Nine of Australia’s Thai cave rescuers honoured with bravery medals
DR Richard Harris and Craig Challen, who were given bravery awards today, told of their shock from being in the spotlight after the Thai cave rescue. They also revealed their scariest moment during the mission.
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AUSTRALIAN Dr Richard ‘Harry’ Harris has been honoured with Australia’s second highest civilian bravery award today for his heroic efforts as part of the dangerous rescue mission to free the Wild Boars soccer team from a flooded Thai cave.
The Adelaide anaesthetist and his dive partner, retired Perth vet Craig Challen, were awarded the Star of Courage at a special ceremony in Canberra this afternoon.
Seven other Australians who put their own lives on the line to rescue the 12 boys and their soccer coach, including six Australian Federal Police divers and Navy officer Troy Eather, were also given bravery medals and the Medal of the Order of Australia.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Governor-General Peter Cosgrove and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten attended the ceremony to formally recognise their heroic efforts, along with Thailand’s Ambassador to Australia Nantana Sivakua.
After the emotional ceremony, Dr Harris and Dr Challen spoke about how frightening it was to hold the boys’ young lives in their hands.
The humble pair — described as “remarkable” Australians and the “lynchpins” of the entire rescue — also said they were embarrassed and shocked the spotlight had fallen on them.
“Cave diving is what we do. That bit didn’t require anything special. But what we are not used to is holding these little humans in our hands and their fate completely and utterly up to us,” Dr Challen said.
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“What we did at the time made all the difference between whether they were surviving or not,” he said.
“We can handle ourselves in that environment. That is alright. But we just can’t stress how bleak the outlook was for those kids in there.
“And we’re just overjoyed that it all worked out okay because it could have easily not.”
Dr Harris, who played a pivotal role in assessing whether the boys were fit enough to make the perilous 1.7km journey to the surface and sedated them to ensure they were calm, said none of the rescuers really expected the boys to escape.
“Certainly not in the time frame that they did and to be honest things were looking pretty grim for them,” he said.
“We thought the monsoon rains were going to kick in and they were going to be trapped there for several months which was a situation we didn’t think was survivable.
“Either way we thought the outcome was going to be pretty dismal.”
He revealed the most frightening moment for him was estimating how much sedative to give the boys.
“It was an estimate to start with. The first child was an experiment in a way,” he said.
“It was a good guess with a lot of advice from a lot of other specialists. I was contacting specialists in Australia, I talked extensively with a variety of specialists in Thailand, and took a lot of their advice on board.
“And they were happy with the plan that we put forward — but I have never done it in the back of a cave with malnourished, skinny, dehydrated Thai kids before. That for me was the most frightening part of the week.”
Far from avoiding caves for the near future, the dive buddies are heading back into the water in two weeks.
“We’re going just to clear the cobwebs and go for a swim somewhere nice and clear,” Dr Harris said.
“We’ve got some plans for a little reunion in some local caves.”
He added that we wanted to get back to work soon and that the spotlight was embarrassing.
“We just went cave diving for a few days and were able to help get the kids out. But obviously the media storm and these awards have been completely unexpected and we’re just trying to emphasise how big a part so many people played in this,” Dr Harris said.
“We’re not quite sure why the spotlight has shone on us as a pair, but it is all quite exciting, but I think I just need to get back to work actually and stop my head swelling and just start to relax again.”
The pair also said they had been able to see the boys and the coach at the hospital but had never met their parents.
“We were never around when they were around. But hopefully one day we will be able to say G’day,” Dr Harris said.
Prime Minister Turnbull paid tribute to the men during the ceremony, saying: “You saved those young men and as you did so, you inspired not just your own nation, our nation, but holding its breath and praying for your success, you inspired the whole world.”
Mr Turnbull also acknowledged all of the rescuers involved, highlighting former Thai Navy Seal Saman Kunan who lost his life during the mission.
The Governor-General described the nine men honoured today as “remarkable” Australians.
He noted that when they were being interviewed for the awards, they all acknowledged the wonderful work of others but said they personally weren’t exceptional but were just “doing their bit”.
“None of us will dispute the former. On the latter, we think that you were remarkable — skilful, tireless, compassionate and courageous,” he said.
“Your nation is so proud of you. Today, Australia salutes you.”
The AFP officers involved in the rescue were revealed for the first time today as Senior Constable Justin John Bateman, Leading Senior Constable Kelly Craig Boers, Detective Leading Senior Constable Benjamin Walter Cox, First Constable Matthew Peter Fitzgerald, Acting Station Sergeant Robert Michael James and Detective Leading Senior Constable Christopher John Markcrow.
