or chance surprise attacks To the safety and the care of doctors
at the bottom of the track
“Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels”, Bert Beros
Misplaced step means a fatal plunge,
to the rivers far below,
But clambering on through knee-deep mud,
on sure footed way they go.
Muscles bulge under ebony skin,
as they climb over rocks and logs
Sometimes sinking to heaving chests,
in the treacherous loathsome bogs.
“Native Stretcher Bearers”,
Corporal Peter Coverdale
While our history is replete with older examples of risk and sacrifice for others, there is a new generation of Australians with the same spirit of the iconic digger.
On 16 January 2009 Trooper Mark Donaldson became the first Australian in 40 years to be awarded Australia’s highest military decoration, the Victoria Cross. The official citation gives the circumstances of Trooper Donaldson’s actions which were “most conspicuous acts of gallantry in a circumstance of great peril”.
In 2008 while in Afghanistan, Trooper Donaldson and his SAS mates were caught up in a Taliban ambush which turned out to be the worst single attack on Australian soldiers since the Vietnam War, resulting in six Australian soldiers being injured. After taking two hours to fight their way out, he realised a badly wounded Afghan interpreter had been left behind.
Still recovering from wounds received in an earlier battle in Afghanistan, Trooper Donaldson turned around and dashed across open ground, under machine gun fire, to collect the man and bring him to safety.
The citation states: “With complete disregard for his own safety, on his initiative and alone, Trooper Donaldson ran back 80 metres across exposed ground to rescue the interpreter and carry him back to the vehicle. Trooper Donaldson then rejoined his patrol and continued to engage the enemy while remaining exposed to heavy enemy fire.”
His citation said he “displayed exceptional courage in circumstances of great peril” and saved the life of the interpreter.
“Trooper Donaldson’s courage and selflessness in the face of such unspeakable danger is not only a great tribute to him and his family - it epitomises the spirit of the Aussie Digger. The soldiers that he saved will be forever indebted to him. The nation will be forever indebted to him.”
In keeping with protocol, Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston then saluted Trooper Donaldson.
“As the highest ranking member of the defence force there has been no current serving member that I salute until now,” he said. “Tradition holds that even the most senior officer will salute a Victoria Cross recipient as a mark of the utmost respect for their act of valour.”
At the investiture of the award, the Governor-General Ms Quentin Bryce delivered one of the best speeches of recent times, which read in part:
We are here to dedicate your contribution.
Your unconditional surrender to duty and humanity.
Your abandonment of your own necessities so that others’ may be secured.
Your courage, generosity and compassion.
All of these things: while in thrall to peril’s brutal glare and might.
All of these things: without moment for reflection or concert.
All of these things: not for yourself, but for those whom peril crushed in your midst; for us, your fellow countrymen and women…
We award you a decoration whose words are reserved for the incomparable and unsurpassed. Words whose integrity is untouched by vernacular. Words, rare and revered.
Gallantry. Valour. Self-sacrifice. Devotion to duty.
These are the tenets of the Victoria Cross for Australia, and you have met their rigour.
While very few acts of helping others will measure up to that of this 29-year-old soldier, the same character lies at the heart of every altruistic act: compassion, generosity and a commitment to others.
Our Christian roots
While most of us (61%) don’t think religious people are more likely to do charitable works, of those who believe in God, 88% have gone out of their way to help a stranger in need, compared to 84% of non-believers. Religious people are also more positive about the state of kindness in our world today. Those who have neither a religious affiliation nor a belief in God are most sceptical when it comes to the state of kindness in our world. Thirty-two per cent compared to 37% of Australians who believe in God believe more acts of kindness than terror are performed. Thirty-seven per cent of Australians who believe in God, but don’t necessarily have a religious affiliation, believe there are more good deeds performed than evil. Thirty-two per cent believe there are more acts of terror.17
It is often the way that people who perform acts of kindness are motivated by their religious background. For the Christian, performing goods deeds is an imperative, which comes from following the example of Christ who articulated the greatest of altruistic acts when he stated, “Greater love has no one than this: that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). After love of God, to “love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 22:38) is the greatest commandment for the Christian.
In the Bible, a lawyer asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbour?” Jesus responds with the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10). The charity that a Christian is called on to aspire to is seen in the example of the Good Samaritan who bandaged, clothed, fed and housed a badly beaten Jewish man left for dead on the side of a road. The significance of this parable is that the Jews and Samaritans did not get along at this time. One’s “neighbour”, therefore, includes even his or her enemies.
Charity has always been a big part of the Christian Church’s mission. From the very early days, Christians organised church funds to feed the needy. Benedictine monks would take in travellers and give them free accommodation and food. Later, orphanages, almshouses, shelters and hospitals were set up - all out of church funds. The importance of charity to the Christian is further seen in the number of Christian charities throughout the world today that do so much to help the poor and other vulnerable and needy people. In Australia, we have the Salvation Army, Wesley Mission, St. Vincent de Paul, Anglicare, Uniting Care, Youth off the Streets and Catholic Mission, amongst others.
Yet it is in our diversity that the power of good is most in evidence. This lucky country has for a couple of centuries offered a welcome to those from other lands looking for a fresh start. Our cultural mix is in our national DNA, it’s part of our lifestyle – it’s who we are. The fact that more than one in four of us wasn’t born here seems unremarkable - as though it has always been thus.18 The second verse of our national anthem articulates this generosity:
For those who’ve come across the seas We’ve boundless plains to share; With
