Borneo hero named Anzac of year

John Masters (right) laughs with Hariprasad Gurung, 76, during a reunion at Christchurch's Papanui RSA. Photo / Simon Baker

He has long been the humble war hero. But as John Masters faces his greatest battle against terminal cancer, he feels he can look back on his life achievements with pride.

The retired lieutenant colonel and tireless veterans' campaigner, stricken with cancer at 75, has just been named by Prime Minister John Key as the inaugural Anzac of the Year - an award recognising Anzac qualities of "comradeship, compassion, courage and commitment".

It is recognition of a life in which the Christchurch man put others first, from his life-saving deeds on the battlefields of Borneo, to his struggles back home for the rights of Vietnam veterans exposed to the defoliant Agent Orange.

"I don't think it's wrong to be proud," Mr Masters told the Herald.

"You work to try to satisfy yourself rather than satisfy anybody else. You don't expect to be recognised in the way that I have been recognised. You can be very humble, but you can also be very proud at the same time."

Mr Masters could not travel to Auckland yesterday for the award, instituted by the Royal New Zealand Returned Services' Association (RNZRSA), because of his health. His wife and son represented him instead.

But asked about his illness, he said it was "nothing too tough". "I just have to count my blessings day to day, that's all."

The award comes only a few weeks after Mr Masters was reunited with the Gurkha soldier he saved almost 45 years ago in Borneo.

When Hariprasad Gurung fell wounded, Mr Masters risked being gunned down by advancing Indonesian forces in going to Mr Gurung's aid, helping him to his feet and getting him to safety in the thick jungle.

After his 27 years of service in the military, Mr Masters was heavily involved in raising money to keep open Christchurch's Rannerdale War Veterans home.

His own wartime maps helped prove New Zealand troops were exposed to Agent Orange.

RNZRSA national president Robin Klitscher said Mr Masters was an excellent choice.

"His personal testimony to the health select committee was crucial to breaking open the facts of exposure to chemicals during service in Vietnam, thus enabling follow-up investigation into the matter to take place on a firm footing," he said.

Mr Masters said there had been some major leaps forward in the way that veterans were treated by society and the government of the day.

"I think you see this in the increased interest in Anzac Day ... which makes the award wonderful," he said.


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