Posthumous Victoria Cross recipient Corporal Cameron Baird initially refused the Medal for Gallantry he was awarded for service in Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008, his father, Doug Baird, said.
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''He felt what had been accomplished was the work of the team, not a single individual,'' Mr Baird said in Canberra on Thursday.
''It was then the other members of his team stepped in and said, 'Mate, you have to accept this because you are accepting it for all of us.'''
Mr Baird had travelled from Victoria for the installation of Corporal Baird's VC, the 100th to be awarded to an Australian, in the Hall of Valour at the Australian War Memorial.
He said his son, who would have turned 33 this June, would have been even more humbled if he had lived to know he had been awarded the Victoria Cross.
''Cameron would have been embarrassed by all that has happened [since the VC was announced],'' Mr Baird said.
''I am extremely proud, humbled and honoured to fulfil some of the duties over the last month that he would have performed [if he had lived]. I believe that in some ways I am an extension of Cameron and have an obligation to do this.''
He said no father could be prouder of a son.
Corporal Baird is the only posthumous VC of the Afghan conflict and his medal is the first to be awarded to a member of the 2nd Commando Regiment.
A strong contingent of his comrades, many of whom had not seen the medal before, travelled to Canberra for Thursday's installation.
Members of 2nd Commando had refurbished and reassembled their mate's M4 carbine, the preferred weapon of the special forces, after the firefight in Oruzgan on June 22 last year in which he was killed.
The 5.56mm carbine, which still bears signs of battle damage from the engagement, will also be displayed in the Hall of Valour.
Counting Corporal Baird's medal, 70 of the 100 VCs awarded to Australians since 1900 are now in the possession of or on loan to the Australian War Memorial.
Doug and Kaye Baird were presented with the VC in a ceremony at Government House on February 18. The award had been made public for the first time on February 13.
''It is pretty clear to us [as a family] that the Victoria Cross is an extremely important item,'' Mr Baird said.
''This will give all Australians the opportunity to see it. It is hard for us to give it up but we believe it is the correct thing to do.
''As a family we are very happy that having the VC (and the rifle) at the AWM means there is a permanent memorial to Cameron, and his courage, on display.
''We also feel it is what Cameron would have wanted; he would have wanted his VC to be with that of the other soldiers and here he is in some remarkable company.''
After the ceremony Mr Baird shared a morning tea with the members of the 2nd Commando who had travelled to Canberra for the event.
The family have previously described the members of 2nd Commando as ''our extended family'' and thanked them for their unwavering support following Corporal Baird's death.
The citation to his VC notes say he ''selflessly drew enemy fire away from the team (after it had been targeted by an entrenched enemy machinegun position)'', allowing his unit to regain the initiative and saving the lives of his team members.