Military honour for Ghurka who fought Taliban insurgents
A Ghurka soldier who fought off several Taliban insurgents single-handedly has been awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. 136 servicemen and women recieved awards, most for service in Afghanistan.
After he ran out of ammunition, Acting Sergeant Dipprasad Pun kept fighting, using the only thing he had left – his machine gun tripod – which he threw down at a Taliban insurgent who was trying to climb up towards him.
Gurkha Sergeant Pun was manning an isolated checkpoint in the east of a remote village in Afghanistan, when the post was attacked by a group of insurgents. He single handedly fought off the attack, with grenades, his rifle and, when there was nothing else left, his machine gun tripod.
He told Channel 4 News that he had no choice but to go on the attack: “My comrades were sleeping inside the checkpoint, they were around the checkpoint and I noticed that I had no choice, I didn’t care about my life, I thought before they kill me I have to kill some of them. I threw grenades, phosphorous and fired at them. I defeated them.
“The bus was non-existent”
Among the 136 servicemen and women who were honoured, was medic Lance Corporal Isobel Henderson. She received an MBE for showing the “highest levels of professionalism and commitment in desperately difficult circumstances.”
Corporal Henderson was the only medic at a checkpoint which she shared with 20 Scots guards and 15 Afghan police and which was attacked over 60 times. She told Channel 4 News about the time a bus exploded, killing women and children.
“We got each other through it, that’s what you find in a checkpoint, you’re like a family.” Lance Corporal Isobel Henderson
“The bus was non-existent, there was a lot of wreckage and a lot of bodies. There was a little girl on the bus, I focused on her because she was so small. The main effort was to get the casualties to the checkpoint and wait for a helicopter.
“We got them flown away – it wasn’t until afterwards you sit down and take a breather, and we all said that was mental.”
She said the team all pulled together to support each other: “Some of the guys struggle with the sight of blood, so hats off to them, we got each other through it, that’s what you find in a checkpoint, you’re like a family.”
“I could see him lying, wounded from the legs down, a double amputee.”
A Queens Commendation for bravery went to Kingsman Scott David Glendinning, a rifleman in the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment. He was the lead man on patrol in an area littered with Improvised Explosive Devices, when a soldier behind him stepped on one and was very seriously injured, losing both his legs. He told Channel 4 News how, despite being isolated from the rest of the team by explosive devices, he carried out life saving first aid, helped only by shouted instructions from the patrols medic.
“I knew it was the man behind me, so I took it upon myself to go back round the corner to see if I could get eyes on him, through the dust cloud. When I got back round the corner, I could see him lying badly wounded from the legs down, a double amputee. There would have been nails and bolts in the explosion, so my route up to the casualty was basically a leap of faith, trying to get to him as quick as possible. I was applying tourniquets, I wasn’t a medic but I had done a course. After I did that, the medic was giving me instructions, we kept him calm, talking to him.”