Apiata is the only recipient of the Victoria Cross for New Zealand, which replaced the Imperial Victoria Cross in 1999.[2][3] There are no living New Zealand recipients of the Victoria Cross, which was last awarded to a New Zealander for actions in the Second World War.[4] Apiata is the second Māori recipient of the VC serving with New Zealand forces, after Second Lieutenant Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa Ngarimu (also of Te Whanau a Apanui). Apiata has donated all of his medals, including his VC, to New Zealand.[5] In 2008 he succeeded Sir Edmund Hillary as the "most trusted New Zealander".[6]
Early life
Apiata was born in Mangakino, New Zealand.[7] His father is Māori and his mother is Pākehā.[8] His parents separated, and he has not had contact with his father for several years. His early childhood was spent at Waima in Northland before the family moved to Te Kaha when he was seven. He attended Te Whanau-a-Apanui Area School in Te Kaha, which he left at the age of 15.[3]
Apiata affiliates to the Ngāpuhiiwi (tribe) through his father, but also has a very strong affiliation to Te Whānau-ā-Apanui from his time in the eastern Bay of Plenty. Apiata's home marae is Ngati Kawa Marae at Oromahoe, just south of Kerikeri.[3] The ceremony where he received the Victoria Cross was held at Tukaki Marae in Te Kaha; due to being raised there when younger. In September 2011 Apiata was married to Sade, a chef in the army, but they have since divorced. They have two sons together, and he has a son from an earlier relationship.[9]
Apiata was re-deployed to Afghanistan with the NZSAS in 2009 when the New Zealand government opted to return troops to that country. Responding in the aftermath of the January 2010 attacks in Kabul, Apiata was photographed by French photojournalist Philip Poupin.[10] Poupin, who did not know Apiata, photographed Apiata and two companions as they were leaving the "thick of the fight" because "They looked like foreign troops and they were tall and had a specific face, they looked tough and strong".[11] One photo was widely reproduced in New Zealand newspapers, prompting Prime Minister John Key to publicly acknowledge that Apiata was one of the soldiers depicted. The publication has also reopened the debate on the publication of images identifying New Zealand Special Forces personnel with some concerns that in doing so Apiata could become a target for insurgents.
Around 18 July 2012, Apiata left full-time military service to teach adventure skills to young people.[12] He did not resign from the Army and remains with the NZSAS Reserve Forces.[13]
Apiata (then a lance corporal) was part of a New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS) Troop in Afghanistan in 2004 that was attacked by about 20 enemy fighters while holed-up for the night in a rocky rural area. Enemy rocket propelled grenades destroyed one of the troop's vehicles and immobilised another. This was followed by sustained machine gun and automatic rifle fire from close range.
A grenade explosion blew Apiata off the bonnet of his vehicle, where he had been sleeping. Two other soldiers in or near the vehicle were wounded by shrapnel, one of them seriously (Corporal D). After finding cover, it was seen that Corporal D had life-threatening arterial bleeding and was deteriorating rapidly.
Apiata assumed command of the situation, deciding all three would need to rejoin the troop which was about 70 metres to the rear. Apiata decided his only option was to carry Corporal D to safety, and none of the three were hit during the retreat. After getting Corporal D to shelter, Apiata rejoined the firefight.
He became one of the very few living holders of the Victoria Cross.[15] In part the citation reads:[16]
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.
In April 2008, Apiata donated his Victoria Cross of New Zealand medal to the NZSAS Trust, so that "the medal is protected for future generations". The medal remains available to Apiata and his family to wear.[5][22]
Medal ribbons
Apiata's medal ribbons, as they would appear on the left breast of his uniform, are:
On Armistice Day, 11 November 2007, Apiata was presented with the Badge in Gold, the highest honour awarded by the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association (RSA). The award was made in the Gallipoli Room at ANZAC House by the Governor-General Anand Satyanand who also presented him with life membership of the RSA.[26]
↑ 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), ISBN978-1-86950-522-6.
The 1st New Zealand Special Air Service Regiment, abbreviated as 1 NZSAS Regt, is the special forces unit of the New Zealand Army, closely modelled on the British Special Air Service (SAS). It was formed on 7 July 1955. It traces its origins to the Second World War and the famous Long Range Desert Group that New Zealanders served with.
Samuel Frickleton, was a soldier in the New Zealand Military Forces and a recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award of the British Commonwealth for gallantry in the face of the enemy.
Te Kaha is a small New Zealand community situated in the Bay of Plenty near Ōpōtiki. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "the rope" for Te Kaha. The full name of Te Kaha is Te-Kahanui-A-Tikirākau. Te Kaha is a little outpost that contains a couple of dairies and the Te Kaha resort.
The Medal for Gallantry(MG) is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force. It recognises acts of gallantry in action in hazardous circumstances. The MG was introduced on 15 January 1991, replacing the Imperial equivalent. It is ranked third in the Gallantry Decorations in the Australian Honours System. Recipients of the Medal of Gallantry are entitled to use the post-nominal letters "MG".
The Victoria Cross for New Zealand is a military decoration awarded for valour or gallantry in the presence of the enemy to members of the New Zealand Armed Forces. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service and civilians under military command, and is presented to the recipient by the governor-general of New Zealand during an investiture held at Government House, Wellington. As the highest award for gallantry in New Zealand it takes precedence over all other postnominals and medals.
Te Whānau-ā-Apanui is a Māori iwi (tribe) located in the eastern Bay of Plenty and East Coast regions of New Zealand's North Island. In 2006, the iwi registered 11,808 members, representing 13 hapū.
The Victoria Cross for Australia is the highest award in the Australian honours system, superseding the British Victoria Cross for issue to Australians. The Victoria Cross for Australia is the "decoration for according recognition to persons who in the presence of the enemy, perform acts of the most conspicuous gallantry, or daring or pre-eminent acts of valour or self-sacrifice or display extreme devotion to duty".
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously awarded to service personnel in the broader British Empire, with most successor independent nations now having established their own honours systems and no longer recommending British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians under military command. No civilian has received the award since 1879. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857, two thirds of all awards have been personally presented by the British monarch. The investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace.
Leon Kristopher Smith, was a New Zealand Army soldier who was posthumously awarded the New Zealand Gallantry Decoration and the Charles Upham Bravery Award for his actions when attempting to resuscitate a mortally wounded colleague, while responding to an insurgent attack on the British Council Offices in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2011. Smith, who was a member of the New Zealand Special Air Service, was himself mortally wounded during a later operation in Afghanistan.
Potaka is a village and rural community in Gisborne District of New Zealand's North Island. It marks the northern and western end of the Gisborne District and the Ngāti Porou tribal territory.
Te Ūpokorehe is a Māori tribal group located in the eastern Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. There is currently a dispute over whether it is a hapū (sub-tribe) of Whakatōhea or an iwi (tribe) in its own right.
Hāwai is a coastal settlement in the Ōpōtiki District and Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island.
The 2007 New Zealand gallantry awards were announced via a Special Honours List on 2 July 2007, and recognised four New Zealand military personnel for actions while serving in Afghanistan in 2004. The identities of three of the four award recipients were not released for operational security reasons. Willie Apiata was awarded the Victoria Cross for New Zealand, the first and so far only time the decoration has been awarded since its inception in 1999.
Roka Pahewa Paora, née Swinton, QSM was a pioneer of the Māori language, developing materials to teach the language within a whakapapa framework.
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