Soldier kept fighting even after being shot in the head: Hero who saved wounded comrade on list of 107 gallantry awards
Racing to reach a soldier lying injured on the Afghan battlefield, Rifleman Matthew Wilson suddenly crumpled to the floor.
His horrified comrades feared the 21-year-old was dead as a Taliban sniper’s bullet had smashed directly into his head.
But a few seconds later they watched in astonishment as Rifleman Wilson groggily got to his feet, sprinted 50 yards across open ground and began returning fire at the insurgent.
Incredibly, the round had deflected off the soldier’s helmet – saving his life, and leaving him with nothing worse than a ‘massive headache’.
His selfless actions allowed a helicopter to land and fly his stricken colleague, who had been shot in the leg, to safety.
Today Rifleman Wilson, of Aberystwyth, who serves with 2nd Battalion The Rifles, is rewarded for his courage with a Military Cross – the UK’s second highest award for valour.
He is among 107 servicemen and women who received awards in the operational honours list.
Most of the honours go to troops who fought with 20 Armoured Brigade in Afghanistan in the six months from October 2011.
Rifleman Wilson told how he cheated death in Nahr-e Saraj in Helmand, during a reconnaissance mission last autumn.
His unit was pinned down in an ambush more than a mile behind enemy lines.
He said: ‘I heard a loud crack and then woke up on the floor. Everything was a bit blurry and a massive headache.
The lads behind me thought I’d been killed.’
His citation said he displayed ‘exceptional gallantry and leadership...with complete disregard for his own safety’.
Admitting he was ‘proud’ to get a Military Cross, Rifleman Wilson said: ‘I’d like to think that if I was a casualty someone would have done the same for me.’
Captain Nick Garland was honoured for his ‘exemplary leadership, bravery and courage’ in more than 50 battles – after he clinically ‘died’ in a Taliban attack in Afghanistan.
In January 2009, he was severely injured when a rocket-propelled grenade exploded close to him during a mission in Musa Qala.
Burning shrapnel sliced into his neck, down his windpipe and through his thyroid, artery and lung. He lost six-and-a-half pints of blood and spent a month in a coma.
The 29-year-old, of 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards, underwent several months of operations with nine months of rehabilitation to restore his mobility.
Captain Garland, from Newbury,
Berkshire, still suffers ‘constant pain’ in his left arm.
But last year he was back in the firing line as a troop leader of his regiment’s elite Brigade Reconnaissance Force.
During one ‘high-intensity’ battle, Captain Garland came under heavy fire from insurgents.
Despite being bombarded by machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, the officer crossed 300 yards of open ground to put down fire so the rest of his unit could escape from the attack.
He was mentioned in Despatches today, which he described as a ‘reward’ for regaining his fitness.
Corporal Sean Jones, of the 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Regiment, won a Military Cross for leading a bayonet charge over open ground raked by enemy fire.
The father of two’s split-second decision ‘completely turned the tide’ of the military mission around the Taliban stronghold of Babaji.
The 25-year-old from Market Drayton, Shropshire, said: ‘I don’t know how we managed to get out alive.
The rounds were so close you could see them striking the dirt in front of you. It was like something out of a film.’
His citation hailed ‘unflinching courage and extraordinary leadership in the face of extreme and tangible danger’.
Army bomb-disposal specialist Sapper Matthew Garey, 24, displayed ‘awe-inspiring courage’ on a five-hour mission to find roadside bombs.
The lead searcher for the Royal Engineers worked on his hands and knees during the painstaking task.
Three other attempts to clear the route, a vital supply line to a UK patrol base in Gereshk, had left one dead and seven injured.
Sapper Garey, from Tamworth, Staffordshire, won a Queen’s Gallantry Medal for his ‘astonishing and exemplary’ bravery.
Lucky: Rifleman Matthew Wilson shows where the bullet deflected off his helmet, circled
But a few seconds later they watched in astonishment as Rifleman Wilson groggily got to his feet, sprinted 50 yards across open ground and began returning fire at the insurgent.
