Martin 'Jock' Wallace MG was born in 1969 of Scottish ancestry, grew up in

Tamworth, New South Wales Tamworth is a city and administrative centre of the north-western region of New South Wales, Australia. Situated on the Peel River (New South Wales), Peel River within the local government area of the Tamworth Regional Council, it is the largest ...

, and enlisted in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

in 1987 at the age of seventeen. He was a member of 152 Signals Squadron and served as a signalman with the

Special Air Service Regiment The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was modelled on the British SAS sharing the motto, "Who Dares Wins". The reg ...

(SASR) when he was awarded the

Medal for Gallantry The Medal for Gallantry (MG) is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force. It recognises acts of gallantry in action in hazardous circumstances. The MG was introduced on 15 January 1991, replacing the Imperial e ...

(MG) for his actions on 2 March 2002 during

Operation Anaconda Operation Anaconda was a military operation that took place in early March 2002 as part of the War in Afghanistan. CIA paramilitary officers, working with their allies, attempted to destroy al-Qaeda and Taliban forces. The operation took place ...

while attached to the United States

10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in the US military to re ...

in the Shahi Kot Valley,

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. He was aged 32 at the time. The book ''18 Hours: The True Story of an SAS War Hero'' by Sandra Lee, published in 2006, describes the circumstances and his actions that led to the award of the Medal for Gallantry. The medal was presented by the

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Peter Hollingworth Peter John Hollingworth (born 10 April 1935) is an Australian retired Anglican bishop. Engaged in social work for several decades, he served as the archbishop of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane in Queensland for 11 years from 1989 and was the ...

, on 27 November 2002. Three other SAS soldiers, (a corporal, a sergeant and a captain), also received awards anonymously for their involvement in the same action. The regiment's commanding officer, (then Lieutenant Colonel

Gus Gilmore Major General Peter Warwick "Gus" Gilmore, (born 31 January 1962) is a retired senior officer of the Australian Army. A graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, he was commissioned into the Royal Australian Infantry Corps in 1983 and s ...

), was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

(DSC).

Honours and awards

Notes

References

* * 1969 births Australian military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Australian military personnel of the Iraq War Australian soldiers Living people Recipients of the Medal for Gallantry {{Australia-mil-bio-stub