Saturday - September 13, 2008

Bomb disposal hero killed in Afghanistan. Battling Brit to the end. RIP, a brave man indeed.

My postings for today might be on the light side, so I hate starting off the morning with news of this nature.  However, I can’t avoid it.

I seem to have taken on a mission of sorts to be a one man reminder to my countrymen and women, that in spite of all the vitriol we get from the left here,
there are Brits dying along side us.  In many cases not even reported, my bet would be some have suffered worse and of course the families will never fully recover.

Since it isn’t the purview of the press back home, even the conservative press, to report on allied casualties, I think BMEWS is as good a place as any to honor and pay our last respects to those allies who have fallen or otherwise been injured in a war that sees no end in my lifetime.

RIP, Warrant Officer Gary O’Donnell.

Bomb disposal hero killed in Afghanistan
A highly decorated bomb disposal specialist described as “unbelievably brave” has been killed while attempting to defuse a device in Afghanistan.

By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent
Last Updated: 6:19PM BST 12 Sep 2008
Warrant Officer Gary O’Donnell GM of the Royal Logistics Corps: Bomb disposal hero killed in Afghanistan

WO2 Gary O’Donnell, who had been awarded the George Medal for exceptional courage, was blown up as he walked towards the device outside the town of Musa Qala.

The soldier was part of a team ordered to clear the way for the infantry during an operation outside the town on Wednesday.

In a five week period earlier this summer he dealt with 22 bombs including eight Taliban landmines in one day.

Warrant Officer Gary O’Donnell GM of the Royal Logistics Corps Photo: PA

Tragically WO2 O’Donnell’s wife Toni had given birth to their second son nine weeks ago and the solider had been able to see the baby during leave last month.

In a statement his wife Toni, mother of their other son Aiden, eight, said: “Gary was living the dream and we are all very proud of who he was and he will be missed greatly.”

The soldier has two teenage children from a previous marriage.

WO2 O’Donnell, one of 17 military recipients of the George Medal in the last 15 years, had defused a terrorist rocket launching system “primed to wreak havoc” on the 4,000 troops at Basra air base in Iraq in 2006.

His citation read that the bomb disposal officer also “showed selflessness and composure” in neutralising radio controlled improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

“He demonstrated persistent bravery on numerous occasions, rendering safe devices that were intended to kill and maim,” the citation said. “He saved lives while risking his own.”

WO2 O’Donnell was seen as an exceptionally gifted bomb disposal officer, passing the IED disposal course as a “high threat operator” first time - a feat achieved by only one in six ammunition technicians.

As part of the Royal Logistics Corps team he undertook two tours of Afghanistan and Northern Ireland as well as Sierra Leone and Iraq.

Lt Col Dave Wilson, his commanding officer, described the soldier as “hugely talented” and “unbelievably brave”.

“He was at the very top of his extremely dangerous and difficult trade. It was his passion and he took immense pride in making places safer for other people, the danger to his own life rarely seemed to affect him. If it did, he kept it to himself.”

A natural leader, his “big smile” gave “reassurance to the less experienced or more anxious”.

“Men of this calibre are extremely rare.”

In June the soldier narrowly escaped being blown up by a landmine by jamming his fingers into a clothes peg that had been used as makeshift trigger.

“I saw the ends of the peg moving. I didn’t have time to think. I had to act straightaway. I just jammed my fingers in,” he said.

The peg was wired to an 82mm mortar and a 107mm Chinese rocket with a total of 2kg of explosives.

“If I hadn’t done it, if it had shut, I wouldn’t be here,” he said at the time after racing to deal with the device left near the camp of soldiers from 2nd Bn The Parachute Regiment.

The bomb would have almost certainly killed a Para if stepped on.

Des Brown, the defence secretary, said WO2 O’Donnell “selflessly put his own life at risk to save the lives of others”.

“I have no doubt that in his extraordinary career he was personally responsible for saving thousands of the family, friends and comrades of others from the anguish that is currently being felt by his own.”

http://tinyurl.com/3l7m75

Posted by Drew458     on 09/13/2008 at 02:14 AM   
Filed Under: • UK • War On Terror •  
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