WEBVTT FILE 1 00:00:03.800 --> 00:00:12.480 After only his second weekend off in two months, Corporal Willie Apiata, VC, is hard at work for the NZSAS. 2 00:00:12.520 --> 00:00:14.520 BOMBS EXPLODE 3 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:17.080 GUNS FIRE 4 00:00:18.120 --> 00:00:20.120 MEN SHOUT INDISTINCTLY 5 00:00:20.680 --> 00:00:26.400 His time is a constant juggle between the intense training required of a Special Forces soldier 6 00:00:26.440 --> 00:00:30.480 and the demands placed on being the country's newest hero. 7 00:00:30.520 --> 00:00:38.160 This calibre of this award is something you can't hide, something you couldn't keep under wraps. 8 00:00:38.200 --> 00:00:44.840 Among a stream of invitations Willie receives, one has great personal significance. 9 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:48.960 It's from the 375 residents of a tiny coastal community 10 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:54.200 in the Eastern Bay of Plenty called Te Kaha, Willie's hometown. 11 00:00:54.240 --> 00:01:00.840 They're very forthcoming and humble people, and they really looked after us when we moved there. 12 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:06.800 They teach you to value the land where you live, appreciate what you have. 13 00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:13.520 Living down there is unspoilt and hasn't been commercialised, as you could say. 14 00:01:16.280 --> 00:01:19.800 Up until now, Willie has been supported by a close team, 15 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:25.440 personally led by his commanding officer. But this weekend, that all changes. 16 00:01:25.480 --> 00:01:29.400 It wasn't about us. It wasn't about the SAS. It was wider than that. 17 00:01:29.440 --> 00:01:31.880 It was about Willie Apiata and his iwi. 18 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:36.280 The homecoming at Te Kaha is a trip Willie must take alone. 19 00:01:36.320 --> 00:01:38.520 MAN CHANTS MAORI GREETING 20 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:57.640 The elders of this community have pulled out all the stops, as the population swells to nearly 4000, 21 00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:03.000 making Willie's visit home the biggest gathering of Maori in the district in over a century. 22 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:05.040 WOMAN CHANTS KARANGA 23 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:14.240 It was a huge thing. 24 00:02:14.520 --> 00:02:17.720 All those people down there, you know. 25 00:02:18.480 --> 00:02:23.160 It sort of took something like this to really bring them all together. 26 00:02:23.200 --> 00:02:25.280 ALL SING 'WHAKAARIA MAI' 27 00:02:26.280 --> 00:02:32.600 Decreed a hui of national significance, the homecoming is not just to honour Willie. 28 00:02:32.640 --> 00:02:38.920 You see all those photos of the fallen soldiers. They're there watching the occasion as well. 29 00:02:38.960 --> 00:02:45.120 Soldiers like Lieutenant Te Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa Ngarimu - awarded the Victoria Cross, 30 00:02:45.160 --> 00:02:48.560 but killed in action during World War II. 31 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:55.480 You could feel in the air... at every stage, you could feel our ancestors. 32 00:02:55.640 --> 00:02:57.720 You feel their presence. 33 00:02:59.040 --> 00:03:02.240 ALL CONTINUE SINGING 'WHAKAARIA MAI' 34 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:09.560 Tomorrow will be the official celebration, but tonight, a local son is welcomed home. 35 00:03:09.600 --> 00:03:14.440 Before the announcement of the Victoria Cross, few knew Willie was a soldier, 36 00:03:14.480 --> 00:03:18.920 let alone a decorated member of the country's elite fighting unit. 37 00:03:18.960 --> 00:03:20.640 Welcome home, boy. 38 00:03:20.680 --> 00:03:26.360 For them to find out like that, I think they're still trying to get over the shock of it, as well. 39 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:28.120 Really proud people. 40 00:03:28.160 --> 00:03:34.960 The one-time mischievous kid has returned a mature and much-loved warrior hero. 41 00:03:36.640 --> 00:03:40.320 Tena koe. We're proud of you. So proud of you. 42 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:49.000 MACHINE GUNS FIRE 43 00:03:49.720 --> 00:03:53.600 A NZ Special Forces patrol in Afghanistan was on the offensive 44 00:03:53.640 --> 00:04:00.840 after being attacked in the early hours of the morning by a large number of insurgents. 