Lainy ✝️ Psalm 28:7

Today's Hero 🇬🇧 "The #Paratrooper 🦅 Who Stepped Into A Minefield To Save Another Soldier... Moments Later He Lost His Own Leg. Yet He Refused To Let That Be The End Of His Story. The Story of #Sergeant #StuartPearson #QGM, #3rdBattalion, The #ParachuteRegiment." 🌺 Sergeant Stuart Pearson joined the #BritishArmy in May 1993 at just 18 years old. After completing his training, he began his military career with The #GordonHighlanders before transferring to the 3rd Battalion 🟩, The Parachute Regiment (3 PARA) in August 1995. Over the following decade he established himself as an experienced and highly respected #Paratrooper, serving on operational tours of #Ulster #NorthernIreland ☘️🇬🇧, Kosovo and Iraq before deploying to #Helmand Province, #Afghanistan 🇦🇫 , in the spring of 2006 as part of #OperationHERRICK IV. Five months into the tour, Stuart and around thirty fellow Paratroopers were positioned on the high ground overlooking the strategically vital #Kajaki Dam. The hydroelectric dam supplied much of Helmand Province's electricity, making it a constant target for #Taliban insurgents and one of the most dangerous locations in Afghanistan. On 6th September 2006, the patrol was thrown into chaos when #Corporal #StuartHale stepped onto an anti-personnel mine while moving towards an enemy observation point, losing his lower right leg. Without hesitation, Stuart joined the team attempting to reach and rescue his wounded comrade, fully aware that every step across the rocky ground could conceal another hidden mine. As the rescue unfolded, Stuart searched for a suitable landing site where a #helicopter could evacuate the casualty. Then, in an instant, everything changed. He lifted his left foot from a rock and placed it onto the ground. A deafening #explosion tore through the hillside. The blast destroyed his left foot, later requiring an above-knee #amputation, while devastating his right leg with severe blast injuries. Landing on his back, Stuart immediately realised they were trapped in the middle of an #unmarked #minefield. Despite the unbearable pain, his first instinct was to warn everyone else not to move. Over the next four hours, the situation became one of the most infamous incidents of the Afghanistan campaign. #Four separate mines #exploded, leaving eight soldiers wounded. Among those risking everything was #Corporal #MarkWright, who repeatedly exposed himself to danger to treat the casualties. While shielding Stuart from the downdraft of a #Chinook helicopter attempting to land, Mark was himself caught in another devastating explosion. Although critically wounded, he continued directing the rescue over the radio and repeatedly shouted at the injured men to stay awake as they waited for American 🇺🇸 #BlackHawk helicopters to arrive from #Kandahar. As Mark was finally winched aboard one of the helicopters, he called down to Stuart, "Tell my family that I love them." 💔🌺 Stuart replied, "Shut up, Mark. This time next week we'll be back in the pub." They would be the last words they ever exchanged. 🕊 Corporal Mark Wright died from his #injuries shortly afterwards. His extraordinary courage earned him a #posthumous #GeorgeCross ✝️ , while Stuart was awarded the #QGM #QueensGallantryMedal for his own outstanding #bravery during the rescue attempt. The incident also saw #LanceCorporal #PaulHartley and #Fusilier #AndrewBarlow receive the #GM #GeorgeMedal, making Kajaki Dam one of the most highly decorated actions of the Afghanistan campaign. 🟩☘️🌺🕊✝️ Continued:

IN MEMORY OF GUNNER ANGUS JAMES STEVENS, AGED ONLY 18 AND HIS COMRADE LANCE BOMBARDIER DAVID EDWARD TILBURY, AGED 29 27TH REGIMENT, ROYAL ARTILLERY LEST WE FORGET 🌺🇬🇧

Today's Hero 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🦅 “Four days before his 20th birthday, #Private #DamienJackson was doing the job he had trained for protecting his fellow #Paratroopers in #Afghanistan.” 🇬🇧 There are lives that end far too soon, leaving behind a future that will never be lived. For Private Damien Raymond Jackson of the #3rdBattalion - #3PARA The #ParachuteRegiment, that future was cut short on 5th July 2006, during a firefight with #Taliban forces in #Helmand Province. 🇦🇫 Damien was just 19. But in the years he had already lived, he had earned the respect of his comrades and established himself as a capable, dependable soldier. Born on 9th July 1986, Damien came from #SouthShields, Tyne and Wear. He joined the #BritishArmy 🇬🇧 in November 2003, beginning the demanding journey towards his ambition of becoming a #Paratrooper. At the Infantry Training Centre in #Catterick, North Yorkshire, he completed his basic training before facing the additional physical and mental demands of Parachute Regiment selection. He passed his training and joined #ACompany, 3 PARA, in June 2004. 🎖️🦅 The #Maroon #Beret was not simply something he wore. It represented a standard he had worked hard to achieve — and a responsibility to the soldiers beside him. Damien's service took him through #NorthernIreland and #Iraq before his deployment to Afghanistan. He also took part in overseas exercises alongside his fellow soldiers for the challenges ahead. Damien was a passionate #Sunderland AFC supporter and held a season ticket at the Stadium of Light, making every effort to return home to watch his team whenever he could. He was also a talented runner who had competed with the South Shields Mariners. Sport, football and military life were different parts of the same young man's world — a young man with interests, friendships and plans that reached far beyond the conflict zone. Yet one of the most important aspects of Damien's military service was his role as a team medic. He had developed a keen interest in becoming a combat medic, a role that demanded the ability to respond when a comrade was injured and every second mattered. He had also been recommended for #promotion to Lance Corporal, recognition of the confidence placed in him. In the summer of 2006, #3PARA 🦅was operating in #HelmandProvince during a particularly dangerous period of the British deployment. On 5th July, Damien was taking part in a #security #patrol to clear a #helicopter #landing site near #Sangin when British forces came under fire from #Taliban fighters. He sustained injuries during the firefight and died at approximately 2 pm local time. His death came just four days before his 20th birthday. His commanding officer, #LieutenantColonel #StuartTootal, paid tribute to Damien as a highly professional and popular soldier. He remembered, a great character and a Paratrooper whose humour & reliability made a lasting impression on the battalion. Damien's father, Daniel, expressed his immense pride in his son by joining the Parachute Regiment. His words reflected the terrible contradiction faced by military families: pride in a loved one's service, alongside the pain of losing someone whose life had barely begun. Damien Jackson was a son from South Shields, a Sunderland supporter, a gifted athlete, a team medic and a young British soldier who had earned the trust of his comrades. He should be remembered for the life he lived, the standard he achieved and the responsibility he accepted towards the men serving beside him. 🇬🇧 “We remember Private Damien Raymond Jackson of 3 PARA, a young man who earned his place among Britain's Paratroopers and served with professionalism, determination and care for his comrades. His name deserves to endure, not simply because he fell in Afghanistan, but because of the soldier, teammate and son he was. His life was short. His service will not be forgotten.”🌹🕊️ #RoyalMarines #BritishArmy #Warrior #LestWeForget #3PARA #Hero #LionInBattle #Just19 🌺🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

IN MEMORY OF R.U.C. OFFICERS CONSTABLE ALAN McCLOY, AGED 34 SERGEANT SEAN QUINN, AGED 37 CONSTABLE PAUL HAMILTON, AGED 26 ROYAL ULSTER CONSTABULARY G.C. LEST WE FORGET. ☘️🌺🇬🇧