World War II hero Teddy Sheean to posthumously receive Victoria Cross

ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) ^ | 10th August 2020

[naturalman1975]

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has recommended the Queen posthumously award World War II hero Edward 'Teddy' Sheean a Victoria Cross.

Tasmanian Sheean, an 18-year-old with less than two years at sea, was an Ordinary Seaman on the minesweeper HMAS Armidale when it came under heavy attack from Japanese aircraft off the coast of what is now Timor-Leste in 1942.

Mr Morrison ordered an expert panel re-examine the case for Sheean receiving Australia's highest military honour after earlier attempts had failed to recommend he receive a Victoria Cross.

Sheean is recorded as helping launch life rafts before returning to his anti-aircraft gun to fire at enemy aircraft that were strafing his shipmates as they floundered in the water, despite the order having been given to abandon ship.

[naturalman1975]

[naturalman1975]

During the attack a plane had been brought down and for this the credit went to Ordinary Seaman Teddy Sheean. Teddy died, but none of us who survived, I am sure, will ever forget his gallant deed. When the order 'Abandon ship' was given, he made for the side, only to be hit twice by the bullets of an attacking Zero. None of us will ever know what made him do it, but he went back to his gun, strapped himself in, and brought down a Jap plane, still firing as he disappeared beneath the waves.

- Ordinary Seaman Russel Caro

[TMN78247]

IF I remember correctly, he shot down a BETTY bomber with an onboard, pedestal-mounted, water-cooled Heavy MG..

Yours, TMN78247

[Equine1952]

I never had the pleasure to serve close to Aussie military folks, but the men I knew who did said there was “no worse enemy/no better friend” this was from men who were in in WW2 and Vietnam. A good man who derserves his due. RIP

[Spktyr]

Further, his crewmates reported that tracer fire continued to come from beneath the surface, apparently tracking on attacking aircraft, for a certain amount of time after the ship was submerged. Man literally deliberately and knowingly drowned himself in order to try to keep the Japanese aircraft off his shipmates as long as possible.

[TMN78247]

VERY TRUE.

Yours, TMN78247
USA, Retired
Member RSL.

[PROCON]

Hero bump!

[Leaning Right]

This is yet another reason why I’m against royalty. According to the article Sheean was in the past not recommended for his richly deserved Victoria Cross. Yet Prince Charles walks around with a cartoon amount of medals and braid.

[naturalman1975]

Yes, the Prince of Wales has a lot of medals. But he has, in fact, earned them - he has qualifying service for every single medal he wears with the arguable exception of the stars he wears below his medals (insignia for some of his knighthoods), which indicates his Knighthoods which he did receive pretty much because he is the Prince of Wales.

None of His Royal Highness’ medals are particularly prestigious but he actually earned every one of them according to the rules by which they are awarded.

You may not think much of his service - but speaking as somebody who served for over twenty years in the Defence Force of a Commonwealth country, I do respect what he has done in that regard.

[hanamizu]

But he doesn’t have a V.C., does he?

[Leaning Right]

I very much respect your perspective. But before I posted I did a little research. I wanted to be sure I wasn’t saying something unfairly.

Prince Charles’ full title is His Royal Highness Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales, KG, KT, GCB, OM, AK, QSO, CC, PC, ADC, Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.

He is also Admiral of the Fleet, Field Marshal and Marshal of the Royal Air Force.

There is no way he earned all of that.

Of course the Queen is free to bestow upon Charles whatever fancy titles she likes. And since I’m in a feisty republican mood tonight, I guess I’m free to criticize all that.

Cheers!
LR

[naturalman1975]

I was referring specifically to his medals. He has earned every single medal he is wearing.

His military ranks are also fairly automatic but reflect the fact that he does carry out ceremonial duties for all the forces from time to time.

And the letters after his name do not relate to his medals - although some of them do relate to his stars, which as I said, he has received because of his role as a Prince. But let us look at his medals specifically.

The picture you shared makes it a little difficult to identify them all, but I will do my best. I have found a larger version of it with watermarks here:

The first medal he is wearing is the Queens Service Medal, which is a New Zealand medal which is awarded by New Zealand for public service to the Crown. The Prince has been serving the Crown his entire life. It's not explicitly a military medal.

The second medal he is wearing is the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal. This is a commemorative medal awarded to those who participated in the events around the Queen's Coronation in 1953, as well as selected people from Commonwealth defence forces at the time. He received it for participation in the events surrounding the coronation - which he did. Well over a hundred thousand such medals were awarded. Again, not explicitly a military medal.

The next three medals are similar to that one - they are the Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilee medals, given to those who participated in the events surrounding those jubilees. Again, not explicitly military medals.

The next is the Canadian Forces Decoration with 2 clasps. That is given for 32 years service of any sort in the Canadian Forces (12 years for the medal - a clasp every ten years after that). The Prince is honourary Colonel of a number of Canadian regiments and that is qualifying service.

Then we have the New Zealand 1990 Commemorative Medal, which the New Zealand government awarded to people they deemed to have provided service to New Zealand over a long period of time, which the Prince has done in various ceremonial roles.

And finally the New Zealand Armed Forces Medal given for fifteen years service with the armed forces of New Zealand in any capacity, including as Honourary Colonel of some New Zealand Regiments.

You'll notice he doesn't have any Australian long service medals - that is because the rules Australia applies for such medals specifically state it's not just any service that qualifies but specifically service the permanent or reserve forces - service as an Honourary Colonel doesn't apply. But that just serves to illustrate how he does have qualifying service for the others - the letters patent that define the qualifications for those medals includes the way he has served.

None of these are prestigious medals - commemorative medals, especially, are more or less a form of special souvenir. The practice of awarding them may seem a little odd, but it's a longstanding tradition.

[Leaning Right]

Thank you for your very detailed response. I appreciate the effort you put into it.

I suppose we see this situation from different angles. I think titles like “Fleet Admiral” and “Knight of the Garter” should be earned. Others think it’s acceptable for such titles to be given to someone based solely on his birth. There are good arguments for each perspective.

Perhaps I am unduly influenced by the ‘Irish Rebel Songs’ album I bought recently.

:)

[sageburn]

Well I am a little surprised, considering his professed/confessed love for Camila, that he doesn’t have a tampon hanging from his jacket.

[robowombat]

The NZ Queen's Service Medal aside from the ribbon looks much like the Canadian Distinguished Service Medal.

[captain_dave]

Americans may regard the attention the British pay to the Royal Family as fawning, but in my opinion it’s preferable to the fawning attention we Americans pay towards actors and professional athletes. The Queen is the head of state and in some respects is the embodiment of the soul of the nation. The Royal Family are employed as representatives of the Queen. The UK prime minister is the UK head of government. The US president is our head of government and head of state.