Rescued soldier Key's guard

Corporal Willie Apiata's actions in Afghanistan saved the life of his comrade, Corporal D. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The critically wounded SAS soldier whom Willie Apiata carried to safety under heavy gunfire was the personal bodyguard for John Key on the Prime Minister's recent trip to Afghanistan.

Corporal Apiata was later awarded the Victoria Cross for the act of bravery on the battlefield after a rocket-propelled grenade blew him off the bonnet of the SAS vehicle where he was sleeping.

Dazed but uninjured, Corporal Apiata saw Corporal D was bleeding to death from shrapnel wounds, so carried his comrade to cover across open ground while under heavy enemy fire before rejoining his unit's counterattack.

"Nothing hit me. I can't explain why I didn't get hit. None of us did, when we were crossing that hill through the fire," Corporal Apiata said in his biography, Reluctant Hero.

"It's a miracle we made it. Everyone could see us coming in the light from the burning vehicle. All the weapons firing lit up the area even more."

A medical examination showed Corporal D would have died from blood loss and shock had it not been for Corporal Apiata's "selflessly courageous act", according to the citation for the VC.

Corporal D has since recovered from his wounds and has returned to Afghanistan as a member of the SAS.

It is understood Corporal D was assigned as John Key's personal "protection officer" on his recent secret trip to visit New Zealand troops in the war-torn nation.

Mr Key said he would not send soldiers to a dangerous place like Afghanistan without being prepared to go himself.

Asked whether Corporal D was the Mr Key's bodyguard while in Afghanistan, a spokeswoman said: "We do not comment on matters of security".

Blanket secrecy over SAS operations was lifted in January soon after the Herald controversially published a photo of Corporal Apiata with an unidentified soldier on patrol.

Secrecy surrounding the SAS has been a long-standing national policy, but has looked increasingly out of step when its actions have been the subject of foreign media attention.

The new approach was announced in January by Mr Key, who said more information would be provided about the SAS on a case-by-case basis, where it was deemed not to be a safety risk.

"We felt for some time that we couldn't actually adequately answer the question why we weren't prepared to give you more information when it is quite clear that other international forces do give their media more information."