When a Soldier Falls: Reviewing the Response to MCpl Rick Wheeler's Accidental Death

December 2004

On April 7, 1992, MCpl Rick Wheeler died during a training accident when he was run over by an armoured personnel carrier. The unsatisfactory aftermath of that tragedy has played out for more than a dozen years. It started with inadequate support being provided to MCpl Wheeler’s wife, Christina, and to his father, Bill Wheeler. Christina Wheeler was informed of the death by a chaplain who had no connection to MCpl Wheeler, without the support of anyone from his unit. She was left alone for hours after being devastated by the tragedy. Bill Wheeler and his family, who had raised MCpl Rick Wheeler, were largely forgotten by the Canadian Forces.