=mismatch (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Glyn Harper and Colin Richardson. In the face of the enemy: the complete history of the Victoria Cross and New Zealand, 2006, HarperCollins Publishers (NZ), ISBN 978 1 86950 522 6.
- ^ "Read the official citation for Corporal Apiata's VC". NZ Government through news agency. Retrieved 2007-07-01.
- ^ "I was only doing my job, says VC hero". New Zealand Herald. 2007-07-02. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Willie Apiata receives his VC". NZ Herald. 2007-07-26. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
- ^ "Apiata to have homecoming ceremony". NZ Herald. 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- ^ Medal yearbook 2007, Token Publishing Company, 2006, ISBN 978 1 870192 76 7
- ^ Approval for the acceptance and wear of the US Navy Presidential Unit Citation for service by the NZ SAS in Afghanistan NZDF Medal news website