# Daniel Keighran

Daniel Alan Keighran, VC (born 18 June 1983) is an Australian soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross for Australia, the highest award in the Australian honours system. Keighran was awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia for his actions in the Battle of Derapet on 24 August 2010, during the War in Afghanistan. He was presented with the medal by the Governor-General of Australia, Quentin Bryce, at a ceremony in Canberra on 1 November 2012. Keighran is the third soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia, and the first member of the Royal Australian Regiment so awarded.

## Early life

Keighran (pronounced: KEAR-ran) was born in Nambour, in the Sunshine Coast hinterland region of Queensland, on 18 June 1983. When Keighran was in Year 5, he moved with his family to Lowmead, approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) north west of the Queensland regional city of Bundaberg. His family lived on a "forty-acre block" where his parents bred paint horses. His mother also taught dressage, and his father occasionally organised rodeo events. Keighran attended school in nearby Rosedale and graduated from high school in 2000. That year Keighran was a torchbearer for the 2000 Summer Olympics torch parade and received a Pierre de Coubertin Award in recognition of his "Olympic spirit".

## Military career

Keighran joined the Australian Army in 2000. Prior to Afghanistan, he had served in East Timor and Iraq. He was promoted to lance corporal in 2005 while within Mortar Platoon of the Support Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (6 RAR). In 2006 he deployed to Iraq as a Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle driver, and in 2007 to Afghanistan with the Special Operations Task Group in the same role. He was promoted to corporal in 2009, and was posted to D Company, 6 RAR.

### Victoria Cross for Australia

Keighran was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions while serving with the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, in a fire fight with insurgents during the Battle of Derapet on 24 August 2010, an action of Operation Slipper.
During the battle, Keighran "with complete disregard for his own safety" repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to draw fire away from a team treating a battle casualty (Keighran's friend Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney). Keighran's actions were key in allowing the Coalition forces to withdraw without further casualties.
He represented recipients at the 2023 Coronation.

## Post-military career

As of 2012, Keighran served in the Australian Army Reserve posted to Army Headquarters. His civilian career was in the mining industry in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, where he worked in the Frog's Leg Gold Mine until early 2015.
After receiving the Victorian Cross for Australia Keighran completed an MBA. As of 2024, he and his family were living in Brisbane and Keighran was employed in a senior role in a multinational defence company.

## Honours and awards

Keighran's Victoria Cross for Australia and accompanying medal group are on loan to the Australian War Memorial for display in the Hall of Valour. Keighran from 2001 until 2011 wore the Presidential Unit Citation awarded by the United States.
In 2024 Keighran decided to sell his medals, including the Victoria Cross for Australia, to pay for a new house and help cover his family's living expenses.
| Description | Notes |
| Victoria Cross for Australia (VC) | "For the most conspicuous acts of gallantry and extreme devotion to duty in action in circumstances of great peril at Derapet, Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, as part of the Mentoring Task Force One on Operation SLIPPER" on 24 August 2010." |
| Australian Active Service Medal | with clasps for ICAT and IRAQ 2003 |
| Afghanistan Medal | Operation Slipper |
| Iraq Medal | Operation Catalyst |
| Australian Service Medal | with East Timor clasp (UNMISET) |
| Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal | 1 December 2012 |
| Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal | 29 November 2022 |
| King Charles III Coronation Medal | 2 May 2024 |
| Defence Long Service Medal with one clasp | for 20 years service |
| Australian Defence Medal | |
| United Nations Medal | with ribbon for active service with Operation Citadel in Timor Leste (UNMISET) |
| NATO Medal for the Non-Article 5 ISAF Operation in Afghanistan | with ISAF clasp |
| Meritorious Unit Citation with Federation Star | Awarded to Mentoring Task Force One in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours |
| Meritorious Unit Citation with Federation Star | Awarded to Task Force 66 in the 2015 Australia Day Honours |
| Infantry Combat Badge | |