45 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:08.080 For us, it was like a blind hit from nowhere, 46 00:04:08.120 --> 00:04:13.920 and it's a quick orientation to the threat, which is what the guys did. 47 00:04:14.200 --> 00:04:19.280 Despite his brush with death, Corporal Willie Apiata threw himself into the fray. 48 00:04:19.320 --> 00:04:23.560 What I saw was Willie covered in blood, wrapped up with a machine-gun belt, 49 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:30.240 carrying a GPMG - General Purpose Machine Gun - looking like he wanted to do business. 50 00:04:30.280 --> 00:04:32.280 MACHINE GUNS FIRE 51 00:04:41.720 --> 00:04:44.400 Started getting some fire back. 52 00:04:50.760 --> 00:04:56.040 I honestly believed that they bit off more than they could chew. 53 00:05:04.600 --> 00:05:08.400 They'd stopped firing... long before we did. 54 00:05:17.560 --> 00:05:22.680 On Saturday morning, Willie Apiata is formally welcomed on to the marae, 55 00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:26.280 and the emotion of the occasion is overwhelming. 56 00:05:26.320 --> 00:05:33.320 I didn't really realise the scale the event was going to be until I turned up that day. 57 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:37.240 WOMEN CHANT POWHIRI 58 00:05:49.400 --> 00:05:56.280 Those people were so proud to have me come back home. That will hang with me forever. 59 00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:07.800 Looking good, Wills. Looking good. 60 00:06:07.960 --> 00:06:12.800 Wearing a precious cloak and seated at the forefront of all dignitaries, 61 00:06:12.840 --> 00:06:20.920 Willie receives a line-up of speakers whose oratory represents the feelings of the many guests. 62 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:23.000 (SPEAKS MAORI) 63 00:06:37.440 --> 00:06:39.440 (SPEAKS MAORI) 64 00:06:45.120 --> 00:06:47.120 (SPEAKS MAORI) 65 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:07.600 Emotions that I was feeling that day,... there are no words for them. 66 00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:13.320 Willie is called to the whare nui, where he is handed a centuries-old mere, 67 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:19.680 carved from the highest strike of greenstone. Flanked by the images of past generations of soldiers, 68 00:07:19.720 --> 00:07:26.600 Willie turns and formally acknowledges the people, his tears barely kept in check. 69 00:07:26.640 --> 00:07:28.640 CROWD CHANTS HAKA 70 00:08:09.320 --> 00:08:11.800 Willie. Well done. Well done. 71 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:14.560 Welcome home. 72 00:08:15.200 --> 00:08:20.040 Warrior to warrior, Willie now greets the surviving war veterans. 73 00:08:20.080 --> 00:08:23.720 Thank you for the honour. Thank you for knowing you. 74 00:08:23.760 --> 00:08:30.840 Their respect is such that the sight of the Victoria Cross is too much for some to bear. 75 00:08:34.800 --> 00:08:42.280 I feel all the mana coming off those men. They're so proud. They're so honoured to be there. 76 00:08:43.320 --> 00:08:49.320 It takes Willie several minutes to make his way through the well-wishers to the official dinner. 77 00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:53.640 Can we move back? More space to move straight through. 78 00:08:53.680 --> 00:08:59.080 It must seem a long way for Willie, from wherever it was in Afghanistan, 79 00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:02.920 back home to be celebrated for what he's done. 80 00:09:04.880 --> 00:09:12.280 In government, we hear whenever our people are involved in some kind of action overseas. 81 00:09:13.080 --> 00:09:20.360 Word comes back. 'There's been an incident, an action.' Eventually, we hear a bit more. 82 00:09:21.560 --> 00:09:28.560 In this case, eventually, the Chief of Defence came in and he said, 'Something extraordinary happened.' 83 00:09:28.600 --> 00:09:35.480 We started documenting this story, looking at the precedents, and, on that basis, 84 00:09:37.560 --> 00:09:45.160 I was advised to recommend to Her Majesty the Queen that Corporal Willie Apiata be recognised. 85 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:47.200 APPLAUSE 86 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:57.880 It wasn't just me there that day. There was a lot of other men on the ground. 