Official Citation: Bronze Cross of Rhodesia
Lieutenant Alan Thrush
2nd Battalion, Rhodesian African Rifles
13 October 1978

    Since joining the 2nd Battalion, Rhodesian African Rifles, in November 1977, Lt Thrush has been involved in no fewer than 25 fire force contacts which accounted for more than 90 terrorists.
    In every deployment he has been the first man on the ground and usually the first to make contact. With his coolness under fire and his knack of accurately assessing the situation, he has led his men in exemplary fashion, eliminating a large number of terrorists.
    On April 13, 1978, four terrorists were trapped in a cave. During attempts to get them to surrender, Lt Thrush, with complete disregard for his safety, entered the mouth of the cave and shot and wounded one terrorist.
    At this, two other terrorists promptly surrendered and the fourth was killed.
    On April 22, 1978, a similar situation developed and again Lt Thrush took considerable personal risk in clearing several caves with grenades.
All these contacts took place during the rainy season when the cover was extremely thick and most encounters took place at ranges well under 10 metres.
    At no time did he allow himself to be deterred and his courageous example and determination to kill the enemy were at all times an inspiration to his soldiers.