For the first time, the story of Victoria Cross recipient Kevin ‘Dasher’ Wheatley is finally being told.
Berwick author Michael Madden is the first to catch the lightning of this courageous larrikin and Vietnam War fighter in Dasher: The Kevin Wheatley VC Story.
He says Wheatley was one of Australia’s finest soldiers, meticulous in every way. But also the much-adored “life of the party” while off-duty.
“Dasher was a hard-as-nails, old-fashioned Digger who more resembled a soldier at Gallipoli or the Western Front than the modern soldier.
“He played hard, fought hard. When he stepped across into the red zone, he switched into the perfect soldier.”
In 1965, Dasher died in a supreme act of sacrifice in the Vietnam War, staying with a wounded mate Ron ‘Butch’ Swanton while isolated, outnumbered and under fire.
When the Australian Government refused to pay for his body to return from Vietnam, there was national uproar.
“It was the biggest story at the time.”
TV host Don Lane campaigned to fly Dasher home. Outraged US Marines dug into their pockets and even offered to use a US air craft carrier to ferry him back – an offer refused by the Australian Government.
Eventually a group of Aussie businessmen funded a private flight for Dasher’s remains.
A year later, the Government belatedly changed its policy in bringing fallen overseas soldiers back to these shores.
His Victoria Cross citation – the first in a conflict not involving British forces – also sparked controversy. It caused Queen Elizabeth II to make a rare intervention.
“The citation had made it look like he’d dropped his weapon which an Australian soldier wouldn’t do,” Mr Madden said.
“And that he then killed himself with grenades – but he was shot (by Viet Cong soldiers) at point blank range.
“(Her Majesty) changed the citation. She didn’t like the way it was written.”
There were other heroic actions that were unawarded. Such as saving a terrified 4-year-old girl who ran screaming into enemy machine-gun fire.
Wheatley braved the bullets, wrapped her behind his body, delivered her back to her mother and resumed battle, Mr Madden said.
In another of those “strange dualities”, the hardened soldier would kill enemy snipers without hesitation but was often mobbed by kids. He told them to call him ‘Ned Kelly’.
At each village, he’d bring gifts of candies, chocolates and soap to children.
The treats were found in his pockets when he died.
“He is a very confusing character. If you made up a character like Dasher for a fiction book or movie, people would dismiss it as far-fetched.
“The thing is he did bend the mind. It all happened.”
At first, Mr Madden didn’t feel equal to the task of chronicling Dasher. A few historians and writers had started but not completed their attempts.
“People can’t believe there hasn’t been a book about Dasher. He’s such a famous name, such a remarkable story – an enormous figure in the military.
“Everybody you speak to has a Dasher Wheatley story.
“But it’s the hardest thing I’ve done.”
Adding to the complexity was Covid lockdown denying him the chance to interview face-to-face.
And that many witnesses had died, and several veterans’ tales were verifiably incorrect.
One swore he’d got on the booze with Dasher in Tokyo in 1968 – three years after Dasher died in battle.
Then there were various versions of true incidents such as Dasher biting the head off a frog.
“You post something on Facebook and hundreds of people jump up and throw facts at you.
“It’s one of the most complex stories in Australian history. I wanted to do it properly with Dasher’s family behind it.”
Mr Madden is the first to interview Dasher’s widow Edna. He also had rare access to a lot of surviving mates as well as a book by US Marine Jim Lowe whose life was saved by another stunning act of Dasher gallantry in Vietnam.
Lowe later named his own son ‘Dasher’ in tribute to his late friend.
That life-saving act also led to Dasher being awarded the US’s third-highest military honour the Silver Star.
His family are yet to receive the medal due to in part Australian military obstruction, Mr Madden says.
Several attempted hand-overs have been cancelled due to Covid restrictions in the past two years.
After 56 long years, his family are set to finally the Silver Star at the Australian War Memorial on 26 November.
Mr Madden is one of very few non-family members invited to the ceremony.
He says the Dasher story is “the book Australia needs at the moment” – especially while the nation seems so fraught and divided.
“It’s a chance to get perspective.
“Everyone needs to calm down, relax and remember our history. Think about what Dasher did that day for his mate and keep going.
“Remember Australians are pretty bloody good people. We’ll be all right.”
Dasher: The Kevin Wheatley VC Story by Michael Madden features a foreword by Keith Payne VC. It is available in bookshops and online.
