The Power of Ten: The heroes Ben Roberts-Smith, VC (Victoria Cross), looks up to

news.com.au ^ | 12th April 2015

[naturalman1975]

HE’S Australia’s fiercest soldier. One of the most decorated members of the Australian Defence Force, he was singled out for acts of extraordinary bravery when locked in a bloody gunbattle with an unpredictable enemy in 2010.

But for Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith, there is a group of men who put his achievements on the battlefield in the shade.

Tonight, Roberts-Smith will present a special episode of Sunday Night where he will uncover extraordinary stories of valour that turned 10 of the first Anzacs into legends.

There are not many Australians who can truly say that they’ve walked in the footsteps of the Anzacs, but Roberts-Smith truly has.

After completing two tours of East Timor, he was posted to the Special Air Service in 2003 and went on to play a crucial role in the war in Afghanistan.

He was awarded the Medal for Gallantry for his actions as a patrol scout and sniper during Operation Slipper, but his most courageous act came during his fifth tour of Afghanistan in 2010.

During the hunt for a senior Taliban commander, Roberts-Smith deliberately exposed his position to the enemy and drew heavy gunfire in order to protect his fellow patrol members.

Locked in a fierce, close-range exchange of bullets, Roberts-Smith valiantly stormed two enemy machinegun posts and shot dead the insurgents.

He was awarded a Victoria Cross for “demonstrating extreme devotion to duty and the most conspicuous gallantry … with a total disregard for his own safety”.

So, what inspired this man to such a memorable act of gallantry?

When Roberts-Smith was growing up, his heroes weren’t sportsmen like most Aussie boys; he looked up to the first Anzacs.

[naturalman1975]

In just under two weeks (on the 25th of April), Australia will observe the 100th anniversary of the ANZAC landings in Gallipoli, Turkey. The day that Australia (and New Zealand) were baptised in blood. Both nations had only recently become indepedent of the UK - Australia in 1901, and New Zealand in 1907, and the First World War was the first time our troops went into battle representing their own countries (both had sent troops as part of British forces in the past), and the Gallipoli landings were the first large scale action they had seen (small forces from both Australia and New Zealand had captured some German dependencies in the Pacific during 1914). ANZAC stands for 'Australian and New Zealand Army Corps' and ANZAC Day is the most sacred in our national calendar. The 100th ANZAC Day is leading to a great many stories in our press, and television shows and similar looking back at our military history.

[SandRat]

[Redbob]

Thanks for that clear and succinct explanation: I had no idea what “ANZAC” represented.

[yarddog]

It has been over 30 years since I read Winston Churchill’s “History of World War II”.

One of the things I remember is how Churchill was constantly worried that Australia would withdraw their troops from Africa and Europe since they were legitimately needed at home, especially after Pearl Harbor.

[Gay State Conservative]

Just watched “And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda” on youtube earlier today.All I can say is that it left me speechless.

[Gay State Conservative]

And The Band Played Waltzing Matlda

[yarddog]

I have that song on CD.

I ordered the CD because I like John McDermott’s version of “Scotland The Brave”.

I had actually never heard of “The Band Played Waltzing Matilday” until I heard McDermott’s version. It is a long song maybe 5 or 6 minutes.

[Gay State Conservative]

I had actually never heard of “The Band Played Waltzing Matilday” until I heard McDermott’s version. It is a long song maybe 5 or 6 minutes.

For years and years I stupidly though that "Waltzing Matilda" was just a love song a guy wrote to his wife.But a few years ago I stumbled,quite by accident,on info suggesting that it was,in fact,the beloved "national anthem" of Australia.So I listened carefully to the lyrics (for the first time),found out what a "swagman" was,what a "jumbuck" was,what a "billy" was and came to understand the song better than I had.It was during that research that I also stumbled on "And The Band Played...."

Powerful stuff...

[yarddog]

My parents bought a Burl Ives album around 1960. One of the songs was “Waltzing Matilda”. The album explained some of the expressions.

A good thing it did as I would have had no idea what it was about otherwise.