Steve Askin: No half measures no doubt, no fear
Glowing tributes and stories fleshed out a man who was an exceptional special forces soldier, a careful but adventurous helicopter pilot and a warm, loving father, brother, husband and father.
The hero of the Port Hills, David Steven Askin, was given a moving farewell at his funeral on Monday.
North Canterbury’s Askin died on February 14 when his Squirrel helicopter crashed near Sugarloaf as he helped fight Christchurch’s Port Hills fires.
About 500 people, including All Black legend Richie McCaw, Victoria Cross winner Willie Apiata and Civil Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee, attended Askin’s funeral at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand. Askin was a decorated Special Air Service trooper completing three tours in Afghanistan starting in 2004.
The ceremony started at 2pm with a karanga by Mere Balsom while Askin’s SAS mates brought in his casket and placed it on a white clothed table in front of a podium flanked by an Iroquois helicopter and a Mustang fighter.
Askin’s brother Pete arrived in black shorts and bare feet in honour of one their last adventures together. When they walked along the coast to Kaikoura without provisions, covering 170 kilometres in 61 hours. Pete and helpers had built the high-sided, rectangle, rimu coffin in which his brother lay.
‘‘He was a helluva chap. He was a good man to have on your side and liked to push himself as far and as hard as he could. He wasn’t happy unless he did something at least in the top five neardeath experiences.’’
The funeral began with Askin’s father Paul tracing his son’s life from ranging the country around Ruatoria to his life in the army and marriage to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth said her husband had made her a better person and was generous with his time. ‘‘He
‘‘Wherever you find yourself, choose to be a hero’’
always wanted to help everybody. He was everything to me. He was always encouraging me all the time. He was my rock. He was my future . . . The kids were so excited when he came home and they saw the joy in his eyes.’’
Steve’s mother Leslie opened by saying: ‘‘No mother wants a dead hero’’. She and her husband brought up their children to be heroic in the sense of giving to the community and looking after their families by making the right choices. ‘‘Be a hero to your family, your mates. Wherever you find yourself, choose to be a hero,’’ she said.