Incredibly, the round had deflected off the soldier’s helmet – saving his life, and leaving him with nothing worse than a ‘massive headache’.
His selfless actions allowed a helicopter to land and fly his stricken colleague, who had been shot in the leg, to safety.
Today Rifleman Wilson, of Aberystwyth, who serves with 2nd Battalion The Rifles, is rewarded for his courage with a Military Cross – the UK’s second highest award for valour.
He is among 107 servicemen and women who received awards in the operational honours list.
Most of the honours go to troops who fought with 20 Armoured Brigade in Afghanistan in the six months from October 2011.
Rifleman Wilson told how he cheated death in Nahr-e Saraj in Helmand, during a reconnaissance mission last autumn.
His unit was pinned down in an ambush more than a mile behind enemy lines.
He said: ‘I heard a loud crack and then woke up on the floor. Everything was a bit blurry and a massive headache.
The lads behind me thought I’d been killed.’
Captain Nick Garland, aged 29, of 1st The
Queen's Dragoon Guards, was honoured for his ‘exemplary leadership,
bravery and courage’ in more than 50 battles
Rifleman Wilson dashed for cover so he could fire at the Taliban then stood on a wall to point out the insurgents’ position.His citation said he displayed ‘exceptional gallantry and leadership...with complete disregard for his own safety’.
Admitting he was ‘proud’ to get a Military Cross, Rifleman Wilson said: ‘I’d like to think that if I was a casualty someone would have done the same for me.’
Captain Nick Garland was honoured for his ‘exemplary leadership, bravery and courage’ in more than 50 battles – after he clinically ‘died’ in a Taliban attack in Afghanistan.
In January 2009, he was severely injured when a rocket-propelled grenade exploded close to him during a mission in Musa Qala.
Burning shrapnel sliced into his neck, down his windpipe and through his thyroid, artery and lung. He lost six-and-a-half pints of blood and spent a month in a coma.
The 29-year-old, of 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards, underwent several months of operations with nine months of rehabilitation to restore his mobility.
Acting Corporal Sean Lee Jones of the 1st
Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Regiment, won a Military Cross for
leading a bayonet charge over open ground raked by enemy fire
Sapper Matthew Jon Garey received a Queen's
Gallantry medal during his time in Helmand Province, Afghanistan when he
displayed 'awe-inspiring courage' on a five-hour mission to find
roadside bombs
But last year he was back in the firing line as a troop leader of his regiment’s elite Brigade Reconnaissance Force.
During one ‘high-intensity’ battle, Captain Garland came under heavy fire from insurgents.
Despite being bombarded by machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, the officer crossed 300 yards of open ground to put down fire so the rest of his unit could escape from the attack.
He was mentioned in Despatches today, which he described as a ‘reward’ for regaining his fitness.
Corporal Sean Jones, of the 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Regiment, won a Military Cross for leading a bayonet charge over open ground raked by enemy fire.
The father of two’s split-second decision ‘completely turned the tide’ of the military mission around the Taliban stronghold of Babaji.
The 25-year-old from Market Drayton, Shropshire, said: ‘I don’t know how we managed to get out alive.
The rounds were so close you could see them striking the dirt in front of you. It was like something out of a film.’
His citation hailed ‘unflinching courage and extraordinary leadership in the face of extreme and tangible danger’.
Army bomb-disposal specialist Sapper Matthew Garey, 24, displayed ‘awe-inspiring courage’ on a five-hour mission to find roadside bombs.
The lead searcher for the Royal Engineers worked on his hands and knees during the painstaking task.
Three other attempts to clear the route, a vital supply line to a UK patrol base in Gereshk, had left one dead and seven injured.
Sapper Garey, from Tamworth, Staffordshire, won a Queen’s Gallantry Medal for his ‘astonishing and exemplary’ bravery.
评论
发表评论