Ray Simpson ( VC ) Rayene Stewart " Ray " Simpson VC , DCM ( 16 February 1926 – 18 October 1978 ) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross , the highest award for gallantry " in the face of the enemy " that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces . Early life . Rayene Stewart Simpson was born on 16 February 1926 at Redfern , Sydney , third child of New South Wales - born parents Robert William Simpson , labourer , and his wife Olga Maude , née Montgomery . Olga deserted her husband and children about 1931 . Ray was separated from his siblings and placed in the Church of England Home for Boys , Carlingford . Educated at a local school and at Dumaresq Island Public School , Taree , he worked as a labourer . Military career . Simpson joined the Second Australian Imperial Force , 41st / 2nd Infantry Battalion , a militia battalion that served as a holding unit for soldiers under 19 years of age , on 15 March 1944 . With this battalion , he was posted to Cowra as part of the Prisoner of War camp garrison after the Cowra breakout . He was subsequently posted to the 2 / 3rd Pioneer Battalion . Demobilized in January 1947 , Simpson spent four years working in various jobs , before re - enlisting in 1951 for service in the Korean War with the 3rd Battalion , The Royal Australian Regiment . He was promoted to lance corporal on 30 November 1951 and again to corporal on 21 January 1953 . During this period , he married Shoko Sakai , a Japanese citizen , on 5 March 1952 . Simpson was posted to the 2nd Battalion , The Royal Australian Regiment in January 1954 , where he was promoted to sergeant in 1955 . He served in the Malaya with this unit for two years from October 1955 . Simpson was next posted to 1st Special Air Service ( SAS ) Company in November 1957 and served with that unit until selected as one of the initial group of advisers for the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam ( AATTV ) who left by air for Vietnam in July 1962 . A year later , he returned to the SAS in Australia for twelve months ' service before his second tour of duty with AATTV in Vietnam commenced in July 1964 , where he was promoted to Warrant Officer Class II . During this second tour , he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his actions when a patrol was ambushed at Tako on 16 September . Simpson , although severely wounded in the leg , held off the enemy while he called for assistance by radio . He and his men repelled several enemy assaults until help arrived , and none too soon as their ammunition was almost gone and Simpson was weak from loss of blood . He was evacuated by helicopter to the 6th Field Hospital at Nha Trang and he later convalesced at Tokyo . On 16 May 1966 , Simpson left the army for a second time , but re - enlisted in Saigon a year later for his third period of service with the AATTV , where he performed the actions for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross . Victoria Cross . He was 43 years old , and a Warrant Officer Class II in the Australian Army Training Team , Australian Forces during the Vietnam War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross . On 6 May 1969 , in the Kon Tum Province , Vietnam , Warrant Officer Class II Simpson rescued a wounded fellow warrant Officer and carried out an unsuccessful attack on a strong enemy position . On 11 May he fought alone against heavy odds to cover the evacuation of a number of casualties . For his actions in Vietnam , in addition to his Victoria Cross and Distinguished Conduct Medal , Ray Simpson was also awarded the United States Silver Star and Bronze Star . Later life . Simpson took his final discharge from the army in May 1970 . In 1972 he took up a position as administrative officer at the Australian Embassy , Tokyo . Rayene Stewart Simpson died of cancer in Tokyo on 18 October 1978 and was buried at the Yokohama war cemetery , Japan . His Victoria Cross and a portrait are displayed at the Australian War Memorial , Canberra , Australia .