Damn this bloke deserves it. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4358921.stm And here for the full citation
Yea, it's like the top award for bravery in battle. I read what he did in the paper this morning: the bloke has some big hairy ones to do what he did. Well deserved imo.
These are the kind of people who should be knighted in this country, not "current flavour" famous people, who will be "has beens" in 5 minutes.
Totally agree with you Phat, this bloke risked life and limb to help his fellow man / woman. 3/4 of the people who get "knighted" hardly done anything to help their country e.g people who get knighted for things like "services to <insert sport here>". /rant.
when I was in Gulf there was 1 guy who lost his entire section whilst under ambush, so he let rip on full auto, then pick up his mates rifle and did same. After he ran out of ammo, he charged a machine gun with 3 guys init with his bayonet. And actually survived. When I heard about it I asked him why he did it, and he said "Well no-one else was left to do it" He didnt get anything, not even a commendation. Admittedly he's has some bronze balls the size of watermelons to do that. All I got from my time in the gulf is a nice scar in the back of my right calf from grenade shrapnel, a lot of mates, and some very nice families that I had to meet after the gulf, cause I promised a mate.
It is said that as rule of thumb there has to be less than a 10% chance of survival to be in the running for one of these babys. Did anyone see Mr Clarksons program about the VC? His father in-law was awarded one in WW2 but never told anyone, not even his family. His story was truely amazing much like Private Johnson Beharrys.
All soldiers do that though. Should we all get knighted??? I'm no super soldier, and I was out in Gulf when the sh*t hit the fan, with the ambushes etc, and I lost a few mates along the way, but they were honourable people. Its the little assh*les that 'salute' you when your coming home in uniform, that are actually taking the p*ss that I wanna shoot. Left hand sloppy salutes drive me mad. You don't salute the person you salute the Queen and those who came before. And the average 17 scally dont get that. BRING BACK CONSCRIPTION AND GIVE EM TO ME FOR 11 WEEKS!!! I'll sort em out lol. [/rant]
Funny thing you say that. About a year ago, my great-uncle, who was in the Korean War, died and we found out that he was awarded the Bronze Star while a POW in Korea. No one, not even his wife or siblings knew anything about it. We only found out after we contacted the military affairs office for his military funeral. He was awarded a burial with full military honors and a 21 gun saute. Eventhough it was a sad occasion, it was pretty cool to witness.
When I was smaller after watching Backdraft I wanted a Firemans funeral with all the engines and people marching
No its not the equivilent of the silver star its equivilent to the Congressional Medal of Honor. The Victoria Cross is supposidly the hardest medal in the world to get. You have to have had a 90% chance of dieing doing what you do. Most recipients have it awarded after they died doing what they did to get it. This is the first time for 23 years it has been awarded and the second time since WW2 that the person receiving it hasnt been dead.
Victoria cross reference so yep pretty much the british equivalent of the congressional medal of honour, has only been awarded 1355 times since its institution in 1854 and the metal its made of comes from russian cannons captured during the Crimean war more VC info @ the link above
No, the award is equivalent to the American Medal Of Honor. That was definately a performance worthy of either Award. Most of the recipients of both awards, recieve them posthumously. Good Work, he deserves it.
What was probably happening was that the RPGs were going right thru the vehicle. I know a LAW rocket will go thru a good foot (30cm) of metal that is enough to go all the way thru a Bradley AFV. That is probably why he was able to keep going, nothing important got in the way besides the radios and some flammables. If they had hit the ammo, or fuel something dufferent would have happened.
I'll buy that for a dollar. I was out there for the first go around. I agree that people should have some sort of mandatory service, but not in combat. I would want some beside me who wants to be there, not some teary eyed CO type. The 'draftees' could be put to work fighting forest fires or planting trees or 'civil action' stuff. The politicians are happy, the warfighters can focus on warfighting, and every one develops a sense of Nation rather than political Faction.
