Peter Badcoe, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetPeter Badcoe
Australian Victoria Cross recipient
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Malvern, South Australia, Australia
About Peter Badcoe
- Peter John Badcoe, VC (11 January 1934 – 7 April 1967) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in battle that could be awarded at that time to a member of the Australian armed forces.
- Badcoe, born Peter Badcock, joined the Australian Army in 1950 and graduated from the Officer Cadet School, Portsea, in 1952 as a second lieutenant in the Royal Australian Artillery.
- A series of regimental postings followed, including a tour in the Federation of Malaya in 1962, during which he spent a week in South Vietnam observing the fighting there.
- In that year, Badcock changed his surname to Badcoe.
- After another regimental posting, he transferred to the Royal Australian Infantry Corps, and was promoted to major. In August 1966, Badcoe arrived in South Vietnam as a member of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam.
- He was initially a sub-sector adviser, but in December became the operations adviser for Th?a Thiên-Hu? Province.
- In this role, between February and April 1967, he displayed conspicuous gallantry and leadership on three occasions while on operations with South Vietnamese Regional Force units.
- In the final battle, he was killed by a burst of machine gun fire.
- He was highly respected by both his South Vietnamese and United States allies, and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions.
- He was also awarded the United States Silver Star and numerous South Vietnamese medals.
- He was buried at Terendak Garrison Cemetery in Malaysia. In 2008, his medal set was auctioned for A$488,000 to Kerry Stokes in collaboration with the Government of South Australia.
- After going on display at the South Australian Museum and touring regional South Australia, it is now displayed in the Hall of Valour at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
- Various buildings and awards have been named after him, including a soldiers' club in South Vietnam, an assembly room and library at Portsea, the main lecture theatre at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, and a perpetual medal for an Australian Football League match held on Anzac Day.
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License: PD-Australia
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