THE PRO PATRIA PROJECT
TETAVA Ngametua
C748537, Sergeant, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment.
CITATION
The New Zealand Bravery Medal
New Year Honours List 2005
On 17 October 1999, Sergeant Tetava was acting as Safety Supervisor for a live firing range practice at the High Range Training Area in Australia, prior to deploying to East Timor. Sergeant Tetava was supervising Private Kelly, who was in a kneeling position changing the magazine on his weapon, while another soldier was throwing a grenade. Both were positioned close to the edge of a gully. The grenade landed short of its target and on the edge of the gully in such a way that Private Kelly was within the blast danger area of the grenade. Seeing that Private Kelly was unaware of the danger, Sergeant Tetava immediately moved forward, pulled Private Kelly away from the gully edge and lay over his upper body. Private Kelly sustained a flesh wound from the exploding grenade. Sergeant Tetava’s action showed great presence of mind and decisiveness. He displayed a complete disregard for his own safety and in so doing, prevented a fellow soldier from sustaining a much more serious injury.
KNOWN AWARDS
New Zealand Bravery Medal
NOTES
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