Wellington Memo

He later said he was “only doing my job,” but what New Zealand special-forces soldier Bill Apiata did in Afghanistan one night in June 2004 so far transcended ordinary duty that it has earned him the Victoria Cross, the highest award for valor Queen Elizabeth II can confer.

When a Taliban attack pinned Apiata and two other soldiers beside their blazing vehicle, 70 grenade and machine-gun-raked meters from the rest of their patrol, the then lance corporal told one man to run for it and heaved the other, who was bleeding to death, onto his shoulders. Stepping out into a firefight so intense that, according to the award citation, it was “scarcely possible” neither man was hit, he carried his semiconscious comrade to where the unit and its medic had taken cover. Apiata’s unhesitating courage not only saved the man’s life but, by uniting the squad, helped it win the battle.

News that Apiata would be the first New Zealander since World War II—and one of only 13 men living—to receive the VC caused a national sensation. Visibly uneasy in the media glare, the 35-year-old corporal, who joined the Special Air Service in 2001, said he was “just an ordinary person.” If ordinary New Zealanders are made of Apiata’s stuff, they have good reason to be proud.