Thailand cave rescue British diver John Volanthen says: 'We are not heroes'

[webfact]

Thailand cave rescue Brit diver says: 'We are not heroes'

 

John Volanthen reached the group nine days after they went missing in the cave complex

 

A British diver who helped save 12 schoolboys and their football coach from a flooded cave in Thailand says he and other rescuers "are not heroes".

 

John Volanthen was the first voice the boys heard after nine days trapped in the underground network in Chiang Rai province. This week, after an 18-day ordeal, they were all rescued from the cave complex.

 

Arriving at Heathrow Airport on Thursday, Mr Volanthen said it was a "relief" but played down his heroics.

 

Full story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-44805343

 

-- © Copyright BBC 2018-07-13

[cornishcarlos]

As you would expect from such a person... Legend

[colinneil]

Arriving at Heathrow John said...We are not heroes.

Well mate in the eyes of millions of Thais you are.

Edited July 12, 2018 by colinneil

[canuckamuck]

You can't choose whether or not others see you as a hero. 

Very few people in this world find the concept of being underwater, underground, in tight spaces anything less than a nightmare.  But thankfully there are some who thrive in that situation. But more than that they put their own lives and safety aside and worked tirelessly to save kids they didn't know from a country not their own. If that is not the embodiment of a hero than what is?

Edited July 12, 2018 by canuckamuck

[Get Real]

Well, what can i say John. I guess you just had another day at the office.
Other people, and especially Thai citizens, will have a different point of view.
I just guess you have to learn to live with it. You and all others participating in this mission are heroes.

[Nigeone]

The humbling statement from this guy was very moving . He really sincerely meant it and saw himself and the others doing a job that they had learnt and gathered knowledge over many years and had put that training and knowledge to use. 

Utmost respect for your thoughts and comments but you and your fellow expert divers are for sure real heroes in my eyes. 

And all the other people involved also so much respect and admiration for your work ethic and selflessness . 

This rescue will be talked about for years to come in flowing terms .

also massive respect to Thai officialdom for realizing from a early stage that they badly needed help . We all know that doesn't come easy but they did and provided the manpower to enable this to,have such a happy ending .

Edited July 12, 2018 by Nigeone

[Jeremy50]

 It's one of the defining characteristics of most heroes,  that they would never want to be referred to as such. 

[Crossy]

Typical British understatement from a man who puts himself in danger to save others effectively as a hobby (he's an IT consultant).

 

Also typically British is racking up to Heathrow (in the certain knowledge that the press would be there) wearing a Shaun the Sheep tee.

 

They all deserve to join Rick Stanton as MBEs at least.

[lamyai3]

Just had a small role in the Shaun the Sheep movie (prison scene, no lines), but it's very gratifying to see the t-shirt he's wearing... 

Edited July 13, 2018 by lamyai3

[ramrod711]

But Mr Volanthen dismissed the idea, adding: "We are not heroes. What we do is very calculating, very calm. It's quite the opposite."

 

The boys parents think you are and I agree with them. Thank you for your service.

[darksidedog]

Real heroes are humble enough to deny it, while many who would like to be, shout their achievements from the roof tops. These guys without doubt are the reason 13 people are alive and well, because the Thai SEALs just did not have the knowledge and experience to pull it off. Free flights permanently? Excellent. That should shut a few people up, who were trying to call the Thais cheapskates yesterday. Knighthood? Gets my vote. I just hope my son grows up to be half as good a man as these, yes lets say it, heroes.

[roquefort]

59 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

Knighthood? Gets my vote.  I just hope my son grows up to be half as good a man as these, yes lets say it, heroes.

Why not.

 

Makes more sense giving him a knighthood than to Gareth Southgate and his team of "heroes" for losing in a World Cup semi-final.

[heybuz]

Hope Thai air kicks off some of their freeloaders for these bloke's.

[shackleton]

Yes agree with what he says about being a Hero same the rest of the guys

probably quite a few people around the world doing stuff and not getting recognized

but yes they all be seen as Heroes to the families  and  the  Thai people

also to the Thai moaners on here about them not getting any rewards 

I think we can put that to rest 

 

[ThreeEyedRaven]

 "We are not heroes. What we do is very calculating, very calm. It's quite the opposite."

"We take it one step at a time and hopefully, as we've managed to in this case, we come up with the results."

And praises every other person involved both Thai and foreign. A real gentleman, who thoroughly deserves the plaudits he is receiving.

Seeing him so humble and unassuming, makes me proud to be British, and I am very happy to see him rewarded with the Elite Visa and free flights.

Receiving an honour from the Queen would be pretty just I would say.

[toofarnorth]

4 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

You can't choose whether or not others see you as a hero.

Very few people in this world find the concept of being underwater, underground, in tight spaces anything less than a nightmare.  But thankfully there are some who thrive in that situation. But more than that they put their own lives and safety aside and worked tirelessly to save kids they didn't know from a country not their own. If that is not the embodiment of a hero than what is?

Not been further when your commen caught my eye.

Your first line says it all. Remembering a couple of weeks back and comments about the old boy who was a 'hero' in the ; I think Korean war.   And the dam busters who were aware of there being a very good chance of not coming home.  They did there job to their best ability , they didn't set out to be heroes.  These chaps who came to rescue the Wild Boars are , in my opinion heroes, they put their lives on the line in a rescue mission.

[fantom]

I agree with him, the term hero has been overused in recent years to the point it is almost meaningless, its residual usage the domain of virtue signallers everywhere.

 

He, as were the others, are consumate professionals who did a complex technical job with a successful outcome.

[chrisinth]

4 hours ago, ThreeEyedRaven said:

Seeing him so humble and unassuming, makes me proud to be British, and I am very happy to see him rewarded with the Elite Visa and free flights.

