New Zealand’s only living recipient of the Victoria Cross, Willie Apiata, has received a special New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) appointment at a ceremony in Tāmaki Makaurau on Wednesday.
Apiata was appointed a Special Representative to the NZDF and promoted from corporal to the honorary rank of warrant officer class one (WO1) at the ceremony in front of whānau at Papakura Military Camp, the home of New Zealand’s Special Forces.
“I’ve been a bit of a mess the last three or four days because it felt like I’d just opened the letters and we were walking up to get the Victoria Cross again,” an emotional Apiata said during the ceremony.
Honorary WO1 Apiata is the first person appointed to the position of Special Representative, which will see him work across international, New Zealand and Defence Force activities to “contribute to the mana of the NZDF”.
“It is a privilege to be appointed to this new role. As a recipient of the VC, I represent the NZDF every day and this appointment formally recognises that relationship,” Apiata said Wednesday evening in a release.
As part of the ceremony, Apiata’s jacket, which was embellished with his old rank, was removed and he was presented with a new jacket with his new rank by Defence Force Warrant Officer, Mark Mortiboy, and Defence Force Chief, Air Marshal Kevin Short.
“It is a great honour to be awarded the Victoria Cross and it comes with much pressure on the recipient. This sets a path not just for me, but for those who might be awarded the VC in the future,” Apiata said.
Apiata received the VC in 2007, for bravery under fire while serving in Afghanistan in 2004, where he rescued a wounded comrade during a night attack on his SAS patrol.
In 2008, he donated his VC to the NZSAS Trust, so that the medal would be protected for future generations.
Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, said the appointment and promotion were a mark of Apiata’s mana.
“Promotion to Honorary Warrant Officer rank is a first for the NZDF and this is a reflection of the mark of the man. He is a humble Kiwi, who every day lives the values of the Defence Force.
“He will pass on his knowledge and experience to our new recruits and to our new leaders as a coach and mentor, to help create a better culture and a better ethos for the NZDF.”