RM Throws Him Self On Grenade & Lives

I didn't know they had all those technicalities for awards. I always thought it was based on recommendations from other soldiers and officers who were there.

Hope he gets the highest honor, he really deserves it.
 
Lucky brave soldier, and he deserves to have Victoria Cross eventually.

I don't care if it's the enemy direct or not, and that grenade could took out the squad.
 
Now it turn out to be a George Cross I suppose a Para got one after running into a mine field to aid a couple of friends and lost both legs in the process
 
Oh wow. :shock: Very courageous and heroic. What an amazing man!! He definitely deserves the Victoria Cross. :)
 
AZ_Infantry said:
OH

Still, I would consider that "direct enemy contact." I doubt his troops that he saved would see it otherwise, as well.

Seems to me that this is a case where the leadership in charge of interpreting the regulations for award recommendation need to view the valor and the testimony of his men, rather than the cut sheets.

The man is a hero. We don't serve for pretty ribbons, but the man should receive an accommodation in accordance with his ACTIONS versus the circumstances. And in this case, I personally believe that the VC is definitely warranted.

Just my opinion.
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Yeah I know, I'd consider a booby trap to be enemy contact. How do you differentiate that from an IED or randomly fired indirect weapons?

I believe it should be a VC, but knowing how the system works there is a good chance he'll get an MC or George Cross.
 
He was wise enough to throw him self backwards on to the Grenade. The RM and Para's normally carry back packs weighing around 100 lbs as they will be out on patrol for days on end, and this must have absorbed much of the blast. Still it was very quick thinking and a brave thing to do.
 
mmarsh said:
Very brave, but he was incredibly lucky.
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Not lucky exactly MM. I read one report which said that he calculated the strategy and expected to lose a limb or so, but live - as he went for it.

Protection of his mates was his motivation, and it was a calculated risk, albeit it a very fast one.

Very brave, as you say, and the risk paid dividends. I don't think luck really played much of a part in this case; a soldier at work.
 
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Somebody's in for a tough job there, deciding not to award the VC that is...
The lad sure deserves it, but as it's stated, the VC is awarded for:

"... most conspicuous bravery, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy."

So it seems to me that he could be awarded the George Cross instead.
Not bad at all considered the fact that he'd be in an even more exclusive club than the VC recipients, the VC being awarded some 1353 times, and the George Cross only 159 times...

He sure deserves to get more than just a MID at least, which has been all some other guys who deserved a VC have gotten before him.

Quick thinking, ice cold calculation, and unquestionable bravery! :salute2:
 
Yep. I don't like the officers in the Army. Well, I like the West Point officers. Those guys are great. But the ones that only have a weeks worth of officer training I hate.
 
Nah, officers don't count that much when it comes to the VC, it's more on the high top brass to decide, and they have usually been out of circulation for such long time that they can't tell which end of a bayonet is actyally pointed...

As I understand the VC could be reccomended by privates, or even civilians, provided there are more than one witness to the incident.
The skipper of HMS Glowworm, Lt.cdr. Roope was actually reccomended to the VC by his enemy after he had rammed the German cruiser Admiral Hipper in 1940.
 
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