Manahi's courage under fire and exemplary leadership saw an immediate recommendation for a Victoria Cross forwarded through army channels.
Despite his bravery he was denied a Victoria Cross.
After the war, several efforts led by Sir Charles Bennett to retrospectively award Manahi a Victoria Cross were also turned down.
Sir Wira is the author of the History of B Company which is to be published later this year.
Born in Whakatane, Sir Wira was educated at Whakatane High School, Canterbury University and King's College, London.
His diverse career path has seen him serve as a professional soldier and senior public servant, and for the past 20 years he has been a businessman, researcher and author.
In 1992 Sir Wira wrote a military history on the 28th Maori Battalion using interviews and available archival resources.
In May 2016, Sir Wira travelled to Greece and Crete to visit battle sites where the NZ Division fought in April and May 1941, matching the theory from his book with the actual locations of the battles.
The 28th Maori Battalion was involved in some of the fiercest fighting of World War II.
Their exploits are legendary, but the price was great as the battalion suffered the highest casualty rate of any within the New Zealand Division, with one in six men killed.
The Maori Battalion's four rifle companies were organised along tribal lines, partly following the boundaries of the four Maori parliamentary electorates at the time.
Each company had its own nickname, reflecting the history and character of its main recruiting area.
B Company, centred on Te Arawa and the Mataatua tribes, was called the Penny Divers (Nga Ruku Kapa) - a reference to the practice of diving for coins to entertain tourists in the Whakarewarewa thermal region.
For more information on the talk go to www.rotoruamuseum.co.nz.
