Queen recognises Maori soldier's bravery

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Another brave Kiwi, who by all accounts should have recieved the VC.
Kia kaha


Sergeant Haane Manahi

Distinguished World War II hero Haane Manahi was born in Rotorua in 1913. In his pre-war years Haane was a champion swimmer, a skill he took with him when he joined the 28th Maori Battalion in 1939. In 1941 he was a member of the New Zealand team that performed with distinction at the Services Meeting in Egypt.

Haane Manahi is recalled with awe for his exploits on Takrouna, the rocky outcrop in Tunisia, where in April 1943 he led a platoon of men up the heavily fortified 300 metre citadel.

Sergeant Haane Manahi, DCM, hero of Takrouna, Tunisia April 1943

Fighting through heavy machine gun and mortar fire, he made the journey up the outcrop twice over three arduous days. The battle was won by Allied Forces on April 23rd, 1943, leaving one more task for Haane: the removal of the dead and wounded. So outstanding were his efforts that he was awarded an immediate Distinguished Conduct Medal - after recommendations that he be awarded a Victoria Cross were rejected. Haane Manahi was killed in a car accident in 1986. Efforts to redress the glaring injustice of the Takrouna award continue today.