Posted on 03/17/2005 6:22:53 PM PST by jimmyk
reat story about a young British soldier , the last two paragraphs are odd to my American way of thinking. via Times Online Brit wins Victoria Cross in Iraq A YOUNG soldier who enlisted in the Army less than four years ago became a member of the most exclusive club in the world yesterday after being awarded the Victoria Cross for exceptional bravery in Iraq.
Private Johnson Gideon Beharry, 25, is now one of just 14 living recipients of the award which he received for saving the lives of 30 comrades under remorseless attacks from grenades and machinegun fire in the volatile city of al-Amarah, north of Basra. Only 1,355 have been awarded, many of them posthumously.
Despite suffering appalling head wounds in a later incident that led to numerous operations on his brain, Private Beharry proved yesterday that he had lost none of the sense of humour that marked him out among his colleagues in the 1st Battalion The Princess of Waless Royal Regiment.
Asked what was going through his mind when he was trying to rescue his comrades under rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack from Iraqi insurgents in the early hours of May 1 2004, Private Beharry simply replied: RPG......
......The announcement yesterday was the first award of a VC since Colonel H Jones and Sergeant Ian McKay of The Parachute Regiment won theirs posthumously
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
Let's see...he's 25, so he was born in 1980 or so...No doubt learned his courage from the 75th Rangers and 82nd Airborne who liberated him as a child.
Growing up in Canada and having a keen interest in military history I was impressed with individuals who were awarded the Victory Cross. The criteria is daunting, tougher in my estimation than the criteria set forth in awarding the MOH.
What is most interesting ... the VC medal ... the actual metal used in the medal ... was metal melted down from the cannons captured in the famous British "Charge of the Light Brigade" in 1852 (Victorian England) during the Crimean War against the Russians.
Victoria Cross.
My compliments to the US Army.
If my memory serves, it was the US Marine Corps that liberated most of Grenada
Semper fi!
In a similar vein: all Purple Hearts awarded today come from the gigantic stockpile which was manufactured in 1945 for the invasion of Japan.
Excuse me ... am I missing something?
I think he was trying to reply to my post at #1. You'll have to forgive him for hitting the wrong target; he's a Marine...;-)
When I saw the title I first though of Brit Hume.
A brave man operating in intense action, not just once but twice!
My British friend (a former member of the British para's) wants to let you know that your are a frigging wanker - Pte Beharry was trained in the British army, not by a bunch of tossers that can't shoot straight, read a map or get medals for catching the clap.
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