Lieutenant General (retired) Donald McIver’s Medals Donated Today

Don served on our Trust Board, including a stint as our Chair, from 2007-2011. He is fondly remembered by staff as a steady hand steering the direction of our Museum and it is with a great honour that we accepted the donation of his medals today, alongside representatives from Waiouru Military Camp who wanted to pay their respects to Don’s family.

 

Hearing the stories of his service (and some fantastic tidbits of his life) from his family was a real pleasure and brought to life a man who continues to be well-respected by Museum staff, past and present. Don’s medals will be mounted for display in our Medal Repository in the near future.

Lieutenant General (retired) Donald McIver had a long and distinguished career in the New Zealand Army, chalking up 40 years of service. He was deployed to Malaya (1958) and later Malaysia (1963-65), and South Vietnam (1971). Don served overseas at the Australian Army HQ in Canberra (1973), as Commander of the New Zealand Force (South East Asia) in Singapore (1980), and at the Royal College of Defence Studies in London (1984). From 1987-89 Don served as the Chief of General Staff, and from 1989-91 was the first New Zealander to head a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Sinai.

 

After leaving the New Zealand Army, he was appointed as the Director of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (1991-99), served on our Museum Trust Board (2007-11), and as the National President of the Returned Services Association (2010-14).

 

Don has left a legacy we are thankful will live on in a small way on display in our Medal Repository at the National Army Museum Te Mata Toa.