In May 1969 Australian Keith Payne was leading a mobile strike force when the North Vietnamese Army (
NVA) attacked from three directions. What followed was to put Payne into the select band of men who have earned the Victoria Cross and survived.
Born in Queensland in August 1933, Payne became an apprentice tradesman after leaving school prior to joining the army in 1951. He subsequently served in Korea and Malaya before being appointed to the elite Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (
AATTV) in February 1969.
In May of that year, Chief Warrant Officer (WO-2) Payne was commanding the 212th Company of the 1st
Mobile Strike Force in Kontum when the NVA launched a powerful assault. With the company isolated and coming under heavy rocket and mortar fire, Payne’s Indigenous troops began to retreat. Despite being wounded in the hands and arms, he covered the withdrawal before successfully establishing a defensive perimeter.
With night falling Payne rushed back into enemy territory to search for survivors. Evading the Communist’s fire, he spent three hours rescuing forty men who’d been wounded or stranded during the initial attack. He then oversaw the evacuation of the soldiers, which included four Americans, and though undoubtedly hurt and exhausted he refused to leave until all the wounded had departed.
Payne’s bravery on that night earned him the Victoria Cross, Britain’s and the Commonwealth’s highest award for gallantry. He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by the United States, and the Republic of Vietnam presented him with the Cross of Gallantry with Bronze Star.
1After Vietnam Payne was posted to the Royal Military College of Australia as an instructor, before retiring from the Army in 1975.
Keith Payne was one of only four men to earn the Victoria Cross in Vietnam. The others were:
WO-2 Kevin Whealey – AATTV (posthumous award)
Maj. Peter Badcoe - AATTV (posthumous award)
WO-2 Ray Simpson - AATTV
1. A soldier must be in the U.S. military in order to qualify for the Medal of Honor.