The Victoria Cross for Australia has been formally presented to the family of the late Private Richard Norden, in recognition for his bravery and dedication to service during the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Private Norden\u2019s gallantry during the Battle of Fire Support Base Coral in Vietnam in 1968 has never been forgotten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In November last year, Governor-General, the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn AC announced that His Majesty The King had approved the awarding of the Victoria Cross for Australia for Private Norden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today at a special investiture ceremony in Rockhampton, Australia\u2019s highest military honour was presented to Private Norden\u2019s widow, Mrs Robynn Freeman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The awarding of the Victoria Cross reflects Private Norden\u2019s courage and selflessness in the heat of battle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On 14 May 1968, Private Norden\u2019s platoon came under heavy fire during the Battle of Fire Support Base Coral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using his initiative and demonstrating a depth of care for his fellow soldiers, Private Norden rescued a wounded soldier and recovered the body of another, with very little cover and under intense enemy fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Private Norden displayed a complete disregard for his own personal safety. His courage and selfless acts resulted in the enemy position being secured and likely saved the lives of many others on that day in 1968.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Private Norden died in the line of duty while serving as a member of the Australian Capital Territory Police in 1972.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today marks an historic occasion for Australia and the Australian Defence Force and a particularly significant day for Private Norden\u2019s family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPrivate Richard Norden\u2019s bravery during the Battle of Fire Support Base Coral exemplifies the values we hold as Australians \u2013 those of tremendous courage and mateship. Minister for Defence Personnel and Minister for Veterans\u2019 Affairs, Matt Keogh:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen we say \u2018Lest We Forget\u2019 that\u2019s a call to action to never forget the service and sacrifice of Australia\u2019s personnel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m so pleased that today, almost six decades after his heroic act, his family are finally receiving this important acknowledgement of his selfless service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPrivate Norden personified the ANZAC spirit \u2013 disregarding his own safety to put his mates first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI want to acknowledge and thank the veteran community for your advocacy for the appropriate recognition of Private Norden.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Victoria Cross for Australia has been formally presented to the family of the late Private Richard Norden, in recognition for his bravery and dedication to service during the Vietnam War. Private Norden\u2019s gallantry during the Battle of Fire Support Base Coral in Vietnam in 1968 has never been forgotten. In November last year, Governor-General, … Continue reading “Investiture of the Victoria Cross for Private Richard Norden”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33723"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33724,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33723\/revisions\/33724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u201cUnder fire from the enemy, Private Norden did not hesitate as he moved forward to help his fellow wounded soldiers.
\u201cI am honoured to have attended today\u2019s investiture ceremony to see Private Norden recognised with Australia\u2019s highest military honour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n