In the spring of 2004, Private Johnson Beharry became the first living man to win the Victoria Cross in 40 years.
Over 1,000 Victoria Crosses have been issued during the lifetime of the award, but only a handful have awarded since the end of World War II. In fact, since 1968 only four have been issued. Two were given posthumously to soldiers fighting in the Falklands. One was given to a Ghurka during the Indonesian Confrontation in 1968. The other was given to a young man named Johnson Beharry.
In 2004, Private Johnson Beharry was serving as the driver of a Warrior Armored Fighting Vehicle in Iraq. One day in May, Johnson's vehicle was leading a group of 5 Warriors when the convoy was ambushed. A barrage of rockets slammed into Beharry's Warrior, destroying the communications systems and leaving both the vehicle's commander and gunner unconscious. Without orders, Beharry led the convoy on a charge through the ambush. Again his Warrior was struck, destroying his periscope and filling the vehicle with smoke. Throwing open his hatch, Johnson continued to drive the vehicle through the 1,500 meter ambush area. During the drive, Beharry was hit in the head by a rifle round that lodged in his helmet.
Escaping the ambush zone, Beharry parked his flaming vehicle, climbed onto the back, and pulled out both the commander and gunner. After they were both safely in other vehicles, he climbed back into his burning Warrior and drove it back to the base.
Just over a month later, Beharry was again driving his vehicle when it was ambushed. A volley of rockets smashed into the vehicle, again disabling the Commander, and severely wounding Beharry. Bleeding profusely from the head, Beharry managed to back his Warrior out of the ambush zone before falling into a coma.
For his extraordinary effort in both ambush situations, Johnson Beharry deservedly became the most recent winner of the Victoria Cross.
