wounded himself and organised assistance for others, before leading the party back to base through an area now dominated by enemy forces. Payne's actions that night earned him the Victoria Cross (VC), which was gazetted on 19 September 1969. He was evacuated to Brisbane in September suffering from an illness, receiving a warm reception at the airport before entering hospital. In January 1970 Payne was posted to the Royal Military College, Duntroon as an instructor. Payne received his VC from Queen Elizabeth II aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia in Brisbane on 13 April 1970. He was made a freeman of the city and of the shire in which his hometown was located. A park in Stafford, Brisbane, (where Payne lived) was also named after him. He also received the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star from the United States of America and the Republic of Vietnam awarded Payne the Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Bronze Star. Payne was later posted to the 42nd Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment. He retired from the Australian Army in 1975, but saw further action as a captain with the Army of the Sultan of Oman against communist forces in the Dhofar War in 1975 and 1976. Later life Payne joined the Legion of Frontiersmen in 1975 and holds the rank of an Honorary Chief Commissioner. After returning to Australia, he became active in the veteran community, particularly in counselling sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder. Payne and his wife raised five sons and live in Mackay, Queensland. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his service to the veteran community in 2006, while Flo Payne was recognised with an OAM for her service to the community, particularly through surf lifesaving and veteran's families, in 2011. Payne was interviewed for the 2006 television docudrama Victoria Cross Heroes, which also included archive footage and dramatisations of his actions. In September 2012 Payne became a Patron of the Victoria Cross Trust. The mental health ward at Greenslopes Private Hospital in Brisbane is named the Keith Payne Unit (KPU), in his honour. Payne was advanced to a Member of the Order of Australia in June 2015. The award recognised his "significant service to veterans and their families as an ambassador, patron and as an advocate for veterans' health and welfare." Payne is a patron of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy. Honours and awards Unit awards Notes