Mark Donaldson

Mark was among more than 35,000 Australian Defence Force personnel who deployed to Afghanistan and the wider Middle East Area of Operations between 2001 and 2021. He received the Victoria Cross for Australia in 2009 for his actions in Afghanistan on 2 September 2008

Early life

Mark Gregor Strang Donaldson was born on 2 April 1979 at Waratah, New South Wales. He was the second child of Greg and Bernadette Donaldson. Mark grew up in Denman in the Hunter Valley before moving to Dorrigo, a town on the Northern Tablelands.

Mark’s father, Greg, was a national serviceman who served with 176 Air Dispatch Company, Royal Australian Army Service Corps, during the Vietnam War. He later worked as a meat inspector and warned Mark against joining the Army because of his own wartime experience. Mark’s mother, Bernadette, worked as a dental receptionist.

In a close-knit bush community, Mark enjoyed art, fishing, surfing, running and rugby. Growing up in Dorrigo helped him develop the independence, physical confidence and resilience that would later shape his life as a soldier.

The only thing [Dad] ever really used to say was, ‘Don't ever join the military’, you know, or ‘Don't ever join the Army.’

[Mark Donaldson, 7 News, 2014.]

Mark experienced profound loss while still young. His father died suddenly in 1995, when Mark was 16. Through the veteran charity Legacy, Bob Denner, who had served with Mark’s father in Vietnam, supported Mark's mother. After his father’s death, Mark’s life became unsettled.

In 1998, Mark’s mother disappeared and was later presumed murdered. These losses were among the significant early-life challenges he had to overcome.

She’s one of the nicest people I've ever known … [her disappearance] drove me to change though. I think it was a motivating factor in sorting myself out. I wanted to move on and fix myself up.

[Mark Donaldson, 7 News, 2014.]

His brother also attributed Mark’s courage as a soldier to what they had overcome in early life.

The events that happened had an effect, as it would on anyone, and I don't think it matters at what age it happens … I think for us it gave us a more steely resolve and a stronger-than-average coping mechanism.

[Brent Donaldson, Sydney Morning Herald, 2009.]

After some months at art college in Sydney, Mark had several jobs and travelled while planning his next steps. He worked on power lines in the Snowy Mountains, made snow on Australian and American ski fields, planted trees in Dorrigo and worked as a kitchen hand in Sydney.

In 2002, despite his father’s warning, Mark enlisted in the Australian Army with the ambition of joining the Special Air Service Regiment. He later recalled what drew him to the SAS.

It was dangerous. It was different from all accounts. You know, they grew their hair long. They had beards. They were the first to go, you know, they were the first ones to be stepping off the helicopter or whatever it was. You know, they test themselves all the time. So, that, I think that's the attraction.

[Mark Donaldson, 7 News interview, 2014.]

Military career

At a critical point in his life, Mark found discipline, structure and purpose in Army life.

He enlisted in the Australian Army on 18 June 2002. At the Army Recruit Training Centre, Kapooka, he was named the best shot and best at physical training in his platoon. At infantry training at Singleton, he again received prizes for shooting and physical training, and was named the most outstanding soldier in his platoon.

Mark was posted to the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR), in Townsville in late 2002.

Training with the United States Marines in Hawaii and taking part in large-scale exercises strengthened Mark’s ambition to join Special Forces. He completed SASR selection from February to April 2004 and was posted to 3 Squadron in May. He later served in East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan.
 

Special Forces

After a 3-day barrier test in Singleton and three months of self-directed preparation in Townsville, Mark was invited to undertake the SAS selection course in Western Australia, one of the Army’s most demanding selection processes.

Of about 120 candidates who started the intense 21-day course, only 28 completed it. After being accepted into the SAS, Mark started the gruelling 18-month Reinforcement Cycle, or ‘Reo’.

In 2005, Mark was posted to 1 Troop, 3 Special Air Service Squadron (3SAS Sqn), as one of their ‘wateries’ (Water Operations Troops).

While in Perth, Mark met his future wife, Emma, who was on the SAS staff. They were married in 2008.

Personal security details

In late 2005, Mark deployed on a personal security detail. He was part of a team protecting the prime minister, Defence minister and chief of army on separate trips to Iraq and Afghanistan.

In 2007, Mark was selected for a 5-person security detail for the prime minister’s visit to East Timor. The job quickly changed to the whole troop being needed in Dili to search for 2 suspected threats to East Timor’s prime minister, José Ramos-Horta. The SAS troops were in and out of the country in 6 days.

Service in Afghanistan

Mark deployed to Afghanistan seven times between 2006 and 2012 with Special Forces and Special Operations Task Group rotations under Operation Slipper. In 2006, he served as a signaller and drove a 6-wheeled long-range patrol vehicle during counterinsurgency operations alongside Dutch forces in Uruzgan Province and the broader Oruzgan–Kandahar region.

In 2008, Mark served as his patrol’s scout during intense operations. After a fatal attack on an LRPV, the patrol used larger, better-armoured Bushmasters. On 12 August, Mark was slightly wounded when his Bushmaster struck an improvised explosive device during a night operation. A US aeromedical evacuation Black Hawk then crashed while collecting the wounded.

The helicopter came in, bounced, and crashed. Chopper blades went everywhere ... It was night time, dust was everywhere … I just remember laughing through the chaos. I remember the funny parts, that’s just me, that's how I deal with it.

[Mark Donaldson, Department of Defence news, 2023.]

Less than a month later, on 2 September 2008, Mark joined a combined Afghan–US–Australian operation in the Ana Kalay Valley, east of Forward Operating Base Anaconda. The 36-person convoy, travelling in 5 armoured Humvees, included 2 SAS patrols, Afghan troops and an interpreter, US Army Special Forces and 2 military dogs.

