Courage

Mr Petar Djokovic

Service at sea is inherently dangerous and demanding. Unsurprisingly, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) expects its members to display courage at all times. But what exactly does this mean? The motto of the RAN Fleet Air Arm’s 850 Squadron, Vincit Omnia Virtus – ‘Courage Conquers All’, clearly offers an all-inclusive if somewhat idealised view.^[2] Yet the concept of courage can be somewhat ambiguous and may mean many different things to different people. The traditional view of military courage, a singular act of bravery in the face of near impossible odds, is only part of the story. Courage is not just about physical bravery, and it can manifest in ways which are not always obvious. For instance, it often requires courage to stand up for our own beliefs and morals, to take responsibility for our own decisions, and to recognise the weaknesses in our own habits and attitudes. Whether physically or mentally, courage is about taking charge and operating in difficult or dangerous situations.

Courage is also not about the absence of fear; it is about recognising that the job to be done is more important than fear. There can be little doubt that the first Australians to see action in World War I (WWI) would have been frightened. Few had experienced physical combat before. Every man engaged, nevertheless displayed ‘coolness and levelheadedness’. ^[3] Largely made up of inadequately trained naval reservists, a detachment from the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force was sent ashore in German New Guinea on 11 September 1914 to destroy the wireless station at Bita Paka. They soon encountered stiff resistance from some 500 German and native troops who had prepared a series of well positioned defences along the main road.

The Australians suffered casualties, but bold action and bluff saw them win. One officer, Lieutenant Thomas Bond, RANR, executed a manoeuvre remarkable for its sheer audacity. Having moved ahead of the main force, with just two other Australians and a German prisoner in company, Bond came across a police barracks manned by 8 German and 20 native troops. Bond immediately ordered the enemy to surrender. This they refused, but while the Germans threatened continued resistance, Bond, careful to keep them positioned between himself and the New Guineans, simply walked up to the Germans and plucked their pistols from their holsters one-by-one. The Germans were too surprised to react and, left with no choice, the whole body then surrendered. By maintaining his nerve, Bond’s action was both successful and had saved needless bloodshed. For his courage, he received the Distinguished Service Order, the first bravery award for an Australian in WWI.

Many Navy people risked their lives battling flames at HMAS Albatross on 5 December 1976 (RAN).

In wartime operations around the globe Australian sailors have performed many equally courageous deeds, but some deserve to stand out; none more so than the actions of Seaman Edward ‘Teddy’ Sheean on 1 December 1942. Attacked by more than a dozen Japanese aircraft, Sheean’s ship, the corvette HMAS Armidale (I), fought back desperately until two torpedoes and a bomb hit sealed her fate. Many survivors leapt into the sea when the order to abandon ship was passed, only to find themselves the targets of Japanese strafing. Sheean, badly wounded in the chest and back, helped to free one of Armidale’s boats before returning to his 20-mm gun and continuing to engage the enemy. He shot down a bomber and held off several others, thereby protecting his shipmates already in the water. Even as Armidale slipped below the waves Sheean was still firing. His courage is commemorated in the naming of the submarine HMAS Sheean, the only Australian junior sailor to be so honoured.

Sheean’s decision to return and then remain at his post stands as an example of selfless courage in the face of death, but consideration for the welfare of others has often required courageous actions by naval men and women. On 19 June 1951 while conducting bomb disposal in the Solomon Islands, Able Seaman Vic Turner was standing near a stack of ammunition with six local labourers, when part of the stack exploded. Dazed and suffering numerous shrapnel wounds, Turner managed to assist a wounded Islander to safety and then returned in an attempt to save another before the entire stack burst into flame. Turner received the British Empire Medal. More recently, Lieutenant Commander Peter Nelson, RAN, received the British Air Force Cross for gallantry while on loan to the Royal Navy during the 1991 Gulf War. In fierce wind and rain, Nelson flew his Sea King as low as 50 metres above the desert into the midst of a tank battle to recover two casualties from a forward dressing station.

In a naval context, courage displayed by a team can often mean more to group success than that shown by an individual. This clearly will have most application when considering unit cohesion at sea, but it is certainly not unknown ashore.^[4] Around midnight on 4 December 1976, flames engulfed ‘H’ hangar at HMAS Albatross, which contained almost all the RAN’s fleet of Grumman Trackers. Some 100 naval personnel and local Nowra fire fighters risked their lives battling the flames while trying to drag aircraft from the building. The Trackers’ fuel tanks were fully loaded with aviation fuel, and despite the inherent danger, personnel ran into the building and climbed into the cockpits of aircraft to release the brakes and tow them clear. In most cases the planes were already ablaze, yet some rescuers used their own cars as towing vehicles. In all, five of the aircraft in the hangar were moved clear, but unfortunately just two were fit to be repaired and returned to service. The courageous actions of those involved nevertheless drew high praise from the then Minister for Defence, Jim Killen, who said after visiting the site: ‘If any people in this country think guts has gone from the Services, I invite them to reflect on what happened in the early hours of this morning’.^[5]