Receiving an honour from the Queen would be pretty just I would say.

+1 on all the above.

 

It is always the unassuming ones that brings across to me the unsung heroes in this world. The ones who want to use their skill-set to genuinely help others without self gratification. They have the experience, they know how and they make it happen. In reality a small, but extremely cog in the machine.

 

As for an honour from HRH, I think it is a case of watch this space, this will happen.

[snoop1130]

We're no heroes, says UK cave diver Volanthen

 

 

John Volanthen, one of the British divers who spearheaded the daring mission to rescue Wild Boards football team and their assistant coach from the Chiang Rai cave in Mae Sai district played down his heroics when he arrived in London from Thailand on Thursday.

 

“We are not heroes. What we do is very calculating, very calm. It’s quite the opposite,” he said.

 

“We were very pleased and we were very relieved that they were all alive but I think at that point we realised the enormity of the situation and that’s perhaps why it took a while to get them all out,” he told Sky News when he arrived at Heathrow airport.

 

Volanthen and his diving partner, Rick Stanton, discovered the boys on July 2, 10 days after they went missing in Tham Luang cave. They have been dubbed the “ATeam” of world divers as they had to dive through underwater passages with little visibility in the murky water.

 

He praised Saman Kunan, 38, a former Navy SEAL diver, who died while replenishing air tanks four days before the operation to evacuate the boys from the cave began.

 

Volanthen said Saman’s death last Friday had brought a “bittersweet” taste to an otherwise “excellent” operation.

 

The Telegraph online reported that Volanthen returned home to Bristol to be reunited with family. Seven other Britons, five of them divers, involved in the rescue were due to arrive home early on Friday.

 

Bill Whitehouse, vice chairman of the British Cave Rescue Council, said that psychological help would be offered to cope with the aftermath of the underwater drama. 

 

“Some of them have been on pretty hairy recovery dives before in various countries and reading between the lines, the actual dives in this case were not particularly deep and nothing too extraordinary.

 

“But it was what they faced, and what they had to do in there, which was extraordinary,” he told The Telegraph.

 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30350022

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-7-13

[fantom]

He is right.

[connda]

I like that guy.  They had a job to do, they did it. <period>  I respect that.

[tumama]

15 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

You can't choose whether or not others see you as a hero. 

Very few people in this world find the concept of being underwater, underground, in tight spaces anything less than a nightmare.  But thankfully there are some who thrive in that situation. But more than that they put their own lives and safety aside and worked tirelessly to save kids they didn't know from a country not their own. If that is not the embodiment of a hero than what is?

 

He was quoted as saying something like, it's not dangerous if you do it right. Guess the other Navy SEAL didn't.

[lamyai3]

4 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

They have been dubbed the “ATeam” of world divers as they had to dive through underwater passages with little visibility in the murky water.

Mr T thinks they're heroes. Been tweeting about almost nothing else since the beginning of the month... 

https://mobile.twitter.com/MrT

[getithere328]

A reluctant hero but a hero none the less, stand in line with all those who took part in this outstanding rescue and we will salute you all.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[Damrongsak]

"We are not heroes. What we do is very calculating, very calm. It's quite the opposite."

 

He's an IT consultant.  For excitement, IT people wrestle with new, raw releases of software from Microsoft and others and try to make it work.  They go into dark, flooded caves to relax.  Reality, not virtual reality.  Does a body good.

Edited July 13, 2018 by Damrongsak

[chickenslegs]

18 hours ago, roquefort said:

Why not.

 

Makes more sense giving him a knighthood than to Gareth Southgate and his team of "heroes" for losing in a World Cup semi-final.

I don't think anyone has suggested a knighthood for the England coach or his team - maybe in 2020 .

 

Regarding the incredible heroism of the British cavers/divers - why not show your appreciation by making a small (or large) donation to the British Cave Rescue Council ... http://www.caverescue.org.uk/ who will fund the next generation of cave rescuers.

 

I don't have any links to their Aussie/Belgian/Chinese/etc. equivalent organisations, but they are equally deserving of our appreciation. Maybe TV members could post links here.

[lamyai3]

47 minutes ago, Damrongsak said:

"We are not heroes. What we do is very calculating, very calm. It's quite the opposite."

 

He's an IT consultant.  For excitement, IT people wrestle with new, raw releases of software from Microsoft and others and try to make it work.  They go into dark, flooded caves to relax.  Reality, not virtual reality.  Does a body good.

Yes, they bravely embark on beta releases before the rest of the world plucks up the courage! These guys would have been heroes whether the cave rescue attempt had been a success or a failure... some of their earlier cave rescue attempts had in fact failed to pull out the people alive. But their actions and intentions (along with their tremendous expertise) are pretty heroic, even if they'd not succeeded that would still be true in my book. 

[citybiker]

Watching the Heathrow press conference just highlights, emphasises and re-enforces what Rick Stanton stated.

 

What a team of international rescue effort complete with professionals, volunteers and amateur hobbyists can achieve.

 

With a unique set of skills, Saving lives and giving back to the community.

 

Very humble men, we salute you.

 

(Rick’s recent other half is also a U.K. local Thai nurse whom acted as a translator throughout).

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[lamyai3]

19 hours ago, roquefort said:

Why not.

 

Makes more sense giving him a knighthood than to Gareth Southgate and his team of "heroes" for losing in a World Cup semi-final.

No-one would object to a knighthood for the cave rescuers, I'd be delighted to see it. However, Southgate and the England squad did very well this year, better not to conflate the two things. 

[bkk6060]

The "hero" term is often overused.

Not every Cop, Firefighter, or Marine are heroes.

Unfortunately, some are lazy do nothings.

 

But, I do think these guys are heroes as they went above and beyond the call.

True heroes I think much regard and respect to them.