“These men deployed at short notice to Thailand as part of the international response effort,” Official Secretary to the Governor-General Mark Fraser said.
“They played an instrumental role in the search and scout diving throughout the cave system during the early phases of the mission, including before water pumps had been installed, when there were no maps or lighting, increasing the obvious risks.
“Conditions were incredibly challenging, there was zero visibility and strong currents to contend with.
“For most there were many long days of diving (in some cases over 10 hours a day for 10 days) they dived kilometres within the cave system, searching, scouting, helping establish forward operating bases.
“They helped carry oxygen cylinders and other vital supplies.
“Throughout, they were conscious of the urgent and life-saving task of finding and retrieving the young men. “They put themselves into life-threatening danger knowingly, risking their own lives for others.
“As integral members of the rescue effort they formed part of the daisy chain throughout the cave system, gently shepherding the fragile bodies of the boys from hand to hand.
“They did not give up until the job was done.
“And for their acts of bravery, today our nation, says thank you.”
Mr Fraser added that the Order of Australia medals were awarded for the whole group, who persisted for day after day under perilous conditions against unimaginable odds and prevailed.
“They brought the faces of 13 young men back into the sunshine and into the arms of their loved ones.
“They brought to the fore all of the values we hold dear as Australians, and today their nation thanks them.”
Dr Harris and Dr Challen were described as “instrumental” and “linchpins” of the entire rescue mission.
“The full deeds of these men may never be fully known,” Mr Fraser said.
“What we do know is that they worked together as a team, and they have been described as linchpins of the entire operation.
“There is no doubt that their application of medical skill and solutions was instrumental in the outcome.
“For days these men dived for long hours deep within the cave system. Conditions were very hazardous.
“At any moment waters could have surged through the cave causing serious injury.
“The precious lives of these boys were literally in their hands.
“With expert skill and care they devised a solution that was thought impossible.
“One-by-one the boys were sent through the daisy chain, in darkness, and against the odds. And one-by-one they were saved.
“Their acts have astonished us all.
“The boys have returned to the warm embrace of the outside world, because of these men standing before us, and because of their bravery.”
The six members of the AFP’s Specialist Response Group arrived at the Tham Luang caves on June 30, five days into the desperate rescue attempt to free the boys.
The group took part in the initial dives to locate the boys and then multiple dives over the fraught coming days to deliver oxygen tanks and supplies and lay cabling and pipes to assist the rescue.
When the dangerous missions to extract the boys took place on July 8, 9 and 10, the divers and Chief Petty Officer Eather were stationed inside the cave to help pass the boys along a daisy-chain of rescuers to safety.
Today, the group were recognised for displaying considerable bravery to rescue the boys in potentially deadly circumstances — the threat of sudden flooding, moving debris and the deteriorating air quality could all have been fatal.
Dr Harris and Dr Challen were awarded the Star of Courage — the nation’s second highest civilian bravery award — for displaying conspicuous courage during the rescue and a Medal of the Order of Australia for their service to the international community.
Only 164 Australians have been given the Star of Courage since it was first established in 1975.
Dr Harris and Dr Challen — civilians with decades of experience in cave diving — were about to go on holiday to the Nullarbor together when they were called to take part in the rescue.
The pair jumped on a plane within an hour.
Over the course of the next few days, both played a pivotal role in the rescue.
Dr Harris dived into the cave on July 7 to assess whether the boys were fit to make the dangerous journey and, with his sign off, the first extraction of four boys began the next day.
He dived into the cave for each rescue, assessed the boys and reportedly administered a sedative to keep them calm on the 1.7km dive to safety.
Dr Challen was stationed along the evacuation route at a dangerous section where he helped the boys out of their diving gear and into harnesses and stretchers to be carried to the next dive point and then helped them re-kit for the swim.
All 12 boys and their coach were safely freed on July 10 with their help — and just in time before pumps extracting water from the cave failed and a heavy downpour the next day.
They worked in extremely hazardous conditions. There was poor or zero visibility along the dive route. Debris and narrow passageways and changing air quality made it more difficult.
And just hours after the boys were safely freed, Dr Harris received the tragic news from Australia that his father had died.
The nine individuals recognised today were backed by a support crew of 11 other Australians.
Originally published as Nine of Australia’s Thai cave rescuers honoured with bravery medals
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