Willie Apiata Bill Henry " Willie " Apiata ( born 28 June 1972 in Mangakino , New Zealand ) is a former corporal in the New Zealand Special Air Service who became the first recipient of the Victoria Cross for New Zealand . He received the award on 2 July 2007 for bravery under fire during the Afghanistan conflict in 2004 , after carrying a gravely wounded comrade across a battlefield , under fire , to safety . Apiata is the only recipient of the Victoria Cross for New Zealand , as opposed to the Victoria Cross previously awarded . There are no living New Zealand recipients of the ( Imperial ) Victoria Cross , which was last awarded to a New Zealander for actions in the Second World War . Between 1864 and 1943 , 21 members of the New Zealand forces were awarded the Victoria Cross including Captain Charles Upham , awarded a bar to the Victoria Cross in 1945 for gallantry in Egypt in 1942 . Apiata has gifted all of his medals , including his VC , to New Zealand . In 2008 he succeeded Sir Edmund Hillary as the " most trusted New Zealander " . Early life . Apiata was born in Mangakino , New Zealand . His father is Maori and his mother is Pakeha . 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 . Apiata affiliates to the Ngāpuhi iwi ( tribe ) through his father , but also has a very strong affiliation to Te Whānau - ā - Apanui ( the iwi of his partner ) from his time in the eastern Bay of Plenty . Apiata ' s home marae are Tukaki Marae at Te Kaha and Ngati Kawa Marae at Oromahoe , just south of Kerikeri . He is separated from his partner , the mother of their son born in 2003 . Military career . He enlisted in the New Zealand Army on 6 October 1989 in the Territorial Force Hauraki Regiment of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment . He unsuccessfully attempted to join the Special Air Service ( SAS ) in 1996 . From July 2000 to April 2001 he served in East Timor as a member of New Zealand ' s third Battalion Group as part of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor . On his return he became a full - time soldier . His second attempt to join the SAS in November 2001 was successful . 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 . 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 " . 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 at the High Wire Charitable Trust . He did not resign from the military and remains with the NZSAS Reserve Forces . Victoria Cross . Citation . Apiata ( then a Lance Corporal ) was part of a New Zealand Special Air Service ( NZSAS ) Troop in Afghanistan in 2004 which was attacked by about 20 enemy fighters while holed - up for the night in a rocky rural area . Enemy rocket propelled grenade s 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 . In part the citation reads : " 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 . " Three other SAS soldiers also received bravery awards for actions during the same mission . Two received the New Zealand Gallantry Decoration and one the New Zealand Gallantry Medal . Ceremonies . The investiture took place on 26 July 2007 at Government House , Wellington . The ceremony was presided over by His Excellency the Governor - General of New Zealand , with the Prime Minister Helen Clark , and Apiata ' s army colleagues , in attendance . A separate homecoming ceremony was held in his home town of Te Kaha . VC gifted to nation . In April 2008 , Apiata gifted 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 . Medal ribbons . Apiata ' s medal ribbons , as they would appear on the left breast of his uniform , are : RSA Badge in Gold . 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 .