Refusing to leave his mortally wounded comrade as the enemy approached, Australian Warrant Officer Kevin Wheatley pulled the pin on two grenades and waited for the inevitable. Most of the world has only seen such a scenario in the movies and yet, Warrant Officer Wheatley lived it and paid the ultimate price for it. What could make an unwounded man forgo an obvious attempt to save his own life in exchange for certain death? When you learn a little more about the history of this man, you would likely come to the conclusion that there was no other way that such a mighty man’s life was going to end. Warrant Officer Kevin Wheatley was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in Vietnam and deserves the attention and respect of all who might read these words. Destiny Awaited Kevin Wheatley joined the Australian Army in 1956 at the age of 19. His first taste of combat would come during what is known as the Malayan Emergency between 1957 and 1959. During this time, Wheatley would find himself pitted against anti-British communist forces where he would gain vital experience necessary to carry out his mission in Vietnam a few years later. Promoted to Sergeant and then later Warrant Officer in 1964, Wheatley found himself in Vietnam by 1965 as part of the Australian Army Training team. Designed to support and train the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, Wheatley would be in close contact with the ARVN forces as they
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