Pleaded to go back into battle after being mortally wounded.

Discussion in 'World War 2' started by Adrian Roberts, Nov 10, 2008.

  1. Adrian Roberts

    Adrian Roberts Active Member

    Its good to see we still breed heroes.

    What a shame it often takes their death before we realise it.

    Army captain pleaded to go back into battle after being mortally wounded - Telegraph


     
  2. Kyt

    Kyt Άρης

    I hope he, or rather his family, is suitably rewarded for his gallentry
     
  3. Adrian Roberts

    Adrian Roberts Active Member

    He was awarded the Military Cross posthumously.

    Its only recently that it was possible to award anything other than the VC or a MiD posthumously. I guess this change is a good thing. It may make VC awards even rarer; I hope it doesn't cease altogether, but I think its right to keep the VC as something very special.
     
  4. Kyt

    Kyt Άρης

    I remember watching the VC Heroes series on UKTv History where they said something similar - namely, that with the advent of "distant" technological warfare, the type of actions that would earn a VC would be rarer.

    However, I believe that Beharry has shown that such actions are not as rare as one would expect - the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan is "down and dirty". Though I wouldn't wish the type action that earns a VC to occur, because it usually means a posthumus award, I do hope that it isn't held back too often. One of the most important parts of the VC is helping the public realise that the fighting isn't like a videogame, where it's all distant missiles, long range artillery and bombing, and taking out targets cleanly with a sniper's rifle.
     
  5. Antipodean Andy

    Antipodean Andy New Member

    You are spot on. None of the awards we've talked about here on occasion with reference to Iraq and Afghanistan have been for anything but "down and dirty" action.

    I'm still waiting to hear about the Australian soldier in Iraq who, about six months ago, had his ASLAV hit by an RPG. He and his crew abandoned the vehicle and the patrol came under heavy fire. He re-entered the immobile ASLAV, manned the turret and returned fire. Surely that deserves something!
     

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