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Category: Victoria Cross Medal (VC) - Stories of the most decorated Heroes  -- See latest WWII news here.

The daughters of Charles Upham want medals in a vault and replicas on display
The daughters of NZ war hero Charles Upham want his military medals locked in a vault and replicas put on show at the Army Museum in Waiouru. Upham's 2 Victoria Crosses were among 96 medals returned after thieves gave them back to authorities. However, the army wants the medals back on display in Waiouru. "New Zealanders should be able to see the original medals..." says Major General Lou Gardiner. Virginia McKenzie did not want to see her father's medals put at risk again. She had learned that overseas replicas were displayed. "People from overseas couldn't believe we didn't have replicas. They were saying they should be kept in a vault. They were amazed."     [ stuff :: 2008-02-18 :: WWII Medals & Most decorated Soldiers ]

$300,000 reward for info leading to the return of 9 Victoria Crosses
The biggest reward in New Zealand history has been put up for information resulting the return of the Waiouru Army Museum's stolen war medals. $300,000 reward was now on offer to anyone who gave tips about the missing military decorations, including 9 Victoria Crosses, 2 George Crosses and an Albert Medal -- won by some of the country's greatest war heroes. British medals collector Lord Michael Ashcroft and a NZ businessman have provided the money. "By golly, if $300,000 doesn't make someone talk about providing information about the return of these medals, I'm not sure what will," said Raymond Seymour, the museum director.     [ nzherald :: 2008-01-18 :: Relic Hunters: Hidden Nazi & War treasures ]

WWII Gurkha hero now wants his Victoria Cross medal back
World War Two Gurkha hero Tul Bahadur Pun is now trying to get his Victoria Cross medal back from the British authorities, who took it away from him 30 years ago because it required "safekeeping." Pun, who came to Britain from Nepal for medical treatment, went to see his medal on display in a case at the Gurkha Museum in Winchester. Museum chiefs use a picture of Pun on their leaflet - but when asked if he could hold the medal, they refused. A sad Pun was quoted saying: "It is mine. I want it back. I must have it back." He won Victoria Cross in Burma in 1944 after he charged a Japanese machine gun nest that had wiped out his platoon.     [ dailyindia :: 2007-07-17 :: Victoria Cross Medal (VC) - Stories of the most decorated Heroes ]

Battle of Monte Cassino tribute to World War II Gurkha soldiers
Military buffs of the North East Hobby Militia group are climbing Helvellyn to re-enact the fight to hold a hilltop position during the Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy, 1944. Despite suffering heavy losses a Gurkha battalion held Hangman's Hill for 16 days against a German division. Members will climb the 950m summit on 21 July carrying 2 wooden period ammunition boxes to raise cash for the Gurkha Welfare Trust. "We have been shocked by how little support the welfare trust is given, even though the force has served in almost every major conflict of the 20th Century and has 13 Victoria Crosses to its credit."     [ -bbc :: 2007-05-24 :: Reenactment & Reenactors: Living History ]

U-boat captain who shot down NZ Victoria Cross-winner found
The captain of the U-Boat whose anti-aircraft fire shot down New Zealand Victoria Cross winner Lloyd Trigg's Royal Air Force Liberator is still alive in Germany, an aviation researcher has discovered. Arthur "Digger" Arculus has also unearthed fresh details about the fierce Atlantic action that cost the lives of Trigg, his 7 crew and many of the submarine's complement. Uniquely, it was the testimony of the enemy skipper Klemens Schamong, and the other few survivors from U-468, destroyed by Trigg's exploding depth charges as his aircraft plunged into the sea, that led to the posthumous bravery award.     [ stuff :: 2007-04-18 :: U-Boats : Submarines ]

Reluctant Hero - Charles Upham - New Zealand's best soldier
Although he was treated as a hero Captain Charles Upham refused to take on the mantle he'd earned as New Zealand's best soldier. Wounded many times, famous for taking risks others would not, he is the most highly decorated Commonwealth soldier of WWII. Upham won the Victoria Cross twice, the highest commendation a Kiwi soldier could win. He is the only man among millions of Allied troops to be awarded both the Victoria Cross 'and Bar'. 1941 Crete campaign was a 10-day pitched battle in which allied troops were slowly over run by the Nazis. Upham repeatedly saved the lives of his men by sneaking up on German positions.     [ tvnz :: 2006-11-18 :: Legends & Heroes of World War II ]