Courage also requires taking charge in difficult and dangerous situations. Commander Stanley Spurgeon, RAN, coincidentally the first Australian to be decorated in World War II, was a passenger in SS Britannia when the ship was sunk by the German merchant raider Thor in the mid-Atlantic in March 1941. More than half of those on board the merchant vessel perished in the action and aftermath. While abandoning ship, Spurgeon came across a naval nurse visibly distressed and fearful that she could not manage the descent into the already crowded life raft below. He immediately lifted her down the 10 metre rope ladder, injuring his foot and rupturing a shoulder tendon in the process. Spurgeon was now in great pain, but found himself the senior officer of a 25-foot open lifeboat, holed in several places, equipped with negligible food and water, and crammed with 67 other men and women. He immediately established a system of rationing and a suitable routine to maintain morale. Largely due to Spurgeon’s leadership none of his charges died, and after six days adrift a Spanish steamer picked up the boat. Spurgeon was interned for four months, but later received a commendation for his ‘courage and fortitude’.

These are all outstanding acts of courage but they involve situations which many will never have to face. How do these acts relate contemporarily? Men and women who serve in the RAN are expected to do the right thing no matter how hard it is. They reject improper behaviour, including bullying, harassment, lewdness, drunkenness, fraud and crime.

The Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle once noted that a courageous act does not necessarily make one courageous. Rather, a courageous nature is reflected in how we carry ourselves and react to difficult or distressing circumstances in the context of our everyday lives. This aspect of courage is reflected in our habits: ‘we become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts’.^[6] Courage is a self-strengthening cycle; we must have the courage to do courageous things and we will then, in turn, become more courageous.

Chief Stoker Alfred Wrench on board HMAS Gascoyne (I) (State Library of Victoria H98.100/3287).

Chief Stoker Alfred Wrench provides an excellent example of courage becoming almost routine. Wrench joined the RAN in 1926, and was serving in the destroyer HMAS Waterhen (I) at the outbreak of World War II. While operating in the Mediterranean he transferred to HMAS Vampire (I) and subsequently participated in the Greece and Crete evacuations, the Malta convoys and the ‘Tobruk Ferry’. Already a model senior sailor, he was mentioned-in-despatches for ‘outstanding zeal, patience, and cheerfulness and for setting an example of whole-hearted devotion to duty’.^[7] Wrench was again mentioned-in-despatches after Japanese aircraft sank Vampire off the coast of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) on 9 April 1942. During the action Wrench was senior hand of the starboard pompom, which had a stokers’ gun crew. His citation remarked that he ‘showed coolness and courage throughout the action and kept his gun firing until the crew was finally washed from the platform’.^[8]

Wrench subsequently spent time in Armidale, but had moved to the frigate HMAS Gascoyne (I), before the corvette was lost. During the Leyte Gulf operations Gascoyne supported the US Navy’s 7th Amphibious Force. On Christmas Eve 1944, the transport MV Sommelsdijk was hit by Japanese fire and set ablaze. While efforts to rescue the 1300 US troops aboard the stricken vessel continued, volunteers from Gascoyne and USS Buttonwood set about fighting the flames. Wrench spent the entire night dealing with fires in the holds and supervising the efforts of others. For his ‘gallantry, devotion to duty and good leadership’, he received the British Empire Medal.^[9]

Wrench was a courageous man, not because of a singular act of outstanding courage, but because of the courage he displayed throughout his career. The wording of his award while in the Mediterranean is significant. He displayed a courageous nature in how he presented himself, in how he dealt with others, and in how he performed his duties and accepted his responsibilities at all times. He set high standards, was reliable in the face of adversity and drew upon his training and experience to act swiftly and effectively. Our own courage likewise safeguards the success of our operations and the lives of our shipmates.

References

1. ↑ Royal Australian Navy, Navy Values: Serving Australia with Pride, Canberra, September 2009.
2. ↑ No. 850 Squadron was decommissioned in 1958.
3. ↑ AW Jose, The Royal Australian Navy, Australian War Memorial, Melbourne, 1928, p. 91.
4. ↑ For example, see D Stevens, ‘HMAS Quiberon, 1942 - Teamwork in Action’, in A Forbes (ed), Australian Maritime Issues 2007: SPC-A Annual, Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs No. 21, Sea Power Centre - Australia, Canberra, 2008, pp. 197-201.
5. ↑ Royal Australian Navy, Navy News, vol. 19, no. 24, 10 December 1976.
6. ↑ Aristotle, Nichomacean Ethics, Book 2, Chapters 1 & 2.
7. ↑ Commonwealth Navy Orders, No. 146 of 1942, 2 June 1942.
8. ↑ J Atkinson, By Skill and Valour, Spink & Son, Sydney, 1986.
9. ↑ Supplement to the London Gazette, No. 3328, 26 June 1945.