On 5 June family and friends watched as thirteen United States citizens were presented the New Zealand Special Service Medal (Erebus) for their work in “Operation Overdue”, the body recovery, crash investigation and victim identification resulting from New Zealand’s worst air disaster.
The NZ Special Service Medal
New Zealand Ambassador Roy Ferguson and Vice Chief of Defence Force Rear Admiral Jack Steer presented the medals to the recipients who included US Navy personnel and transport accident investigators.
Commodore David Anson, head of New Zealand Defence Staff in Washington, gave a moving closing address and noted that there were still US personnel yet to be located so they could be presented with the medal.
“Today we have formally acknowledged the personal courage and commitment to a ghastly task in the wake of a tragic accident. The job of locating all the recipients of this award is not yet complete, and we still have others to find and formally recognise.”
Retired New Zealand Police Sergeant Mark Penn, the last searcher to leave Mount Erebus, spoke during the ceremony about the tragedy, the difficulty faced those involved in Operation Overdue as they worked to the point of exhaustion, and the vital support from the Americans.
“From the very moment the US Navy launched its search, the American assistance to New Zealand in the recovery operation was unstinting, generous and extensive. For that we will always be grateful,” said Sergeant Penn.
A video message from Prime Minister Key was played during the ceremony, honouring the US citizens involved in Operation Overdue.
Operation Overdue
- The NZSSM (Erebus) was instituted in November 2006 to recognise the service of those New Zealanders, and citizens of the United States of America and other countries, who were involved with the extremely difficult, very unpleasant, hazardous, and extreme circumstances associated with the body recovery, crash investigation and victim identification phases of Operation Overdue. Operation Overdue was mounted by the New Zealand Police following the crash of Air New Zealand DC-10-30 ZK-NZP Flight TE901 on the north slope of Mount Erebus, Ross Island, Antarctica on 28 November 1979, with the loss of all 257 passengers and crew.
- The recovery and investigation phase of Operation Overdue lasted in Antarctica from 29 November 1979 to 12 December 1979. The identification phase of the operation at the mortuary of the Auckland University School of Medicine went from 6 December 1979 to 12 February 1980.
- United States aviation crash investigators and United States Navy personnel worked for long periods on Mount Erebus among the wreckage of the flight and the bodies of the passengers and crew. United States Navy aircrew were directly involved with communications support and supply, and body and personal effects ferry flights to and from the Mount Erebus crash site.
- Forty US citizens are eligible to receive the medal. A further 11 medals will be presented or issued separately this year. Efforts are ongoing by NZDF and the NZ Embassy in Washington to identify and locate the remaining eligible United States citizens.