Airman First Class Wheelwright was the tail gunner of a B-26B Invader bomber with the 13th Bomber Squadron, 3rd Bomber Wing. On 31 May 1952, while on a night intruder mission, the pilot was blinded by a Soviet searchlight and crashed. He was listed as Missing in Action and was presumed dead on 31 December 1953. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

For his leadership and valor, Airman First Class Wheelwright was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.