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| Soldiers honoured for Afghanistan battlefield bravery | Soldiers honoured for Afghanistan battlefield bravery |
| (4 months later) | |
| A soldier who got back up to help evacuate a wounded comrade after being knocked unconscious on the battlefield is among more than 100 service personnel awarded military honours for exceptional feats. | A soldier who got back up to help evacuate a wounded comrade after being knocked unconscious on the battlefield is among more than 100 service personnel awarded military honours for exceptional feats. |
| Rifleman Matthew Wilson, 21, was hit on his helmet during an ambush in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, last October. He came round after a few seconds with a throbbing headache but advanced into a firing position on open ground to protect an evacuation helicopter. | Rifleman Matthew Wilson, 21, was hit on his helmet during an ambush in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, last October. He came round after a few seconds with a throbbing headache but advanced into a firing position on open ground to protect an evacuation helicopter. |
| He said: "The first thing I thought was 'Can I see the firing position?' I thought I need to move somewhere else I can see it. I looked about 50 metres down the field … sprinted down there." | He said: "The first thing I thought was 'Can I see the firing position?' I thought I need to move somewhere else I can see it. I looked about 50 metres down the field … sprinted down there." |
| Wilson, from Aberystwyth and serving with The Rifles, was awarded the military cross. He said: "I like to think if I was a casualty anybody else would do the same for me." | Wilson, from Aberystwyth and serving with The Rifles, was awarded the military cross. He said: "I like to think if I was a casualty anybody else would do the same for me." |
| Another remarkable story was that of Captain Nicholas Garland, 29, from Newbury, who technically "died" while being evacuated by helicopter from Musa Qala, in January 2009, after a rocket-propelled grenade exploded near him. | Another remarkable story was that of Captain Nicholas Garland, 29, from Newbury, who technically "died" while being evacuated by helicopter from Musa Qala, in January 2009, after a rocket-propelled grenade exploded near him. |
| Garland, from the Queen's Dragoon Guards, was in a coma for three and a half weeks and had half of his neck muscles removed but returned to work after nine months. | Garland, from the Queen's Dragoon Guards, was in a coma for three and a half weeks and had half of his neck muscles removed but returned to work after nine months. |
| Almost two years to the day after being wounded he led a team of 12 men against three enemy firing points, for which he received a mention in dispatches. | Almost two years to the day after being wounded he led a team of 12 men against three enemy firing points, for which he received a mention in dispatches. |
| Garland said that, during the firefight, he never gave a thought to his previous experience, his aim was simply "to do the job, get everyone back". | Garland said that, during the firefight, he never gave a thought to his previous experience, his aim was simply "to do the job, get everyone back". |
| Many of the 107 awards bestowed on Friday were for actions in Afghanistan during operation Herrick 15, which ran from October 2011 to April this year in Helmand. | Many of the 107 awards bestowed on Friday were for actions in Afghanistan during operation Herrick 15, which ran from October 2011 to April this year in Helmand. |
| Brigadier Patrick Sanders, commander of 20th Armoured Brigade, described the recipients as the "very best of the armed forces, the very best of their generation". | Brigadier Patrick Sanders, commander of 20th Armoured Brigade, described the recipients as the "very best of the armed forces, the very best of their generation". |
| Corporal Sean Jones, from Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, was awarded the military cross for leading his men with fixed bayonets 80 metres across open ground under intense enemy fire in December last year. | Corporal Sean Jones, from Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, was awarded the military cross for leading his men with fixed bayonets 80 metres across open ground under intense enemy fire in December last year. |
| Jones, 25, from Market Drayton, Shropshire, said: "To this day I don't know how we survived." | Jones, 25, from Market Drayton, Shropshire, said: "To this day I don't know how we survived." |
| He described receiving the honour as "surreal, I was just doing my job. All of the guys there were doing the same". | He described receiving the honour as "surreal, I was just doing my job. All of the guys there were doing the same". |
| Private Morales Matthews, from the same regiment, received a mention in dispatches for risking his own life to protect a colleague, apparently wounded, during an ambush. | Private Morales Matthews, from the same regiment, received a mention in dispatches for risking his own life to protect a colleague, apparently wounded, during an ambush. |
| Matthews, 33, originally from St Kitts, leapt over a wall, forgoing shelter, and, from a position close to his comrade, opened fire on the enemy position, which he neutralised. | Matthews, 33, originally from St Kitts, leapt over a wall, forgoing shelter, and, from a position close to his comrade, opened fire on the enemy position, which he neutralised. |
| This enabled the section commander to drag away the fallen soldier, who was dazed but unharmed. | This enabled the section commander to drag away the fallen soldier, who was dazed but unharmed. |
| Matthews said: "Everything you learn from training automatically kicks in. You know what to do, you just do it … I would say God kept me alive on that day because I was facing death." | Matthews said: "Everything you learn from training automatically kicks in. You know what to do, you just do it … I would say God kept me alive on that day because I was facing death." |
| A number of "green-on-blue" attacks involving local soldiers turning their guns on their foreign mentors has increased political pressure for a speedy withdrawal of British troops but Sanders paid tribute to the Afghan security forces saying that if they could have been honoured there would have been as many Afghans as Brits receiving awards. | A number of "green-on-blue" attacks involving local soldiers turning their guns on their foreign mentors has increased political pressure for a speedy withdrawal of British troops but Sanders paid tribute to the Afghan security forces saying that if they could have been honoured there would have been as many Afghans as Brits receiving awards. |
| RAF flight lieutenant Sttevei Attala, who – as a military stabilisation support officer, worked with the local population to get them to engage with their country's government and forces rather than with insurgents – also paid tribute to the Afghans. | RAF flight lieutenant Sttevei Attala, who – as a military stabilisation support officer, worked with the local population to get them to engage with their country's government and forces rather than with insurgents – also paid tribute to the Afghans. |
| Attala, 29, from Newcastle, described her experience as "very positive" and said her mention in dispatches was "very humbling". | Attala, 29, from Newcastle, described her experience as "very positive" and said her mention in dispatches was "very humbling". |
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