A larger, well-prepared Taliban force ambushed the convoy with machine-gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades. Over more than 2 hours and about 4 km, the vehicles kept moving as casualties mounted. Mark engaged the enemy, deliberately exposed himself to draw fire away from the wounded, and helped others move casualties to relative safety.

During the withdrawal, a badly wounded Afghan interpreter was left behind. Without waiting for an order, Mark ran about 80 m across exposed ground under intense fire, carried the man back to the convoy and gave first aid. His actions saved the interpreter’s life and helped protect the convoy. Nine of the 13 Australians were wounded; of the four who were not, two had bullet holes in their equipment.

Donaldson later described his actions as an instinctive response shaped by training, loyalty and concern for his mates.

I didn’t really have time to think about it … I'm a soldier, and I'm trained to be a soldier … Every single one of those soldiers that are there serving for the nation are heroes

[Mark Donaldson, ABC interview for PM program, 2009.]

In a statement released by Defence and reported by the ABC, Mark said, ‘I don’t see myself as a hero.’ He credited training, instinct and loyalty to his patrol.

On 16 January 2009, Governor-General Quentin Bryce presented Mark with the Victoria Cross for Australia at Government House in Canberra. He was the first recipient of the Victoria Cross for Australia, and the first Australian to be awarded a Victoria Cross since Warrant Officer Class II Keith Payne for gallantry in Vietnam in 1969. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Mark had joined ‘the ranks of our bravest and our finest’, but Mark maintained that he had acted with the professionalism, commitment and integrity expected of an SAS member.

Victoria Cross citation

Trooper Mark Gregor DONALDSON, WA

For most conspicuous acts of gallantry in action in a circumstance of great peril in Afghanistan, as part of the Special Operations Task Group during Operations SLIPPER, Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan.

On 2 September 2008 Trooper Donaldson was outstanding in the manner in which he fought during a prolonged and effective enemy ambush. On numerous occasions, he deliberately drew the enemy's fire in order to allow wounded soldiers to be moved to safety. As the battle raged around him he saw that a coalition interpreter was lying motionless on exposed ground. With complete disregard for his own safety, on his own initiative and alone, Trooper Donaldson ran back eighty metres across exposed ground to rescue the interpreter and carry him back to a vehicle. Trooper Donaldson then rejoined his patrol and continued to engage the enemy while remaining exposed to heavy enemy fire.

[Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, No S 10, 20 January 2009.]

Continued army service

Receiving the Victoria Cross placed Mark in an unexpected public role, but he continued serving with the SAS and repeatedly redirected attention to his mates, training and the wider Defence community.

Mark became a prominent symbol of contemporary Australian service at a time when many Australians knew little about the experience of ADF personnel in Afghanistan.

At his investiture, his wife, Emma, captured the commitment and family sacrifice involved when she told the ABC, ‘He was married to the Army before he married me.’

After receiving the Victoria Cross, Mark returned to Afghanistan several times. In 2009, he again served as a patrol scout, supported by US helicopters during demanding operations.

Named Young Australian of the Year in January 2010, Mark treated the honour as recognition of all ADF personnel and encouraged young Australians to believe, ‘If he can do it, I can do it.’

He returned for a short deployment in 2010, was promoted to corporal, and began training as a combat assault dog handler with a Belgian malinois named Devil.

In 2011, Mark deployed as one of 3 Squadron’s two dog handlers, working with Devil during high-risk counterinsurgency operations. He returned to Afghanistan for the final time in 2012, serving as second-in-command of his patrol as Australia’s combat role wound down. During that deployment, he was shot in the left hamstring by an AK-47 round, which remained lodged in his leg.

In October 2012, Mark became patron-in-chief of Soldier On, supporting wounded service personnel and their families—work he regarded as personal after seeing friends face long recoveries.

Mark's memoir, The Crossroad: a story of life, death and the SAS, won the Australian Book Industry Award for best biography in 2014.

AWM P09587.002

Life after service

By late 2018, Mark had left full-time service in the ADF and moved into the defence industry, working with Boeing and later Microsoft. He has continued to draw on his military experience in roles concerned with Defence capability, leadership and service.

Mark and his wife, Emma, have 2 children. Their family story also reflects the separations and shared sacrifices that can accompany military service.

Like many Afghan veterans, integrity and accountability remain guiding principles in post-service life. In public talks, he continues to speak to current-serving personnel and the wider community about courage, friendship, humour and high standards.

During a 2023 visit to the School of Infantry in Singleton, he told early-career soldiers that the Victoria Cross's meaning lies in the story attached to it.

It's a bit of ribbon and a bit of gun metal; it's actually kind of worthless to a degree, and I mean that in the greatest respect because what makes it special is the story that is attached to it, the person it was awarded to, and the greater team that they were a part of

Commemoration

The Australian War Memorial displays Mark’s Victoria Cross for Australia in the Hall of Valour.

In Dorrigo, where Mark grew up, Trooper Mark Donaldson VC Park was dedicated in 2011. The memorial reminds visitors that national stories of service often begin in small communities.

He has also represented Australia and the Defence community at major national and Commonwealth occasions, including the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and the Coronation of King Charles III in 2023. At the coronation, Mark said he would reflect on his mates and on the next generation of serving men and women carrying that legacy forward.

Through his courage in Afghanistan, his continued support for veterans and serving personnel, and his willingness to share the credit with his mates, Mark Donaldson VC exemplifies courage, mateship, humility, service and resilience. His story reflects the enduring Anzac tradition of ordinary Australians doing extraordinary things in the service of others.