''With little regard for his own safety, Corporal Daniel Keighran deliberately and repeatedly drew intense enemy fire away from other members of his patrol,'' the Chief of the Defence Force, General David Hurley, said during Thursday's ceremony. He was accompanied by Private Shaun Parker, who provided covering fire and has already been awarded the Commendation for Gallantry. ''After identifying some of the enemy firing positions, Corporal Keighran, under persistent enemy fire, continued to lead and mentor his team and move around the ridge to both direct the fire of the Afghan and Australian machine-gunners and to move them to more effective firing positions.''
''On reaching this position and with complete disregard for his own wellbeing, Corporal Keighran deliberately drew enemy fire by leaving the limited cover he had and moved over the ridgeline in order to positively identify targets for the machine-gunners of the combined patrol,'' his Victoria Cross citation states. With some of his patrol pinned down, Corporal Keighran braved sustained enemy fire and dashed to an exposed ridgeline. Intelligence, however, suggested they would meet a force of only 15 to 25.Īt 9.13am, as the patrol walked along an aqueduct at the eastern edge of Derapet, the insurgents opened fire with small arms and machineguns from several positions, including from another aqueduct less than 100 metres away.
Another patrol had been fired upon several days previously, and the men had gone there expecting to counter resistance.
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