Large Grouping of the Uniforms, Medals, Documents, and Insignia of U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Kenneth R. Wheeler

The group is comprised of the uniforms, medals, insignia, documents, and plaques of United States Navy Vice Admiral Kenneth Ray Wheeler. He began his Naval career in 1939 upon his commissioning through the ROTC program. Wheeler was serving in the Philippine Islands when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Following the attack on Hawaii, Wheeler was moved to Bataan and then Corregidor, where he became a prisoner of war of the Japanese. During the war he was decorated with both the Bronze Star with a “V” device for valor  as well as a Purple Heart. Following the war, Wheeler had a distinguished career in the Navy, becoming Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics and Management on the Staff of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet and then Commander of the Naval Supply Systems Command and Chief of the Supply Corps. Based on his exceptional career, Wheeler’s name was given to the USNS VADM K. R. Wheeler (T-AG-5001), (formerly (AG-5001)), an Offshore Petroleum Distribution System (OPDS) ship built in 2007. The group includes the following items:

– Wheeler’s blue Mess Dress uniform, comprised of the jacket and trousers, with the interior jacket label bearing the handwritten name “Wheeler”.

– Wheeler’s white Mess Dress jacket, with bullion shoulder boards. The interior label is named to Wheeler and it is dated 1966.

– Wheeler’s white top “Berkshire” brand visor cap, named to him as a Vice Admiral. The hat is contained within a “Bancroft” hat box.

– Wheeler’s Vietnam War era jungle jacket and trousers.

All of Wheeler’s uniforms are very clean and, while the exhibit signs of age and some wear, they are without holes, stains, or damage, and they make an excellent appearance.

The medals, decorations, and documents in the group include:

– A numbered Purple Heart on a slot brooch suspension, unnamed, and numbered on the edge “456,607”, contained within the black Navy “coffin” case with ribbon bar and enamel lapel badge; and the Bronze Star Medal, on a slot brooch suspension, unnamed, and contained within the black Navy “coffin” case.

– A set of five mounted miniature medals, together with a loose Army of Occupation medal, in a plastic Hilborn-Hamburger box.

– The formal award document for the Legion of Merit, presented to Wheeler in 1969, together with the citation for the decoration, both contained within a black Department of the Navy presentation folder.

– Four sets of embroidered ribbon bars, with clutch mountings. Two of the sets are on a white base, one on a khaki base, and one on a dark blue base. Each set has 15 ribbons, with two sets having the Legion of Merit ribbon while eliminating the World War II American Campaign Medal ribbon.

– Wheeler’s 1949 commission document as a Commander in the United States Navy Supply Corps; and his 1965 commission as a Rear Admiral in the Supply Corps. Both documents are approximately 9-7/8 inches by 13-7/8 inches.

The group includes 10 large plaques, nine of which were presented to Wheeler while serving in the Navy, wit one plaque naming him a “Plank Owner” of a Navy supply ship after his retirement. Many of the plaques commemorate Wheeler’s visit to a Naval unit, including one plaque that was awarded in Vietnam, together with a “Beer Can” distinctive unit insignia for that base. The group further includes Wheeler’s full size flag as a Vice Admiral, being a double sided nylon flag that is 37 inches by 57-1/2 inches. Also present is a Vice Admiral car flag, 9 inches by 13-1/2 inches, exclusive of the fringe, as well as the corresponding car flag for the U.S. Navy Supply Corps. The car flags shows age toning.

The group includes a set of bookends with mounted world War II anti-aircraft rounds, with each shell casing being engraved: “Oryoku Maru Dec. 14, 1944 Sunk by Bombs”. In December of 1944, then Lieutenant (jg) Wheeler was among a group of POWs headed for Japan aboard the transport Oryoku Maru, when the ship was torpedoed and abandoned. After assisting a seriously wounded Supply Corps shipmate to the beach, Wheeler, amidst significant enemy gunfire, repeatedly swam back to the ship to rescue others, an action which earned him the Bronze Star Medal.  He was awarded a second Bronze Star for equally heroic and dedicated actions in January of 1945 in the wake of an attack on another prisoner ship. This citation reads in part: “When the prisoner group finally reached Fukuoka Prison Camp, he heroically endured below-freezing temperatures in unheated prison barracks to care for the sick and wounded and, as a result, contacted pneumonia, which almost resulted in his death.  By his outstanding fortitude, great personal valor and self-sacrificing devotion, he contributed greatly to saving the lives of many of his companions.”

