Now the medal group of Major Peter Badcoe VC will reside among those of other national heroes in the Australian War Memorial, after a private handover ceremony on Friday.

His medal group will go on display on Saturday, the first time all four decorations awarded during the Vietnam War will rest together in the Hall of Valour.

The posthumous Victoria Cross recipient was killed while leading South Vietnamese troops near the hamlet of An Thuan in South Vietnam's Thua Thien Province in April 1967.

He was hit by a burst of enemy fire as he rose to lob a grenade during an assault on fortified Viet Cong positions.

He was of the most decorated Australian soldiers of the Vietnam conflict but in his entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, Ian O'Neill describes him has an unlikely hero.

"Short, round and stocky, with horn-rimmed spectacles, Badcoe did not look a hero," O'Neill wrote.

"He was a quiet, gentle and retiring man, with a dry sense of humour. To his colleagues he was an enigma, yet many humoured his boundless enthusiasm in field exercises and his off-duty discourses on martial matters."

Despite his gentle nature, Major Badcoe led a series of fierce assaults which forced the Viet Cong to its knees and saved the district headquarters of Quang Dien.

The day he was killed, he wrote a letter to his wife and dearest confidante Denise, saying he was ready to come home.

He was buried at Terendak Military Cemetery in Malacca, Malaysia and was survived by his wife and three daughters.

He was also honoured with the United States Silver Star, the Republic of Vietnam's National Order, three Crosses for Gallantry and the Armed Forces Honour Medal.

Director of the War Memorial, Dr Brendan Nelson said: "His is a story of leadership and courage - one to inspire every one of us."

"It is an honour and a privilege to now display his medals," he said.

Major Badcoe is the 71st Australian to have their Victoria Cross medals displayed at the war memorial.