WORLD> Asia-Pacific
Australian vet of Afghan war wins top valor medal
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-01-19 09:39

CANBERRA, Australia – Pinned down by a maelstrom of machine-gun bullets and rocket-propelled grenades in a Taliban ambush, Trooper Mark Donaldson made a move that defied logic.


In this photo released by Australian Department of Defence, Trooper Mark Donaldson, gets a kiss from his wife Emma as their daughter Kaylee looks on during a ceremony at Government House in Canberra, Australia, Friday, January 16, 2009. Donaldson was awarded the top military honor in the British Commonwealth on Friday for risking his life to save a wounded interpreter and injured soldiers during an ambush in Afghanistan. Trooper Donaldson became the first Australian in 40 years to be awarded the coveted Victoria Cross. [Agencies] 

The 29-year-old Australian left cover and deliberately exposed himself to insurgent fire in an attempt to draw it away from his wounded comrades.

For his actions during the battle last year in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province, Donaldson was awarded the Victoria Cross on Friday -- the highest military honor in the British Commonwealth.

He is the first Australian in 40 years to receive the award.

Donaldson -- who was feted as a hero by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at Friday's award ceremony in Canberra -- said he was just doing his job.

"I'm trained to fight and that's all we do -- it's instinct and it's natural," the red-haired Donaldson told reporters after the ceremony, where Governor General Quentin Bryce pinned the medal to the front of his dress uniform.

"You don't really think about it at the time. You just do what you've got to do," he said.

The Taliban insurgents opened fire on a patrol of Australian, US and Afghan troops on Sept. 2, 2008, as it returned to base after killing at least 13 Taliban during an operation the previous day, defense officials said.

The attackers were well entrenched, coordinated and effective fighters, Donaldson's citation said.

Donaldson, a commando in the Special Air Services, moved quickly to counterattack, darting from cover to cover, training fire on the enemy.

He then decided to expose himself in hopes of protecting the wounded.

"This selfless act alone bought enough time for those wounded to be moved to relative safety," his citation said.

The patrol tried to maneuver their humvees out of the trap. With the casualties taking up all available space inside, Donaldson was left to run along side his vehicle.

But as they made their way out, he spotted a severely wounded Afghan interpreter who was being left behind.

He broke from cover again, crossing 90 yards (80 meters) of open ground to grab the interpreter and carry him back to the patrol.

Throughout the two-hour running battle that covered more than two miles (4 kilometers) before the patrol shook off the enemy, Donaldson gave first aid to wounded soldiers between exchanges of gunfire with the enemy.

More than a dozen coalition troops were wounded; none died.

"Generations of school children will now know of the story of Trooper Mark Donaldson," Rudd said at the ceremony. "It is a story of a hero, one which will be told in classrooms, workplaces and watering holes for many years to come."

His wife, Emma, who attended the ceremony with their 2-year-old daughter Kaylee, said she would not ask her husband to be more careful in the future.

"He was married to the army before he married me and I support him all the way," she said.

Donaldson is the 97th Australian to receive the award since the South African Boer War of 1899-1902. About half have died during their acts of bravery.

Introduced by Britain's Queen Victoria in 1856, the Victoria Cross is the highest military honor for countries that were once part of the British Empire.

The United States' highest military accolade for valor, the Medal of Honor, has so far been given once for service in Afghanistan, in October 2007 to the family of Navy Seal Lt. Michael Murphy who was killed in action in 2005.

Four of the medals have been awarded for service in Iraq.

British Royal Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Croucher earned a George Cross last year for diving on a live grenade to protect his men in Afghanistan. His body armor absorbed most of the blast and he was not seriously hurt.

The George Cross is as high a distinction as the Victoria Cross, but the latter is only awarded for bravery during direct confrontation with the enemy.

Keith Payne, 75, was the last Australian to win the Victoria Cross.

"His life now is changed forever," said Payne, who earned the award for bravery in Vietnam in 1969.