Tale of two boy soldiers who joined up together: Barely 18, on their first day of action...

Daily Mail (UK) ^ | 10th July 2009 | Richard Pendlebury and Jamie Wiseman

[naturalman1975]

There is something in Danny Eaglesfield's pale blue eyes that wasn't there a week ago. He still looks ridiculously young. And, at only 5ft 4in in height, he seems barely tall enough to lift his rifle.

But the wide-eyed youthfulness I saw when I first met him on the eve of battle last Friday has been replaced.

A loss of innocence? Certainly. For Danny Eaglesfield has experienced a great tragedy this past week. His closest friend, Robbie Laws, was killed by a Taliban rocket as the pair of them travelled in the same vehicle, side by side to the last.

Boy soldiers: Private Robbie Laws, 18, left, was killed in action in Afghanistan while his friend Private Danny Eaglesfield, also 18, was wounded

Danny and and Robbie had gone through basic training together, became best mates and were posted to the same infantry unit.

Exactly a week ago, having barely turned 18, they went into battle for the first time - together, of course. They were at the spearhead of the biggest British ground offensive against the Taliban, Operation Panther's Claw, when fate flipped a coin.

One friend was wounded but survived; the other did not. Yesterday Danny Eaglesfield was recovering from minor wounds.

But he wanted to talk about what happened to him and Robbie. Like many of the infantry soldiers I have met out here, he wants the people 'back home' to know what it is like to be a very young Briton fighting in 'Afghan' as the casualties mount and the daytime temperature heads towards 50c.

This is the story of two boys who went to war.

[ExTexasRedhead]

Words seem inadequate when I read about sorrow like this. God, bless them both.

[Last Dakotan]

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)

[csvset]

Touching story.

[packrat35]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCrae