On 24 August 2010, in battle in Afghanistan, Corporal Daniel Keighran risked his life in a hail of gunfire to save his fellow soldiers. His actions saw him awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia, making him the 99th Australian to receive our country's highest award for bravery.
Yet that battlefield was not Daniel's first exposure to hardship. When he was eleven, his father showed up in his life, for the first time, with a gunshot wound to the stomach. He relocated his son, daughter and their mother to a shack with a dirt floor and no mains power in outback Queensland. From then on, Daniel fought to maintain a sense of order and purpose amid the chaos of family violence and criminal activity.
Inspired by his much-loved grandfather, a World War II veteran, Daniel joined the army. From firefights in Iraq to working with the Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan, Daniel excelled as one of the team in his new family.
Courage Under Fire is the memoir of a remarkable Australian, packed with tales of multiple tours, accounts of extraordinary camaraderie, and a reflection on the unseen cost of service. Most of all it is a testament to the idea that anything is possible if you know what you stand for.