Stamps for the 150th anniversary of the Victoria Cross Medal
A Scottish war hero has launched a set of stamps to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Victoria Cross Medal. Flight Lieutenant John Cruickshank is the only living Scottish holder of the bravery medal. The Victoria Cross is the highest recognition for valour that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth Armed Forces. He was an RAF flying officer during the Second World War when he earned the cross during an attack on a German U-boat. He was piloting a Consolidated Catalina flying boat as part of an anti-submarine patrol.     [ bbc :: 2006-09-20 :: Victoria Cross Medal (VC) - Stories of the most decorated Heroes ]

Gurkhas and VC ceremony - Solo stand against 200 soldiers
Two Nepalese Gurkha Victoria Cross (VC) winners have attended a ceremony to mark the 150th anniversary of the medal. 4 of 12 living VC holders are Gurkhas from Nepal. Gurkha soldiers were first recruited by imperial Britain in 1815, and are admired for their fearlessness. Rifleman Lachhiman Gurung made a solo stand against 200 Japanese troops during the Second World War after being blinded in one eye. In recent years, some Gurkhas have been involved in disputes over retirement issues. Captain Limbu led a group petitioning British PM to demand the same rights as British-born soldiers.     [ bbc :: 2006-06-29 :: Victoria Cross Medal (VC) - Stories of the most decorated Heroes ]

Victoria Cross Lieutenant's story told - historian found documents
The lost story of a Welsh wartime hero, who lived and died by the toss of a coin, is told for the first time, after new documents were uncovered by a historian researching for a new book, Dunkirk: Fight To The Last Man. Lieutenant Christopher "Dickie" Furness of the Welsh Guards was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery, in sacrificing his life to remove a German machine gunner attacking British patrols at Arras in May 1940. He led a mission of 10 men to attack the German position. Only one returned unscathed.     [ icnetwork :: 2006-05-31 :: Forces of the Western Allies: American Soldiers ]

Another Victoria Cross may go on the market
Another World War 2 Victoria Cross won by a New Zealand soldier could go on the market as the debate intensifies over the future of the only double award given to a combat soldier. Anita Hulme said she had been considering selling the Victoria Cross her father Sergeant Clive Hulme won on Crete in 1941. Ms Hulme said today she would not hand over the VC to the Queen Elizabeth II Army Museum in Waiouru in perpetuity as other families had done and was considering selling it the way the daughters of Charles Upham were considered selling his VC and Bar.     [ stuff :: 2006-04-24 :: Victoria Cross Medal (VC) - Stories of the most decorated Heroes ]

Family offered more than $1m for Victoria Cross
A world record price of more than $1 million has been offered for the double Victoria Cross awarded to New Zealand military hero Charles Upham during World War Two. Only three people have been awarded two Victoria Crosses, which is likely to make it very attractive to collectors. Captain Upham's is the only one awarded to a combat soldier.     [ .stuff.co.nz :: 2006-04-18 :: WWII Medals & Most decorated Soldiers ]

When orders for the battalion to withdraw were not received
In 1944 Major Tasker Watkins won the Victoria Cross - only the second Welshman in the WWII to do so. While commanding a company of the Welch Regiment, the battalion was ordered to attack objectives near Balfour. Company had to cross open cornfields in which booby traps had been set. The company came under fire, and the only officer left, Major Watkins, charged two posts in succession. When he found an anti-tank gun his Sten gun jammed, so he threw it in the German's face and shot him with his pistol. The company had only some 30 men left and was counter-attacked by 50 enemy infantry, and orders for the battalion to withdraw were not received by company...     [ icwales :: 2006-04-15 :: Victoria Cross Medal (VC) - Stories of the most decorated Heroes ]

NZ World War II hero accused of murdering German soldiers
A New Zealand war hero has been accused of war crimes by murdering German soldiers in WWII while disguised as a Nazi paratrooper. Clive Hulme, who was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest British and New Zealand bravery award, killed German soldiers while dressed in a German paratrooper's smock duringthe 1941 Battle of Crete. Hulme's daughter Anita said that accusing her father of war crimes was unfair to his memory. She said the family was aware that her father had worn a German uniform as a way of infiltrating the enemy. "I didn't know it was against the rules of war. You do what you need to survive, don't you?"     [ afp :: 2006-04-10 :: Allied dark side - Allied atrocities ]

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