Afghanistan-Iraq War Memorial - Feilding, Manawatu, NZ - Afghanistan-Iraq War Memorials on Waymarking.com

The Feilding "Great War" Memorial was erected in 1923. It features the names of 94 local men who gave their lives 1914-1918 on the North and South faces of the obelisk.

The West face lists the names of the 50 local men killed in World War II.

The East face features a sole plaque with the one name - that of Lt. T.A. O’Donnell killed in Afghanistan.

Lt T. A. O’DONNELL D.S.D.
AFGHANISTAN
3 August 2010

The following day, a motion was passed in New Zealand's Parliament, which I quote...
"That this House express its deepest sympathy and condolences to the family, friends and military colleagues of the New Zealand Army soldier killed in Afghanistan overnight, and his two injured colleagues. It is with great sadness that I stand here to mark the first death in action of a New Zealand soldier for a decade.
Overnight, at approximately 12.30 a.m. New Zealand time, a patrol came under attack in the north-east Bamian Province in Afghanistan. The three-vehicle patrol was hit by an improvised explosive device and then came under fire from rocket-propelled grenades and small arms. It was a complex attack, and New Zealand Army Lieutenant Timothy Andrew O’Donnell, aged 28, was killed. Two of his colleagues were seriously injured.
Lieutenant O’Donnell is the first New Zealander killed in action in Afghanistan since the first deployment of provincial reconstruction team efforts in 2003."

"Lieutenant O’Donnell was a young man and a very good soldier. He enlisted in 2005 and graduated from officer cadet school at the end of that year. He served in East Timor as a platoon commander for 6 months from late 2006. During that time Lieutenant O’Donnell’s platoon was involved in an incident that saw him awarded the New Zealand Distinguished Service Decoration. He received the award for his leadership and decisive action in intervening in a riot involving hundreds of people. In taking that action, Lieutenant O’Donnell’s own platoon came under attack. His platoon managed to push back the attackers and save the situation from deteriorating further, with the loss of life being most likely.
More recently in Afghanistan, he was a patrol commander who undertook dangerous assignments and continued to display the kind of leadership he was decorated for in East Timor."

Source. NZ Parliament Hansard Reports. (4 Aug 2010) Motions — New Zealand Defence Force - Death of Lieutenant Timothy O’Donnell in Afghanistan Retrieved 17/09/2024.

Lieutenant Timothy Andrew O’Donnell is buried in an official War Grave in the local Feilding cemetery.