87 00:09:57.920 --> 00:10:03.760 And... we all know we are a tight family and we just look after each other, 88 00:10:03.800 --> 00:10:06.280 and that's just the way we are. 89 00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:14.920 There's an old saying, 'Who are ye in rags and rotten shoes? The bearded ones blocking the way. 90 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:23.800 'We are the pilgrims, master.' We're just humble men - just ordinary blokes, just like everybody here. 91 00:10:25.680 --> 00:10:31.360 My heart goes out to everybody here. Everyone. We are one. One Maori. 92 00:10:33.560 --> 00:10:36.440 Tena koutou. Kia ora koutou katoa. 93 00:10:41.160 --> 00:10:44.160 # Maori Battalion march to victory, 94 00:10:45.280 --> 00:10:48.280 # Maori Battalion staunch and true. 95 00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:52.640 # Maori Battalion march to glory, 96 00:10:54.080 --> 00:10:57.360 # take the honour of the people with you. 97 00:10:58.520 --> 00:11:02.320 # And we will march, march, march to the enemy. 98 00:11:02.880 --> 00:11:05.880 # And we will fight right to the end. # 99 00:11:23.480 --> 00:11:28.600 Passchendaele - out of the seasonal mist unique to this corner of Europe 100 00:11:28.640 --> 00:11:36.520 comes a line-up of Commonwealth war veterans, high-ranking officials and national leaders. 101 00:11:36.760 --> 00:11:41.400 They have come from all over to pay their respects at the 90th anniversary 102 00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:45.240 of one of the bloodiest conflicts of the First World War. 103 00:11:45.280 --> 00:11:49.040 Passchendaele represents the greatest loss of life to NZ servicemen 104 00:11:49.080 --> 00:11:53.800 in any battle or campaign or war that NZers have ever been involved in. 105 00:11:53.840 --> 00:11:56.640 It exceeds Gallipoli in terms of the loss of life. 106 00:11:56.680 --> 00:12:01.160 It's extraordinary, and so many NZers went to their death at Passchendaele, 107 00:12:01.200 --> 00:12:04.840 over literally several hundred metres of dirt. 108 00:12:04.880 --> 00:12:09.560 Among the NZ dignitaries is Corporal Willie Apiata, VC. 109 00:12:10.680 --> 00:12:16.400 Tremendously important, but Willie, as our most recent VC winner - the first since World War II - 110 00:12:16.440 --> 00:12:20.320 was there for the country, but also for Willie. 111 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:23.480 This day will prove a significant turning point 112 00:12:23.520 --> 00:12:28.800 in Willie's understanding of the medal he now so proudly bears. 113 00:12:29.520 --> 00:12:36.920 I felt very honoured, going over, but, you know, I was seeking knowledge at the same time. 114 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:43.320 When the official party arrives at Tyne Cot, the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world, 115 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:47.160 the true sense of scale and loss is felt by all. 116 00:12:49.880 --> 00:12:52.600 This is an occasion to honour and remember those 117 00:12:52.640 --> 00:12:57.320 who made the supreme sacrifice in the War to End all Wars. 118 00:12:58.200 --> 00:13:00.200 # Hold thou thy cross 119 00:13:02.600 --> 00:13:04.680 # before my closing eyes. 120 00:13:11.120 --> 00:13:14.800 # Shine through the gloom and point me to... # 121 00:13:19.920 --> 00:13:26.120 With hundreds of NZers laid to rest here, Tyne Cot has a profound effect on Willie. 122 00:13:26.160 --> 00:13:30.080 I saw the walls with all their names on it. That's when it hits home - 123 00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:34.400 that so many men just walked out of their trench, eh, 124 00:13:36.920 --> 00:13:39.520 and knew they were going to die. 125 00:13:39.760 --> 00:13:41.760 # Abide with me. # 126 00:13:54.440 --> 00:14:01.920 For the rest of the day, Willie visits sites where thousands of young men lost their lives. 127 00:14:02.560 --> 00:14:07.160 The Kiwis took 20 minutes to get out of the front line, get across no-man's-land 128 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:10.040 and to the German front line, so they moved fast. 129 00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:18.560 The Germans knew where they were and started to shell them. That's when we took most of our casualties. 130 00:14:20.640 --> 00:14:24.400 Almighty God, in whose hands are the living and the dead. 131 00:14:24.440 --> 00:14:31.080 We give you thanks for all your servants who have laid down their lives in service of our country. 