Posted on 03/30/2008 5:25:35 PM PDT by thundrey
A Royal Marine who threw himself onto an exploding grenade to save the lives of his patrol has been put forward for the UK's highest military honour.
Lance Corporal Matt Croucher, 24, a reservist from Birmingham, survived because his rucksack and body armour took the force of the blast.
He was part of a reconnaissance troop in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in February, when the incident happened.
The Ministry of Defence said he could be considered for the Victoria Cross.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
Yes, and let's hope that their returning Vets, like ours, get into politics to clean the houses of the vermin.
I hope you or a loved one never needs heroic help.
I have no desire to put you in a concentration camp. I just think tha the people around you who may be dependant on you are owed a warning. That’s all.
Certainly you’ve had the good sense to keep the number dependant on you to a minimum.
Semper Fi
WOT Hero ping.
> But he didn’t lay down his life.
>
> He took a calculated risk, and saved his mates - and also saved himself.
IMO he did something that has seen others lose their lives and be awarded the Medal of Honor in this war. He had no business expecting to live thru the act.
I think it’s a bit of an undersell to say “he took a calculated risk” — you take a calculated risk when you buy technology stock. What he did was orders of magnitude greater than “taking a calculated risk.”
Unquestionably he put his life and wellbeing on the line to save his mates. No doubt about it.
Is that enough for a VC? I guess we will find out.
If you marry the right person you dont "answer to a wife"
That being said marriage is not for everyone. I love it. But that is for me.
He must have had the presence of mind to jump on it with his back facing the grenade?
Did Gunga Din get the VC?
I dont remember the ship, but I was in Wilmington NC, when a brit ship back from the Falklands war, docked for a few days.
One thing that stands out in my memory is the ship’s rugby team, “playing” against a local team, the brits put a couple locals in the hospital, all in fun. they were a good bunch. just dont play rugby against them
What Croucher did is similar to what Corporal Jason Dunham of the USMC and Petty Officer Michael A. Monsoor of the USN did to receive their Medals of Honor, certainly. Similar enough that when condensed down to a headline, it looks like the same action.
But it's not quite the same. Both Dunham and Monsoor put their bodies in direct contact with the grenades. Croucher used his body as a shield some distance from the grenade - not a great distance, a matter of metres at most, but there is a difference.
When it comes to determining the difference between a VC, a CGC, and an MC the devil is in these details.
I think it’s a bit of an undersell to say “he took a calculated risk” — you take a calculated risk when you buy technology stock. What he did was orders of magnitude greater than “taking a calculated risk.”
Servicepeople are trained to make decisions like this, and to make instant assessments of relative risk. He did it well, but it is something he is expected to be able to do - to immediately assess a situation and exercise judgement.
Yes, sometimes people act instinctively - but Croucher's own description of his action shows that he was thinking about what he was doing. He took the best action he could to protect his mates - and once he'd done that, the best action he could to protect himself.
I have no doubt that if Croucher had assessed the situation and realised - perhaps because the grenade was closer than it was - his death was certain, that he still would have done what he did. The man is a hero. But he wasn't called on to do that.
Unquestionably he put his life and wellbeing on the line to save his mates. No doubt about it.
Yes, he did - but you get a Military Cross for doing that. Or maybe even a Mention-In-Dispatches.
That is why, since 1979, the MC has been able to be awarded posthumously. It's recognition that quite a few people who earn it, don't live through the experience.
An unofficial rule of thumb - 90% chance of death = VC, 70% chance of death = CGC, 50% chance of death = MC, less than 50% chance of death (ie, you expect to live) = MID.
Is that enough for a VC? I guess we will find out.
Talking to friends in the UK, the rumours are that he is, at present, most likely to get a Military Cross - the third highest award for bravery in the face of the enemy. That's just a rumour but they are in positions where they hear a lot of reliable rumours.
survived because his rucksack and body armour took the force of the blastWow.
Oh, my ... how sad; have you never loved anyone?
This is what John Stuart Mill said:
"The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.