Ben Roberts-Smith vows to take part in Anzac Day commemorations (Australian Victoria Cross winner accused of war crimes)

Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith has declared that Anzac Day is so “sacred” that his prosecution for war crime-related murder won’t stop him attending the public commemorations on Saturday.

In a move that threatens to overshadow the 111th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings, a day of solemn remembrance for Australians, Mr Roberts-Smith will front an Anzac Day event in Queensland and defy reported calls by some of his supporters to boycott the annual services and marches. This follows intervention by the doyen of Australia’s four living VC holders, Vietnam War hero Keith Payne, to back the former SAS operator’s right to participate in the April 25 ceremonies.

Mr Roberts-Smith told The Australian: “I greatly appreciate the support from Keith Payne VC and everyone else that has made contact. Anzac Day is sacred to me and every other veteran. I will be attending to pay my respects and I encourage everyone else to.”

Mr Payne, 92, the soldier’s soldier who earned his VC in 1969, said he would be proud to march alongside his “mate”, Mr Roberts-Smith.

Far from turning his back on him, Mr Payne – as full of fight as ever – reached out to Mr Roberts-Smith after he was arrested and initially held in custody over the alleged murder of five Afghan nationals.

Mr Payne told him: “Keep a smile on your face, mate. There’s a big win in front of you.”

Asked by this masthead whether Mr Roberts-Smith should attend Anzac Day given his notoriety, Mr Payne said forthrightly: “Of course he should march or be at the Dawn Service, whatever he wants to. I’ll be very, very bloody surprised and so will the remainder of the veteran community if he’s not bloody welcome wherever he goes.”

Contrary to popular belief, the feisty nonagenarian – not Mr Roberts-Smith, 47 – is Australia’s most decorated living soldier.

Mr Payne’s VC recognising his feat of valour in rescuing 40 men during the Battle of Ben Het in 1969 despite being wounded himself, complemented the three other medals for gallantry and 27 additional decorations he received during a military career spanning nearly a quarter of a century. He also fought in the Korean War and the Konfrontasi conflict between Indonesia and Malaysia.

Mr Roberts-Smith’s impressive tally runs to three medals for bravery, headed by the VC he was awarded in 2011 for charging two Taliban machine gun positions under intense fire in Afghanistan. He boasts 11 other decorations.

As Mr Payne told The Australian in 2024, breaking his silence about the war crimes investigation into Mr Roberts-Smith, “what happens in war, stays in war”.

“I am very, very sorry that that sort of thing happened to him,” he said at the time. “Because what happens in war, stays in war. There are many, many things that happened during the First World War, the Second World War and the campaigns since that have never been mentioned because it belongs to war and it should remain in the war.”

That remained his position, he said this week, before jetting to the remote external territory of Norfolk Island for Anzac Day.

“Look, I’ll give you one answer to the whole question of Ben’s treatment,” Mr Payne said. “My belief is what happens in war, stops in war. You can’t second guess it when you weren’t there.”

Mr Payne, who retired from the army in 1975 in the senior non-commissioned rank of warrant officer, said he was dismayed that Mr Roberts-Smith, a corporal, had been prosecuted when those above him in the chain of command were seemingly not held to account.

“The poor bugger, he’s just waiting for the big day,” Mr Payne said, referring to the impending war-crimes trial. “What’s going to come out there and through everything else means there’s a lot of people ducking and weaving at the moment … there’s a lot of ifs and buts and maybes that should be investigated right the way through to the (commissioned) officer bracket, right up to the commanding officer.

“Because there’s going to be a lot more to come out of this case dealing with the whole of the military structure than what there is for Ben. How it ends up for him is anyone’s guess but I’m of the opinion … that Ben will come out of this very lightly and be welcomed back into society.”

Mr Payne said he sent his message of encouragement to Mr Roberts-Smith “through official means” during the 10 days the former special forces soldier spent behind bars in Sydney’s Silverwater Remand Centre pending a successful bail application last Friday on a bond of $250,000.

“It was just to wish him all the best of luck and to say, ‘we’re all on your side,’” he said.

While Mr Roberts-Smith supporters say respect needs to be maintained for Anzac Day, some have planned separate events on Saturday including a “Free Ben Roberts-Smith” rally in Melbourne. The group, Frontline Veterans, is urging those participating in the official services and marches to wear an olive ribbon on their medals or lapels as a show of support for him. Having returned home to his family on Queensland’s Gold Coast, Mr Roberts-Smith is subject to bail conditions limiting his travel and electronic device usage. He must report to police three times a week.

RSL Queensland referred questions about his attendance at Saturday’s events to the national office. In a statement, RSL Australia said that Mr Roberts-Smith, as a war veteran and “like any member of the community”, was free to turn up.

“Our responsibility is not only to honour the fallen, but to fiercely advocate for and support the living,” said the organisation’s national president, Peter Tinley.

Mr Roberts-Smith said he was innocent of the five counts of the war crime of murder he now faced, insisting last Sunday that he was proud of his service in Afghanistan during multiple deployments between 2006 and 2012. He has not yet entered a plea to the charges.

“While I was there, I always acted within my values, within my training, within the rules of engagement,” he said in a brief public appearance on the Gold Coast, where he declined to take questions. “I’d also like to say that I’m extremely proud of all the men and women that served alongside me in Afghanistan and their service and sacrifice should never be forgotten, particularly those who made the ultimate sacrifice, many of whom were my friends.”

Mr Roberts-Smith said he was innocent of the five counts of war crime murder he now faced, insisting last Sunday that he was proud of his service in Afghanistan during multiple deployments between 2006 and 2012.

“While I was there, I always acted within my values, within my training, within the rules of engagement,” he said in a brief media call on the Gold Coast, where he declined to take questions.

“I’d also like to say that I’m extremely proud of all the men and women that served alongside me in Afghanistan and their service and sacrifice should never be forgotten, particularly those who made the ultimate sacrifice, many of whom were my friends.”

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ANZAC Day - 25th April - is the anniversary of the Gallipoli landings of 1915, the first time a large Australian (and New Zealand) force went into battle as representatives of their own nations rather than as British colonial troops. It's the most important day in Australia's national calendar and is commemorated by services and marches across the country.

I can't resist sharing this picture of Keith Payne VC AM - I often wonder how the man stands up under the weight of his medals especially now that he's in his 90s.

(If you look closely, you can see America's Distinguished Service Cross, and Silver Star among his medals - the action for which Keith Payne received his Victoria Cross involved the rescue of American servicemen (and allied Vietnamese as well), he was serving alongside, and the United States chose to decorate him as well.

I'll share this one two - Australia's four living Victoria Cross recipients - from left to right, Keith Payne VC AM, Mark Donaldson VC, Daniel Keighran VC, and Ben Roberts-Smith VC MG.

They are standing in front of the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, which is my favourite of Australia's many war memorials and one of the largest.

LET ALL MEN KNOW THAT THIS IS HOLY GROUND. THIS SHRINE, ESTABLISHED IN THE HEARTS OF MEN AS ON THE SOLID EARTH, COMMEMORATES A PEOPLE'S FORTITUDE AND SACRIFICE. YE THEREFORE THAT COME AFTER, GIVE REMEMBRANCE.

Lest we forget.

Meanwhile, what a coinkydink...

Basil the Great
@BasilTheGreat

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So is Hermer

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https://x.com/BasilTheGreat/status/2047324726205325445