history · 23 June 1944 · 80 years ago
Corporal Sefanaia Sukanaivalu became the only Fijian to win the Victoria Cross during the fighting on Bougainville in the Solomon Islands. After rescuing two wounded comrades he was hit in the groin whilst attempting to rescue a third. Unable to move and knowing that his comrades would not leave him whilst he remained alive, Sukanaivalu selflessly raised himself in full view of the enemy, and died in a hail of bullets. The award was made posthumously.
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