Keith Payne, (born 30 August 1933) is an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the presence of the enemy" awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces. Payne's VC was awarded for his actions during the Vietnam War. Aged , he is the last living Australian recipient of the original "Imperial" Victoria Cross. Early life Keith Payne was born at Ingham, Queensland, on 30 August 1933, the son of Romilda (Millie) Hussey and Henry Thomas Payne. He attended Ingham State School and later became an apprentice cabinet-maker. Dissatisfied with working as a tradesman, Payne joined the Australian Regular Army in August 1951 and, after brief period in the Citizen Military Forces (CMF), was posted to the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (2RAR) the following year transferred to the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR). Military career Payne served with his unit in the Korean War from April 1952 to March 1953. He married Florence Plaw, a member of the Women's Royal Australian Army Corps, in December 1954, and was promoted to corporal the following year. Payne served in Malaya with this unit and in 1965, now a sergeant, he joined the 5th Battalion. In June 1965, by now a warrant officer class II, Payne was a fieldcraft instructor on the staff of the Officer Training Unit, Scheyville, established to commission national servicemen. In February 1967 he was posted to Papua New Guinea, where he served with the 2nd Battalion, Pacific Islands Regiment. He remained there until March 1968 when he returned to Brisbane. On 24 February 1969 he was posted to the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV). In May 1969 Payne was commanding the 212th Company of the 1st Mobile Strike Force Battalion, when it was attacked by a strong People's Army of Vietnam force near Ben Het Camp. The company was isolated and, surrounded on three sides, its Vietnamese troops began to fall back. At this point shrapnel from a grenade burst struck Payne, lodging in his skull, arms and hands; under heavy fire, Payne covered the withdrawal before organising his troops into a defensive perimeter. Disregarding his own serious wounds, he then returned to the battlefield and spent a further three hours, frequently under fire, searching for any remaining members of his unit. Payne located about 40 of his men, most of them wounded; he assisted some of the