The group also includes a full size dress sword belt as well as the narrow leather mess dress belt; a white web belt; gray kid gloves; and a knitted cap with three gold stars sewn to the front. Also in the group is the small desk flag of a Rear Admiral, with a presentation plaque stating that the desk flag was presented to Wheeler upon his elevation to flag rank by “David L. McDonald” who, at that time, was the Chief of Naval Operations.

The group further includes two of Wheeler’s name tags; a number of engraved metal plaques that were at one time on larger plaques that had been presented to Wheeler; and a plastic box containing loose ribbons, tie bars, and buttons. Also in the group are an accolade in black and white, approximately 13 inches by 17-3/4 inches; a large color certificate identifying Admiral Wheeler and his wife as Honorary Plank Owners of the USNS Supply (T-AOE-6), (formerly the USS Supply (AOE-6)), the lead ship of the Supply-class fast combat support ships, within its mailing tube; and a long, hand painted accolade scroll, approximately 6 feet long.

From the internet:

Vice Admiral Wheeler was born in Huntsville, Arkansas, in 1918.  A 1939 graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, he was commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve through the ROTC program.

Following service onboard USS HULL (DD-350) and training at the Navy Finance and Supply Corps School, Philadelphia, he reported for duty as Assistant Supply Officer, Naval Shipyard, Cavite, Philippines, and was serving there at the time of its attack on 8 December 1941. Subsequently evacuated to Bataan, he served aboard USS CANOPUS (AS-9) and as Supply Officer of the Provisional Naval Infantry Battalion, until being ordered to Corregidor in April 1942.  Present during the fall of Corregidor, the young officer  became a Prisoner of War for three and a half years, bravely enduring and ultimately prevailing through unspeakable hardships.

Following his liberation in 1945, Admiral Wheeler went on to have a brilliant post-war career, performing superbly in key assignments at the Aviation Supply Office and Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, prior to serving, in 1960, as Director of Supply Corps Personnel, and, three years later, as Commanding Officer, Naval Ordnance Supply Office, Mechanicsburg.

Achieving Flag rank in June 1965, Rear Admiral Wheeler served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics and Management on the Staff of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, before assuming command of Navy Accounting and Finance Center Washington.  Rear Admiral Wheeler was named Commander Naval Supply Systems Command and Chief of Supply Corps in June 1970. His distinction in these critical roles earned him a third star in January 1973, at which time he was designated Vice Chief of Naval Material, becoming the principal advisor to the legendary Admiral Isaac Kidd, Jr., and exercising authority over six deputy chiefs and six Systems Commanders.

Vice Admiral Wheeler retired in September 1974, after thirty-five years of service, but in the nearly three decades that followed, he remained true to his Supply Corps and Navy roots. Along with his beloved wife Marilyn, he was a fixture in the Supply Corps community of Jacksonville, Florida, and, subsequently, a prominent, highly involved civic leader in Statesville, North Carolina.

Admiral Wheeler will be remembered not only for his unselfish and courageous service to our nation, but also as an eloquent speaker whose account of his wartime experiences inspired generations of young Americans, among them many students at the Navy Supply Corps School in Athens. While he remains for all of us a cherished link to World War II and, moreover, an exemplar of what Tom Brokaw has rightly called “America’s greatest generation,”  Vice Admiral Wheeler would not have wanted us to dwell on the past, for he always maintained an abiding interest in the future of our Corps and its people to the end of his days. His enthusiasm and counsel and mentorship to junior and senior officers alike will be sorely missed. While Ken Wheeler, the man, has left us, his example will endure forever. Let us celebrate the memory of this patriot, extraordinary leader, and devoted friend of our Corps with everlasting gratitude and pride.