In a pool of 170 Queen's birthday honours recipients, there is one mystery hero whose name may never be known.
The Whakaari / White Island mission to recover bodies of the victims. Photo: NZDF
An unnamed recipient, known as Serviceman M, led a ground recovery operation to retrieve bodies following the eruption of Whakaari / White Island in December 2019, which claimed 22 lives.
He has not been named for security reasons.
He planned and led the effort to retrieve six victims, keeping his team focused and safe in the extreme conditions.
He also determined the two missing victims - Hayden Marshall Inman and 17-year-old Australian Winona Langford - could not be found before pulling the team off the island.
He has received a Distinguished Service Decoration for services to the Defence Force.