Lassen was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross in September 1945, making him the only non-Commonwealth recipient of the VC during the Second World War. Here is everything you need to know about SAS soldier Anders Lassen. Early life and backgroundAnders Frederik Emil Victor Schau Lassen was born on September 22, 1920, in Copenhagen, Denmark, into an aristocratic family. By October 1944, at just 24, he had been promoted to temporary major and had been awarded the Military Cross with two bars. His full list of decorations includes the VC, the Military Cross with two bars, the King Christian X Memorial Medal, and other campaign medals.