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Posthumous Victoria Cross Presented to Widow of Vietnam Veteran Richard Norden

The ceremony caps a decades-long campaign to recognize his valorous rescues under heavy fire during the 1968 Battle of Fire Support Base Coral.

The Victoria Cross for Australia was formally presented to the family of late Australian Army soldier Private Richard Norden during an investiture ceremony in Rockhampton on July 15, recognising his bravery and dedication to service during the Vietnam War. Picture by Paul Berry
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Overview

  • Governor-General Sam Mostyn presented the medal to Norden’s widow Robynn Freeman at an investiture in Rockhampton on July 15.
  • Family members and former colleagues spent ten years lobbying for the Victoria Cross before its approval in November 2024.
  • Norden’s award makes him the 102nd Australian and just the fifth Vietnam War veteran to receive the Victoria Cross.
  • During the 1968 Battle of Fire Support Base Coral, he twice braved intense enemy fire to rescue a wounded comrade and recover a fallen soldier.
  • After the war he joined the ACT Police and died in a 1972 on-duty motorcycle crash, leaving behind his wife and two young children.