By Tony Wright
Sixty years after Kevin “Dasher” Wheatley and Ron “Butch” Swanton died together at the edge of a paddy field in Vietnam, Wheatley preparing to hurl his last two grenades, and Swanton lying wounded at his feet, Australia has formally recognised their extraordinary acts of selfless courage.
Family members of the two soldiers were presented with posthumous Medals for Gallantry on Wednesday by the Governor of NSW, Margaret Beazley.
NSW Governor Margaret Beazley presents gallantry awards to the families of Kevin “Dasher” Wheatley and Ron “Butch” Swanton. (Left to right) George Wheatley, Renee Everill, Edna Wheatley, Phyllis Everill, NSW Governor Margaret Beazley, Chantal Swanton-Gallant and Nicholas Swanton-Gallant. Credit: Louie Douvis
The awards have been an agonisingly long time coming and follow years of false starts, denials by the military and disputed decisions.
They were awarded only after Sydney businessman Chris Hartley met Wheatley’s son, George, and learned that a military awards reviewing officer had denied both Wheatley’s and Swanton’s eligibility for Medals of Gallantry.
Hartley helped gather enough evidence to persuade the Defence Honours and Awards appeals tribunal to overturn the original decisions, a process that eventually led to Wednesday’s ceremony at Sydney’s Government House.
The medal makes Wheatley one of the Vietnam War’s most decorated soldiers.
He had already been awarded, posthumously, the Victoria Cross in 1967 for dragging and carrying Swanton out of a paddy field after he was shot by Viet Cong forces, and for having refused to leave Swanton’s side despite knowing he was facing certain death.
He simply stood, out of ammunition for his rifle and holding a grenade in each hand, as a Viet Cong company advanced on the pair, despite a South Vietnamese medic having begged him to leave Swanton because he was dying. The two mates were found dead of gunshot wounds the following morning.
Kevin “Dasher” Wheatley and his mate, Ron “Butch” Swanton, died together in Vietnam in 1965. They have been honoured posthumously with the Medal for Gallantry.
But the military downplayed other acts of astonishing courage by both Wheatley and by Swanton.
Warrant Officer Swanton, when he was shot on November 13, 1965, was attempting to save the life of a wounded South Vietnamese soldier by carrying him across the paddy field, knowing he was exposing himself to enemy gunfire. It was a selfless act that led to his own death after Wheatley dragged him to cover.
Yet a military officer dismissed Swanton’s eligibility for a medal, declaring that “whilst his actions could be described as ‘courageous’, these actions are what all service personnel are expected to perform in an attempt to preserve the life of a wounded comrade”. The appeals tribunal overturned that decision.
Swanton’s niece Chantal Swanton-Gallant flew from Queensland to accept the posthumous award. She and her son, Nicholas Swanton-Gallant, asked for privacy after the emotional and belated ceremony. They were joined by members of Wheatley’s family after the awards investiture.
The families of two Australian military heroes at NSW Government House (left to right) Renee Everill, Phyllis Everill, George Wheatley, Edna Wheatley, Chantal Swanton-Gallant, and Nicholas Swanton-GallantCredit: Louie Douvis
Wheatley’s Award for Gallantry was for two separate acts of great courage.
Kevin “Dasher” Wheatley in 1965.
The first was on May 28, 1965 – 60 years to the day before his Medal for Gallantry was finally awarded and presented to his son, who was just 11 when he died.
Pinned down by gunfire in a shallow ditch in Quang Tri Province, Wheatley saw a terrified Vietnamese girl, aged about three, break away from her mother and run screaming down the road.
Warrant Officer Second Class Wheatley, aged 28 and with four children of his own back in Australia, leapt from cover and, fully exposed to heavy gunfire, ran to the little girl, scooped her up in his arms and raced her to safety, shielding her with his own body. A recommendation for a “Mention in Dispatches” was ignored.
On August 18, 1965, Wheatley charged a Viet Cong battalion alone, running up a heavy slope under fire. His action spurred a South Vietnamese unit into action, and the Viet Cong were routed. In the same action, he saved the life of US Marine Jim Lowe, earning him one of the US military’s top awards for bravery, the Silver Star.
Wheatley’s wife, Edna, travelled with son George and other family members to Sydney for Wednesday’s awards investiture.
It was, perhaps, some compensation for the pain and disadvantage she suffered after her husband was killed.
She was sacked from her job at a western Sydney RSL Club for “making a fuss” and demanding that her husband’s body be returned for burial in Australia. She won that battle: Wheatley’s body was eventually brought home, and Australian military policy was altered to ensure Australia’s war dead were thereafter returned home.
George Wheatley, of Turros Head on the NSW South Coast, said he wanted to acknowledge his mother’s “strength, love and determination”. He thanked those responsible for making possible the awards to his father and Swanton.
“Today is not the story of Dad’s medals, but it is the story of the man Dad was,” he said.
“Dad without hesitation displayed remarkable courage, as did Butch [Swanton].
“Today this chapter in Dad’s life comes to an end.”
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