Second ever ANZAC of the year named

Dr Brian McMahon. Photo / Supplied

An 81-year-old doctor, humanitarian and retired soldier has been named New Zealand's second ever ANZAC of the year.

Brigadier Dr Brian McMahon was presented with the award today by Governor General Anand Satyanand.

A statement from the Returned Services Association said he had been a "quintessential citizen soldier" through a career marked by comradeship, compassion, courage and commitment.

He started his military service as the Resident Medical Officer in Waiouru in 1966 and went on to serve as a medical officer in Vietnam in 1969.

His work in medicine continued until his retirement from his final military post as Director General Defence Medical Services in 1983.

Dr McMahon continues to mentor and teach medical students and has played a defining role in the careers of many successful doctors, the RSA said.

He is an active member of the Leprosy Trust Board Fiji in Suva and continues to go on leprosy missions in the South West Pacific and South East Asia first with the Christchurch-based Pacific Leprosy Foundation.

His position as patron of the NZ Vietnam Health has seen him regularly travel to assess medical projects in areas such as Bong Son, where he served during the Vietnam War.

Veterans' Affairs Minister Judith Collins congratulated Dr McMahon and thanked him for decades of work on improving healthcare.

"Throughout his distinguished military and medical careers, Dr McMahon displayed a tireless commitment to improving the healthcare of military personnel and the public," she said.

"As a soldier, a doctor, a citizen and a humanitarian, his lifetime of service has been an influence and an inspiration to many."

RSA national president Don McIver said Dr McMahon had given a lifetime of service to New Zealanders.

"He is a dedicated professional whose commitment and compassion for his fellow servicemen and women and their dependants, for those he has touched in his profession as a doctor, and for those he has touched in aid activities in Vietnam and the Pacific Islands are a matter of public record."

The RSA instituted the ANZAC of the year award last year.

Its inaugural recipient was Christchurch man Lieutenant Colonel John Masters - a decorated army officer who served for 27 years.