Posted on 01/18/2009 2:13:44 PM PST by naturalman1975
VICTORIA Cross recipient Trooper Mark Donaldson is not just a national hero but a young man who has overcome extraordinary tragedy.
Residents of Dorrigo in northern NSW are so proud of Australia's latest Victoria Cross recipient that grown men shed tears in the street late last week.
Trooper Donaldson, 29, was 19 and his brother Brent 20 when they were orphaned.
Their mother Bernadette, widowed after the death of her husband Greg from a heart attack three years earlier, disappeared after planning to fly to the Gold Coast for a holiday.
She never made her flight, and her disappearance - which police treated as murder - is now being reviewed by the Unsolved Homicide Team.
A fresh, unsuccessful search was made for her remains near the Northern Tablelands township in November.
Two months before that, Trooper Donaldson deliberately exposed himself to enemy fire to save wounded colleagues and an Afghan interpreter during an intense battle in Afghanistan.
His actions resulted in him being awarded the VC on Friday.
At the time of his mother's disappearance, Dorrigo residents turned out in droves to help search for her.
Friends of the Donaldsons took the young brothers under their wings.
Brent Donaldson recalled yesterday how the help of the community got them through that period.
"People were bringing us food. They let us stay over and looked after the dog when we were away," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
How remarkable...
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