This was sent to me by Jo Cleary of BBC:
Jo Cleary August 24 at 4:30am Report
Paul McAleese
Soldier |
1979 - 2009
Son of an SAS hero who died trying to save a fatally-injured teenage
soldier
Sergeant
Paul McAleese, of 2nd Battalion the Rifles, died in Afghanistan
on 20 August, 2009, as he tried to rescue a fatally-wounded colleague.
Private Johnathon
Young of The 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (Duke of Wellington's),
had been killed in an explosion, and as Sjt McAleese tried to
reach him he was killed be a second blast.
The two men
were killed while on patrol in Sangin District, Helmand Province,
on the day that Afghan voters went to the polls.
Sjt McAleese
was the son of John McAleese, an SAS man who led the raid that
ended the siege on the Iranian Embassy in London in 1980.
Sjt McAleese
left a widow, Jo, and a son, Charley, who was born a week before
he was deployed to Afghanistan.
Sjt McAleese
was born in Hereford on 18 October, 1979. He began his Army training
in March 1997 and joined the 1st Battalion, The Royal Green Jackets
in August. A natural soldier, he rose through the ranks quickly
and found his calling in the Sniper Platoon.
As
a Rifleman he completed the demanding Close Observation Platoon
course before going on to complete the Infantry's grueling Section
Commanders' and Platoon Sergeants' Battle Courses with distinction.
A keen boxer and rugby player, he had completed tours of Northern
Ireland, Sierra Leone, Iraq and Kosovo, and relished life in Afghanistan
where he had been outstanding as a Sniper Team Commander in Kajaki.
He
took over as a Rifle Platoon Sergeant following the injury of
a colleague and had excelled on the streets of Wishtan, Sangin
and been at the centre of many of the incidents in the weeks before
his death.
At the time
of his death he was helping to secure a key thoroughfare in the
Sangin area as part of providing security for the Afghanistan
elections.
His wife Jo
said: "Mac, my husband, my best friend, my hero. You were
an amazing Daddy to Charley and the best husband I could have
ever asked for. We will love you and miss you for ever. We will
always be so proud of what you achieved in your life and I am
so, so proud to be your wife."
Lieutenant
Colonel Rob Thomson MBE, Commanding Officer 2 RIFLES Battle Group
said: "Sergeant McAleese was one of the 'big men' in 2 Rifles
whose military prowess was the envy of the rest of the Battalion.
He had a huge rucksack full of talents - everyone looked up to
him and wanted to be in his team. Militarily, there was nothing
that he wasn't good at. He was fearsomely fit, a talented shot
and a man who saw this campaign in its wider perspective.
"He had
been superb in Iraq, our last encounter with the Queen's enemies,
and he had stood very tall. Here in Afghanistan he has fought
in Kajaki and in Sangin and died as a Platoon Serjeant, the job
of all jobs, on election day, helping to give democracy a chance
in Sangin.
"He had
so much yet to give - he was on the track to greatness and was
one of those men who was destined to promote first time, every
time. The rest of us mortals could not keep up.
"His
energy levels were unrivalled and he extracted the best out of
my Riflemen, especially when sat behind his favourite sniper rifle.
In the Serjeants' Mess, he was nothing but delightful and full
of appropriately insubordinate mischief - always trying to photograph
his fellow Serjeants talking to me.
"It was
immensely satisfying to out-manoeuvre him once (I only did manage
it once) and ensure he was 'snapped' with me.
"We will
miss him dreadfully. There is a huge hole in this Battalion now
that Mac has gone. And tonight, after a mad day in Sangin, it
is taking time to come to terms with his loss. But, Mac, we are
back in the fight. In fact we have been in the fight all day -
for you as well as for the people of Sangin.
"Our
first prayers now are for Joanne, his adored wife, and Charley,
his precious boy of only 4 months, whom he talked about constantly.
Be assured, little man, your father was a hero and we will never
forget him. We will tell you all about him one day and you will
be so proud."
Thank you Jo Jo. John will be happy to see this.
Your friend,
Hercules Takis Sifonas 1265
