If no Victoria Cross,then why not a Star of Gallantry?

摘要

The decision by the federal government recently that 13 former members of the armed forces would not be receiving retrospective recognition for their deeds is not only shocking. It is wrong. Over three years of researching my book The Submarine Six, I came to know three of these men: Hec Waller, Robert Rankin, and Teddy Sheen, as well as can be expected across a gap of seven decades and their deaths in combat in World War Ⅱ. Their actions in fighting on board His Majesty's Australian Ships Perth, Yarra, and Armidale were heroic indeed, and at the time they received little recognition. Waller and Sheean received what was called a "Mention in Despatches."