As Arnold Reedy and other members of the Maori Battalion were being evacuated from Crete during World War II, he looked back and saw men who would be left behind.
Realising the soldiers were from his district on the North Island's East Coast, the 38-year-old and other officers opted to stay behind.
That led to four years in German prisoner-of-war camps, but not before he and other Kiwis were made to bury their fallen comrades.
Reedy's granddaughter, Minister of Education, Hekia Parata, will now travel to Europe with the Governor General Sir Jerry Mateparae to take part in the 75th anniversary commemorations of the Battle of Crete.
"The stories we have been told are that as the Maori Battalion and C Company were being evacuated from Crete, my grandfather among the other officers looked back on shore and realised that they wouldn't be able to take everyone, and if all the officers went there would be no officers present for those who would inevitably be taken prisoner of war," Ms Parata told the Herald.