12 Facts About Daniel Keighran

Daniel Keighran was presented with the medal by the Governor-General of Australia, Quentin Bryce, at a ceremony in Canberra on 1 November 2012.

Daniel Keighran is the third soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia, and the first member of the Royal Australian Regiment so awarded.

Daniel Keighran was born in Nambour, in the Sunshine Coast hinterland region of Queensland, on 18 June 1983.

When Daniel Keighran was in Year 5, he moved with his family to Lowmead, approximately 80 kilometres north west of the Queensland regional city of Bundaberg.

Daniel Keighran's family lived on a "forty-acre block" where his parents bred paint horses.

Daniel Keighran's mother taught dressage, and his father occasionally organised rodeo events.

Daniel Keighran attended school in nearby Rosedale and graduated from high school in 2000.

That year Daniel Keighran was a torchbearer for the 2000 Summer Olympics torch parade and received a Pierre de Coubertin Award in recognition of his "Olympic spirit".

Daniel Keighran was promoted to lance corporal in 2005 while within Mortar Platoon of the Support Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.

Daniel Keighran was promoted to corporal in 2009, and was posted to D Company, 6 RAR.

Daniel Keighran's actions were key in allowing the Coalition forces to withdraw without further casualties.

In 2024 Daniel Keighran decided to sell his medals, including the Victoria Cross for Australia, to pay for a new house and help cover his family's living expenses.