Millzzz Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 A bit random I know but I felt the need to write this somewhere . . . A friend of mine was killed in Afghanistan last Sunday. His name was Jamie Kirkpatrick, a corporal in the Royal Engineers. I was a member in his section on Exercise Oak apple in March 2004. He really helped me through that 6 week long infantry exercise in Kenya. Through the debilitating heat & my major inexperience (I'd just finished training at that time), he got over his annoyance of a sprog (derogatory term for new soldiers) constantly asking questions about the army & dragged me through 6 of the hardest yet most satisfying weeks of my army career so far. Without his experience, dedication & patience I have no doubt that not only would I not only of enjoyed the exercise as much as I did but also of become the experienced soldier I am today. We both served in Germany together as part of 28 Engineer Regiment, based in Hameln. We shared many beers, laughs, sweat & blood & I'm pretty gutted he's no longer with us. He was a cracking soldier & a good mate. I learned a lot from him . . . R.I.P Buddy . . . . You'll be sorely missed . . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilli Red Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 I have a lump in my throat, that is so sad. Thats a very touching tribute from you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 Good man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 RIP. It's times like this that the nation need to forget about the England Squad and focus on what matters. These soldiers giving their lives for us. I appreciate the forces and they are about the only thing that inspires me to feel truly British. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 shame to see another good soldier go to waste; touching tribute RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Millzzz Posted July 2, 2010 Author Share Posted July 2, 2010 I have a lump in my throat, that is so sad. Thats a very touching tribute from you I appreciate that chilli. I suppose it's what I was intending with this post (Not for anyone to start bawling their eyes out ). It's really odd, I keep thinking of past encounters with him & how at the time I would never of thought he'd be killed in action. One that springs to mind is when on the kenya exercise, our section was attacking a position during a live fire exercise. Between us & the for mentioned position was a large 'bastard bush'. Aptly named due to the nature of the complaints erupting from the bush should anyone stray too close (it has 2" thorns lol). "Ooh you f*&$%^g bastard!" or words to that effect. Anyhoo, we had to get through this 'obstacle', me being the new soldier I was, didn't have a clue what to do, all I saw was a big bush that I was NOT going through. Suddenly, Jamie's behind me screaming "GET THROUGH THAT F*&^%$G BUSH!!!!". Through I go with many "Bastard!" & "S&*T THAT HURT!". It wasn't nice but it made a hole for the rest of the section to get through & carry on the attack. That's just the guy he was - inspiring. One minute I wanted to stay where I was & hope someone else would deal with the situation, the next, I was an aggressive killing machine, hell bent on destroying that bloody bush & the paper targets 100m's behind it! Thanks for your kind remarks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andlid Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chesterfield Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 I highly emotive and excellent post. My condolences to Corporal Kirkpatricks family and friends. The sacrifices that are made in the name of serving our country are incredible. They deserve all the recognition we can muster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwanageDave Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 R.I.P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac@TarmacSportz Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 Puts things into perspective. R.I.P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjones6699 Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 There's nothing worse than finding out a mate has been killed in action. My mate was one of the guys kidnapped in bagdad in 2007 and it devastated me when we found out he was killed. I know it wasn't an army event but it's the same feeling. My heart goes out to you and Jamie's family. No one should ever have to recieve news like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarnie Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 thats horrible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff-r Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 RIP, they need to bring these soldiers home, we're losing them at a vast rate, it's sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 RIP - my thoughts are with his family. Last night I watched the video footage on the Sun website of the fire fight in Afghanistan and the soldier getting shrapnel in his face. The lad is actually the son of a friend of mine (Phil if you're reading this, Martin) and finding him on the front of the newspapers over a month after the incident has been a bit of a surprise. That sort of unedited frontline footage really shocks you when you realise what these young guys are facing every day. Our boys are doing a fantastic job out there and its devastating whenever we hear of another life lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 It's so so sad , RIP Jamie but never to be forgotten along with the rest of the fallen hero's . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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