I dont understand the people who are strongly opposing the award.
"Previous attempts at having Sheean awarded a VC have been unsuccessful, with a 2013 inquiry finding Sheean's actions "did not reach the particularly high standard required for recommendation of a VC", and the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence refusing to consider him for the accolade in 2017."
Whats wrong with such people. Does Sheean only deserve a VC if he gave his life twice or 3 times!?
It seems bizarre, but what it comes down to is trying to prevent a tide of applications for VC's decades after the action. There's a lot of back story to this.
After Federation all Australian Army recommendations went through the Army system to the Australian Government aand via the Governor General to the King/Queen for approval. The Air Force (having been part of the Army from 1912 or thereabouts until the formation of the RAAF in 1921 used a similar system
However the RAN put their commendations to the King via the UK Admiralty, and that persisted until after WW2. Without accusing the Poms of bias, unconscious or otherwise, the extra layers of bureaucracy always militated against an approval. Recommendations for awards for his ship weren't possible until *after* WW2, by which time actual eye witnesses were reduced to something like 13 souls. The documents weren't filed properly and not *filled* properly. Consequently it failed on several of the hoops that have to be jumped through both within Australia and the Admiralty.
In a post war "trying to forget" environment Sheean was lucky to get MiD.
The two 21st century inquiries came to opposing determinations, with the main difference being the requirement that new evidence be found to justify reopening any commendation (To prevent the tide I mentioned)
They've found reevant evidence in the Japanese record - whether it's cast iron or not it provides a tie breaker to right a wrong. That said, there are no doubt hundreds, perhaps thousands of others who were never recommended because all the witnesses died with them. Sheean can perhaps stand for their as well as his own huge hearted gallantry
oldsig
(Edit: A campaign to get a VC awarded to Robert Rankin faces the same obstacles. Anyone familiar with the stories of HMS Jervis Bay and HMAS Yarra and the different outcomes for Fegan and Rankin has got to think about injustice, but there's a limit to how far tradition can be stretched after so long. I doubt it will go any further)