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AROUND the world today, some 214,000 men and women can hold their heads high. They follow the most noble cause of all, serving Queen and country in our Armed Forces. The Union Flag flies in Iraq, the Falklands, Belize, Ulster and the frozen wastes of the Arctic and Australia. It flutters on ships plying every ocean and sea. Our men and women in uniform are doing a great job. And it is The Sun’s duty as Britain’s biggest-selling daily paper to give them this message: You all have the full support of the people of Britain. Your loved ones at home, who sacrifice the normal family life that the rest of us take for granted, can feel proud, too, of the contribution they make to Service morale.
WW2
Compassion ... British medic tends to wounded Nazi enemy |
WW2
Liberators ... Tommies with French tots soon after D-Day
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No phoney photographs of staged “torture” scenes can ever alter the very high regard in which our Armed Forces are held, not just in Britain but around the world. From the secret heroes of the SAS and SBS to the unsung heroes of the Catering Corps, they are the best. Of course, there are bad soldiers, sailors and airmen. Just as there are bad lawyers, vicars and journalists. But they are a mere handful among the vast ranks of those who bring such honour to the uniforms they wear.
KOREA
Cheerful ... smiling comrades share a light in 1952 |
ADEN
Caring side ... tough SAS man hands a cuppa to local in 1964
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Wrongdoers must be rooted out and court-martialed. But their actions must not be allowed to tarnish the battle honours of our Forces. Since the Second World War, the Services have seen action in more than 50 campaigns around the globe, safeguarding our sovereignty and protecting world peace. From the insect-ridden jungles of Malaya to the frozen hills of Korea, in the back streets of Aden and Cyprus, from the African bush of Kenya to the rain-soaked hills of the Falkland Islands, young National Servicemen and regular British soldiers, sailors and airmen defended the British empire and her allies.
FALKLANDS
Welcome ... girl greets
Marine in Port Stanley |
BELFAST
Pals ... squaddie and boy
after 1994 IRA ceasefire
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Major conflicts involving all three Services, such as the Palestinian war, Korea, Malaya, Suez, the Balkans, the Falklands, Northern Ireland, the Gulf War and now Iraq, made the headlines. But many thousands served with great valour and distinction in less-publicised hot-spots such as Guatemala, Sierra Leone and Oman. Read this amazing roll of honour and you will see why the behaviour of a few can never, ever tarnish the remarkable achievements of the British Armed Forces over the past half century. Take a deep breath . . .
KOSOVO
Humane ... troops call up aid for an exhausted baby in 1999 |
SIERRA LEONE
Gimme five ... Para
and local lads in 2000
Picture: REUTERS
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India, Palestine, Jordan, Malaya, Germany, Korea, the Suez Canal Zone, Kenya, Cyprus, Borneo, Brunei, Sarawak, Belize, Guatemala, Kenya, Northern Ireland, Aden, Oman, the Falklands, Kuwait, Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Iraq (again). To all these heroic exploits must, of course, be added the astonishing operations of the SAS and SBS, many of which may never be made public. Korea is sometimes called the Forgotten War. But its three years from 1950 to 1953 saw some of the bloodiest action ever on land, sea and air. And Brits were at the heart of it. In 35 years of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, more than 300 regular soldiers and more than 100 members of the Ulster Defence Regiment died.
AFGHANISTAN
Relief ... soldier gives out food parcels in 2002 |
IRAQ
Saviours ... with kids
on patrol in Basra
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The Falklands War in 1982 lasted just nine weeks. But it will always live in the memory of the public as the first war we saw in detail on our TV screens. The heroism of our soldiers, sailors and airmen was outstanding. Just as it was in 1991, after Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait. For 44 days, Our Boys hit the Iraqis with everything they had got and achieved a memorable victory. Now they have been in action there for a second time, giving the Iraqi people freedom and paying the price in blood. The Sun defies anyone to read this open letter to our Forces and their families and not feel very humble and very proud. Let us all salute Britain’s Finest. |
