VC HERO’S LESSONS TO LIVE BY
ASPIRE to inspire – and it’s better to give, than to receive.
Both are aspirational mottos for a rich life, and both were found in Victoria Cross recipient Cameron Baird’s handwritten list of lessons learned, kept in a black folder and now treasured by his grieving family.
Corporal Baird embodied what it meant to be a true Aussie hero. Assigned to the 4th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, the commando served in East Timor in 2001, and did tours of Iraq and Afghanistan before being killed in action on June 22, 2013, at the age of 32.
The 100th Australian to be awarded the country’s highest military honour – the Victoria Cross – as well as the Medal for Gallantry, Baird was above all else a good bloke.
He put others before himself. He showed empathy. He cared. And it showed.
“Those qualities came forward even from a very young age for Cameron,” his proud dad Doug Baird said.
“Even in primary school Cameron was quite large for his age. He ... had a lot of empathy for the other ones who were smaller than him. Playing contact sport, he wouldn’t want to tackle them in case he hurt someone – he was just that kind of kid.”
November 11 marks the centenary of Armistice Day and the end of WWI. News Corp newspapers, including the Gold Coast Bulletin, are commemorating the strength and spirit of the Anzacs with a limited-edition 15-day coin collection for readers.
Developed in partnership with Westpac, Legacy and the Royal Australian Mint, the coins are inspired by the human qualities immortalised in the stained glass windows of the Australian War Memorial’s Hall of Memory.
Mr Baird said the intuitive mateship Cameron was known for was never more apparent than the day he died, when he repeatedly drew enemy fire away from his team and charged under heavy fire.
Every day a different coin is being released and costs $3 with your Bulletin. Visit anzaccoincollection.com.au