Wheeler was born on September 26, 1881, in Charleston, South Carolina, and enlisted in the Navy from that state in August 1905. By January 20, 1909, he was serving as a shipfitter first class on a ship in the 2nd Division of the United States Pacific Fleet. On that evening, while the division was anchored off Coquimbo, Chile, a fire broke out at a hotel in the city. Wheeler was among a group of U.S. sailors, led by Captain Bradley A. Fiske, who went ashore and attempted to extinguish the blaze. The group was unable to save the hotel, but successfully kept the fire from spreading to nearby buildings. For their actions during the incident, Wheeler and another man, Boatswain's Mate William Henry Gowan, were awarded the Medal of Honor two months later, on March 19.
