Far North soldier awarded Defence Meritorious Service Medal for bravery in Iraq
27 Apr, 2021 05:00 PM
4 minutes to read
Corporal Charles Douglas Munns-Everitt - awarded for outstanding military professionalism and leadership in Iraq. Photo / supplied
Northern Advocate
When almost 30 rockets exploded at an Iraqi military camp last year Northland soldier Corporal Charles Douglas Munns-Everitt and two of his colleagues knew just what to do.
Now all three have been recognised for their bravery to save lives of injured coalition soldiers.
Munns-Everitt is one of three New Zealand soldiers to be decorated for his response to a rocket attack on Camp Taji, which killed two Americans and a British medic, and wounded 17 more, none of them New Zealanders, on March 10 last year.
After last year’s socially distanced Anzac Day, crowds returned to dawn services around the country
People gather at the Auckland War Memorial Museum to commemorate Anzac Day. Photograph: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images
People gather at the Auckland War Memorial Museum to commemorate Anzac Day. Photograph: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images
AustralianAssociatedPress
Sat 24 Apr 2021 20.48 EDT
A year after Covid cancelled all services, New Zealanders rose to acknowledge its servicemen and women on Anzac Day.
Last year the pandemic and level four lockdown left New Zealanders standing at their letterboxes in a socially distant tribute. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, was joined by her partner and father at the bottom of Wellington’s Premier House driveway, listening to the Last Post silently before returning to the official residence.
Taji rocket attack: New Zealand Army soldiers honoured for bravery nzherald.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nzherald.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
• Source: 1 NEWS
Three soldiers have been awarded for their heroic efforts after a sea of rockets were fired at the NZDF base in Iraq last year. Corporal Charles Munns (left), Corporal Jessica Healey-Render (middle), Private Maddison Van Sitter (right). Source: Supplied
On 11 March last year, nearly 30 rockets fired at the base landed within a square kilometre area.
There were mass casualties as a result of the attack, although no New Zealanders were among the dead.
Unexploded devices and large fires littered the camp after the attack hit late that night.
It was just weeks before the last remaining Kiwi soldiers were pulled from Taji, marking an end to New Zealand Defence Force’s five-year-long training mission in Iraq.