by Sandra Lee
Photo by Frank Violi
Martin ‘Jock’ Wallace stands outside Government House after receiving one of the nation’s highest decorations for bravery in perilous circumstances, the Medal for Gallantry. He reluctantly removed his royal-blue beret for the photo, thereby robbing his Corps of Signals of the recognition he felt they deserved.
Photo by John Fedes, courtesy Newspix
EPILOGUE
Jock Wallace could hold his head high. He had left the
Shahi Kot Valley with his life and honour intact.
Nothing could beat that.
ONE YEAR AFTER THE first members of the Australian Army’s Special Forces Task Group started operations in Afghanistan, Signalman Martin ‘Jock’ Wallace received the Medal for Gallantry for his actions in Operation Anaconda. The award is one of Australia’s highest decorations for bravery in perilous circumstances.
He was the first member of the Royal Australian Corps of Signals to be honoured with the MG since the Vietnam War, and one of a handful of non-Sabre-qualified members of the SAS Regiment to be so recognised for outstanding courage.
The wording of the citation was simple, clear, and devoid of the emotion and danger that had consumed the men in Hell’s Halfpipe.
For gallantry in action in hazardous circumstances while undertaking communications responsibilities in Afghanistan during Operation Slipper.
The explanation that came with the citation, which was announced in an official press release from Canberra, carried a little more information.
Signalman Wallace displayed gallantry and courage under fire when performing communications responsibilities during Operation Anaconda, as part of Operation Slipper in Afghanistan. He maintained composure under sustained heavy attack from enemy forces while performing his duties as a Signalman, attending to the wounded and providing leadership to those around him. Signalman Wallace’s gallantry has brought great credit to himself, the Special Air Service Regiment and the Australian Defence Force.
The Medal for Gallantry is worn on Jock’s left breast, positioned to the left of the Australian Active Service Medal with the International Coalition Against Terrorism clasp and, later, the Iraq clasp. Moving to the right of the Active Service Medal, in accordance with official military protocol, Jock’s next two medals are campaign medals for active service in Afghanistan during 2001 and 2002, and Iraq in 2003. The next gong to the right is the Australian Service Medal — Minurso and Solomon Island clasps — then the Defence Long Service Medal for more than fifteen years’ service in the Australian Defence Force. The DLSM is known colloquially by the troops as the Parramatta medal, because its ribbon is blue and gold, the colours of the Parramatta Eels rugby league team. On the far right, he wears the Minurso Medal United Nations with a number ‘2’ on it for two tours of duty.
On his right breast, Signalman Wallace wears the Meritorious Unit Citation and the Chief of General Staff Commendation for his service in Western Sahara, as well as the Returned from Active Service Badge.
Jock is also entitled to the recently gazetted Australian Defence Medal and the Army Combat Badge.
Jock’s Medal for Gallantry also brought enormous pride to the Signals Corps, and in mid 2003 the training sergeant at the School of Signals at the Simpson Barracks in McLeod, Victoria, established the Jock Wallace Award for Communications.
Jock is as proud of the peer-instigated award named in his honour as he is of his Medal for Gallantry.
‘It’s for the hard chargers; it goes to the radio operator considered to have the good stuff and best prospects of radio in the School of Signals,’ Jock says.
‘The reason they did it was to give young soldiers something that was real and tangible and something to focus on, and it just adds a modern relevance for these guys.’
Jock’s bravery was also noted by General Hagenbeck, who says: ‘It was very clear that somebody down there [in the Shahi Kot Valley] was making a difference and that it was coming from the SAS.’
At the time, Hagenbeck didn’t know who was making the difference, but in the aftermath of the operation he made inquiries and discovered that the ‘somebody’ in Hell’s Halfpipe was Signalman Jock Wallace.
The Americans were generous with their praise of the Australians, and Hagenbeck wanted to officially acknowledge Jock’s contribution to the 10th Mountain Division on D-Day of Anaconda.
‘I knew that I could get the Bronze Star to him and so when Tink came to me I said, “Who were your guys that pulled this off?”’
The General says he recommended Jock for the prestigious Bronze Star, the fourth highest award in the US Defense Force that is awarded for combat heroism or meritorious service. Upon Hagenbeck’s recommendation, the paperwork was approved by the US Government, and then had to go to the Australian hierarchy for approval.
Hagenbeck also recommended Sergeant First Class Michael Peterson from the mortar platoon for his outstanding leadership on D-Day. Sergeant Pete received the Bronze Star for Valor shortly after Operation Anaconda ended, in a dignified ceremony presided over by General Tommy Franks inside the hangar at Bagram Air Base, along with three other soldiers who fought in Hell’s Halfpipe. Sergeant First Class Robert Healy was similarly decorated, and also received a Purple Heart, and Command Sergeant Major Frank Grippe received the Bronze Star for Valor with Heroic Achievement, together with a Purple Heart.
Months later, Hagenbeck would recommend that Lieutenant Colonel Rowan Tink receive the Bronze Star for his planning and leadership in Operation Enduring Freedom.
The Duntroon graduate received the award from Hagenbeck at Bagram Air Base on 16 July 2002 — the night before Tink left Afghanistan after a six-month tour of duty. As with all Bronze Star awards, it had been authorised by the President — George W. Bush.
‘The outstanding tactical contributions of Lieutenant Colonel Tink and his Task Force served as a major factor in rendering the enemy a crucial blow to his capability as an effective fighting force,’ the recommendation read.
Tink was the first Australian since the Vietnam War to receive the highly regarded American honour. Soon after, Lieutenant Colonel Peter ‘Gus’ Gilmore also received the Bronze Star for his work in Afghanistan.
That December at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina, the Secretary of the Air Force, Dr James G. Roche, presented the Silver Star to Senior Airman Stephen M. Achey for his actions on 2 March in the Shahi Kot Valley.
Despite Hagenbeck’s recommendation, Jock Wallace, who hung up his royal-blue beret and retired from the SAS Regiment and Australian Army in 2005, is still waiting for his Bronze Star.
The soldier who fought for his life and helped save the lives of 81 other soldiers in the great tradition of the Australian digger isn’t worried. That Hagenbeck recommended him is enough; and if the paperwork became stalled in the Australian bureaucracy, well, isn’t that the digger’s lament?
Jock Wallace could hold his head high. He had left the Shahi Kot Valley with his life and honour intact. Nothing could beat that.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Unless otherwise stated, opinions expressed in 18 Hours belong to the author. They do not reflect those of the Australian Government, the Australian Defence Force or Special Operations Command.
The surnames of some serving and retired soldiers from the Special Air Service Regiment have been omitted to ensure that past and ongoing operational, security and tactical matters relating to the regiment are not compromised. Soldiers who have been named in 18 Hours have given their approval or were cleared by the Australian Army.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Gay Alcorn & Craig Skehan and agencies, ‘Troops Killed as US Enters A Chilling New Phase in Afghan War’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 6 March 2002
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Lance Bacon, ‘Secret Weapons: The Airmen Who Are Winning the Ground War’, Air Force Times, 8 April 2002
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