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| Upset over blood-stained dog tags | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The mother of a soldier killed in Iraq has spoken of her shock after her son's blood-stained dog tags were sent to her almost three years after he died. | |
| Rose Gentle's son Gordon, 19, was serving with the Royal Highland Fusiliers when he was killed by a roadside bomb in Basra in June 2004. | Rose Gentle's son Gordon, 19, was serving with the Royal Highland Fusiliers when he was killed by a roadside bomb in Basra in June 2004. |
| Mrs Gentle, 43, from Pollok, Glasgow, wants to know why it took so long. | |
| She added: "I was a bit shocked to find them covered in blood, I won't wash it off. It's all I have left of Gordon." | She added: "I was a bit shocked to find them covered in blood, I won't wash it off. It's all I have left of Gordon." |
| After her son's remains were repatriated to the UK, Mrs Gentle noticed that his dog tags were missing. | After her son's remains were repatriated to the UK, Mrs Gentle noticed that his dog tags were missing. |
| She said she telephoned and wrote to officials asking for the return of the metal discs, worn by military service personnel on a chain around their necks. | |
| The dog tags were finally returned to her through a family friend, who had been asking the Ministry of Defence for the release of the tags. | The dog tags were finally returned to her through a family friend, who had been asking the Ministry of Defence for the release of the tags. |
| 'Warn families' | 'Warn families' |
| Mrs Gentle, who has been campaigning since her son's death to bring British troops home from Iraq, said: "I've been asking for these dog tags for the last three years and they were posted to me through a friend two weeks ago." | Mrs Gentle, who has been campaigning since her son's death to bring British troops home from Iraq, said: "I've been asking for these dog tags for the last three years and they were posted to me through a friend two weeks ago." |
| When the tags were passed to Mrs Gentle, she said they were blood-stained. | |
| "I think they [the Army] should warn families about this sort of thing before sending it," she added. | "I think they [the Army] should warn families about this sort of thing before sending it," she added. |
| "I'd also like to know why it took them three years to hand them back." | "I'd also like to know why it took them three years to hand them back." |
| The MoD said it was unable to comment. | The MoD said it was unable to comment. |