132 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:36.000 Grant them your mercy in the light of your presence. Amene. 133 00:14:36.440 --> 00:14:38.440 CHURCH BELL TOLLS 134 00:14:38.800 --> 00:14:43.680 Confronted with the huge loss of life on an unprecedented scale at Passchendaele, 135 00:14:43.720 --> 00:14:48.000 Willie's own brush with death now takes on a new meaning. 136 00:14:48.040 --> 00:14:54.120 All the people I know that have been awarded them are just ordinary blokes, and that's all they are. 137 00:14:54.160 --> 00:15:02.640 Just normal blokes just looking out for their mates and doing what people call extraordinary things. 138 00:15:05.360 --> 00:15:11.000 It takes some time to sink in, but I think Passchendaele was a watershed time 139 00:15:11.040 --> 00:15:16.320 for him to really understand, now, what it was really all about. 140 00:15:17.480 --> 00:15:25.880 Departing from their official schedule, Willie returns to Tyne Cot Cemetery, this time in private. 141 00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:38.520 We went back to Tyne Cot, and that's where, you know, I had my time. 142 00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:45.520 Quite heavy on the chest there, Willie. 143 00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:54.080 WHISPERS: Jesus. 144 00:15:55.040 --> 00:15:57.120 What were you doing at 21? 145 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:01.680 It's the first Kiwi one we've seen, eh? 146 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:06.640 There's another one of the brothers. 147 00:16:06.680 --> 00:16:10.120 It makes you feel quite unworthy, walking amongst all those gravestones, 148 00:16:10.160 --> 00:16:15.960 knowing that they put more forward than any man could ever ask of them. 149 00:16:48.800 --> 00:16:56.000 As dusk falls, the two soldiers find a grave with the familiar markings of a Victoria Cross. 150 00:16:56.040 --> 00:16:58.040 Tena koe, e hoa. 151 00:17:07.320 --> 00:17:10.200 That's one of your brothers, mate. 152 00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:21.280 Like so many other Victoria Cross winners, Canadian Private JP Robertson died on the battlefield. 153 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:35.720 It's a tribe that you've been... basically awarded into. 154 00:17:35.760 --> 00:17:41.360 And that's a forefather that's gone before you, even though he's not a Kiwi. 155 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:47.600 But it's someone that now- That carried the burden that I have to carry now. 156 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:15.600 It's four months since Corporal Willie Apiata of the NZ Special Air Service 157 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:19.240 was awarded the Victoria Cross for valour, 158 00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:24.960 and in that time he has come to terms with the fact that he is now a national hero 159 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:29.880 and the latest member of a truly unique association of men. 160 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:36.520 Suddenly been automatically enlisted into a club of very few members. 161 00:18:38.360 --> 00:18:43.640 Accompanied by his commanding officer, Willie has requested a meeting with his lawyers. 162 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:45.960 Hi, Jim. Nice to see you. And you. 163 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:49.000 He has reached a momentous decision. 164 00:18:49.040 --> 00:18:53.120 Thought long and hard about what I wanna do with the medal. 165 00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:59.800 Wasn't just earned by me. It was earned by all those men that were out there that day. 166 00:18:59.840 --> 00:19:04.600 In simple terms, it seems to me that you're giving away more than you've ever had, 167 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:06.720 almost before you've got it. 168 00:19:06.760 --> 00:19:10.760 It'll never be sold, or there will never be any quarrels over it. 169 00:19:10.800 --> 00:19:17.000 As you know, what this does is gift the Victoria Cross, effectively, to NZ. 170 00:19:23.640 --> 00:19:25.640 Congratulations. 171 00:19:32.440 --> 00:19:40.520 When my life has passed, my son, his sons and our bloodline will be able to wear it and represent me. 172 00:19:43.080 --> 00:19:47.080 The resting place for it will be here in the unit.