(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION)<br/> <br />Royal Australian Regiment Corporal Daniel Keighran received the nation's highest military honour in Canberra on Thursday (November 1), for extraordinary courage shown when he repeatedly drew enemy fire in a battle in Afghanistan in 2010.<br/> <br />The 29-year-old Keighran received the Victoria Cross for an incident in which his company faced at least 100 insurgents during a battle at Derapet in Oruzgan Province.<br/> <br />Local media said the infantry soldier repeatedly broke cover in a hail of Taliban gunfire and helped clear the way for the rescue of casualties.<br/> <br />They also reported that Keighran is the third Australian soldier to receive the award for action in Afghanistan, and the first soldier outside the special forces.<br/> <br />Keighran dedicated his award to the soldiers with whom he worked.<br/> <br />"I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for the boys with me that day, the support they provided me was excellent. As I said, it is as much theirs as it is mine," he said.
