GREAT COURAGE
“A story as epic as any that will be told this Anzac Day.”
On a bright, clear winter’s day in 1990, 13 men set out from Waiouru army camp to climb Mt Ruapehu. Only seven came down alive.
What happened on the North Island’s highest mountain that day was a reminder that not all acts of military valour happen on distant battlefields.
The Listener has been provided with a vivid survivor’s account, not published before, of the heroic efforts made by soldiers in the climbing party to save their comrades – at grave risk to their own lives – when they were caught out in the open by a ferocious blizzard.
One of those heroes died in the snow, along with five of his comrades. Now a group of distinguished army veterans is mounting a campaign for what they consider proper recognition of the men’s bravery.
Three of the soldiers were finally honoured, nine years after the event, with the New Zealand Bravery Medal. They were Privates David Stewart, Sonny Te Rure (also known as Sonny Tavake) and Brendon Burchell.
Stewart and Te Rure were credited with saving the lives of colleagues who were stricken with hypothermia during the nightmarish ordeal. Burchell was one of two soldiers who descended the mountain to get help.
Those who have taken up the soldiers’ case say Stewart and Te Rure, in particular, should have been recognised with a higher honour. Stewart died on the mountain after losing his sleeping bag while attempting to save a fellow soldier.
The tragedy claimed more lives than any military action in the history of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment.
The medal awarded to the men is the lowest of four awards for bravery.
