True Blue Conversations - Keith Payne VC, AM - Oldest living Victoria Cross Recipient in the World

On todays podcast, I speak with Keith Payne VC, AM, the oldest living recipient of the
Victoria Cross in the world. From the battlefields of Korea, Malaya, and Vietnam to the
struggle for veterans welfare, Keith Payne has never shied away from a fight. More than 50
years ago, this bravery saw him receive the Commonwealths highest military honour - the
Victoria Cross. Keith grew up one of thirteen children in the shadow of the Great Depression
and the Second World War. After seeing his father come home wounded from war, Keith
joined the army. He was sent to fight in Korea at just 18 years old, the bloody beginning to
decades of military service across the world. Keiths life was defined by one night in 1969. In
the dark jungle of Vietnam, under heavy enemy fire, Keith returned to a fled battlefield to
rescue 40 of his soldiers. For his extreme act of bravery in leading his men to safety, Keith
became the last Australian to earn the VC for 40 years. Keith spent decades in the public
spotlight while struggling with his own demons, then found a new purpose as an advocate
for others. In a lifetime of service, he has helped not only veterans of foreign wars but also
Indigenous diggers and communities left behind by civilian and military bureaucracy.

 On 24TH May 1969, in Kontum Province, Warrant Officer Payne was Commanding 212th Company
of 1st Mobile Strike Force Battalion when the battalion was attacked by a North Vietnamese force of
superior strength. Under this heavy attack, the indigenous soldiers began to fall back. Directly
exposing himself to the enemys fire, Warrant Officer Payne, through his own efforts, temporarily held
off the assaults by alternately firing his weapon and running from position to position, collecting
grenades and throwing them at the assaulting enemy. While doing this, he was wounded in the hand
and arms. Despite his outstanding efforts, the indigenous soldiers gave way under the enemys
increased pressure, and the Battalion Commander, together with several advisors and a few soldiers,
withdrew. Paying no attention to his wounds and under extremely heavy enemy fire, Warrant Officer
Payne covered his withdrawal by throwing grenades and firing his own weapon at the enemy who
were attempting to follow up. Still under fire, he then ran across exposed ground to head off his own
troops, who were withdrawing in disorder. He successfully stopped them and organised the remnants
of his and the second company into a temporary defensive perimeter by nightfall.

Having achieved this, Warrant Officer Payne, of his own accord and at great personal risk, moved out
of the perimeter into the darkness alone in an attempt to find the wounded and other indigenous
soldiers. He finally collected forty lost soldiers, some of whom had been wounded and returned with
this group to the temporary defensive position he had left, only to find that the remainder of the
battalion had moved back. Undeterred by this setback and personally assisting a seriously wounded
American advisor, he led the group through the enemy to the safety of his battalion base. His
sustained and heroic personal efforts in this action were outstanding and undoubtedly saved the lives
of a large number of his indigenous soldiers and several of his fellow advisors.
Warrant Officer Payne's repeated acts of exceptional personal bravery and unselfish conduct in this
operation were an inspiration to all Vietnamese, United States, and Australian soldiers who served
with him. His conspicuous gallantry was in the highest traditions of the Australian Army. 

Victoria Cross citation published in The London Gazette, 19th September 1969

Presenter: Adam Blum

Guest: Keith Payne VC AM
Editor: Kyle Watkins