Kevin Wheatley – Victoria Cross Vietnam

WO II KA Wheatley VC

British Military Medals- Victoria Cross. Highest award for bravery

Kevin Arthur Wheatley was born on March 13, 1937 in Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia to Raymond George and Ivy Sarah Ann Wheatley. Kevin was their third child. Kevin attended Marouba Junction Junior Technical School. He married Edna Davis, a fourteen-year-old milk bar attendant on July 20, 1954. Kevin enlisted in the Australian Army on June 12, 1956. After basic training, he was assigned to the 4th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment. . He was transferred to the 3rd Battalion the following year.

Kevin served in the Malaysian crises from September 1957 to July 1959. In January 1964, he was promoted to Sergeant and then Warrant Officer II (temporary) in August. Kevin was a well-liked and respected noncommissioned officer. His friends and comrades called him “Dasher”, an affectionate nickname given to him for his rugby skills. In March 1965, Kevin was assigned to the Australian Army Vietnam Training Team (AATTV). On May 28, he rescued a girl of about three years, risking his own life through a hail of bullets.

Kevin was assigned to a Vietnamese battalion in Quang Tri for about six months until he was transferred to Tra Bong along with five other Australian order officers in October 1965. At a Special Forces base deep in enemy territory, the Kevin’s group worked alongside US forces on leading soldiers from Vietnam and Montangard executing search and destroy missions.

A Vietnam Irregular Civil Defense Force operation on November 13, 1966 in the TraBong Valley, approximately 15 km from the Tra Bong Special Forces camp in Quang Ngai province, made contact with Vietnamese forces. Cong. Accompanying the force were Captain F. Fazekas, Senior Australian Advisor, with the center platoon, and NCOs KA Wheatley and RJ Swanton with the right-hand platoon.

At approximately 1:40 p.m., Petty Officer Wheatley reported that he had had contact with elements of the Viet Cong. The Viet Cong resistance increased in strength until finally Petty Officer Wheatley called for help. Captain Fazekas led his platoon to provide assistance, and they fought back to the action area. While moving into this area, he received another radio message from Petty Officer Wheatley to tell him that Petty Officer Swanton had received a blow to the chest and called for an air strike and an evacuation helicopter to evacuate the victims.

Although the doctor from the Irregular Civil Defense Group told him that Warrant Officer Swanton was dying, Dasher Wheatley refused to leave him. Discarding his radio so that he could take Chief Warrant Officer Swanton, under heavy enemy fire, out of the open rice paddies into the somewhat safer wooded area, some 200 meters away. He was assisted by a member of the Irregular Civil Defense Group, Private Dinh Do, who, when the Viet Cong was ten meters from his position, urged him to leave his dying comrade. Kevin flatly refused, removing the pins from two grenades to quietly await the Viet Cong, one grenade in each hand.

Soon after, two grenade explosions were heard, followed by several bursts of fire. The two bodies were found early the next morning after the fight had ceased, with Petty Officer Wheatley lying next to Petty Officer Swanton. Both had died from gunshot wounds.

Kevin “Dasher” Wheatley was survived by his wife Edna and four children. His body was returned to Australia for burial at Pine Grove Memorial Park, Blacktown, New South Wales. His name is commemorated in the New South Wales Garden of Remembrance at Rookwood War Cemetery. In 1967 a trophy was unveiled in his name for the annual competition between the Australian Service Rugby Union and the Sydney Rugby Football Union.

A sports stadium in Vung Tau, Vietnam was named after him and his quote and photograph are on display in the Hall of Heroes, John F. Kennedy Center for Military Assistance, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The United States also awarded him the Silver Star. He was made a Knight of the National Order of the Republic of Vietnam and received the Medal of Military Merit and the Cross of Courage.

It’s goodbye from me

Sight

Barry