ianstone
08-15-2010, 12:10 PM
Hero son injured... and forgotten
3091761
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http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01103/SNN1225A-682_1103608a.jpg
Slideshows
(http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01103/SNN1225A-682_1103608a.jpg)Maimed ... Anthony stepped on Taliban booby-trap MEN
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01103/SNN1225HH-6821_1103607a.jpg
Slideshows
(http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01103/SNN1225HH-6821_1103607a.jpg)Iraq return ... son and mum before blast MEN
Add a comment (10) (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/campaigns/our_boys/3091755/Hero-son-injured-and-forgotten.html#comment-rig)
BRAVE soldier Anthony Cooper lies desperately injured - another casualty of Afghanistan.
Parents Shelley and Roger released this photo in a bid to ensure our injured heroes' sacrifices are not forgotten.
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01103/SNN1225MM-380_1103605a.jpg My hero ... proud mum Shelley with Anthony
MEN
Their son, 22, was flown home close to death after stepping on a Taliban booby-trap - one of hundreds of soldiers maimed by roadside bombs in the country and Iraq.
He lost his legs below the knee, his right eye, two fingers on his left hand and the finger-tips on his right.
Kingsman Anthony also suffered a brain injury and his prognosis is unclear.
The MoD discourages media coverage of our badly injured troops for their protection, but Shelley, 46, of Chorley, Lancs, is determined to raise awareness.
She said: "Sadly we're reminded daily of the costs of war when soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice are brought home in coffins.
"They get a hero's welcome and rightly so, but it is very rare we are told about the soldiers, many young, who suffer life-changing injuries."
Anthony, who also served in Iraq, was injured in Helmand and flown home on July 7. He was initially treated at Birmingham's Selly Oak Hospital.
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http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-e4m3Yko6bFYVc.gif?labels=NewsAndReference,Entertai nmentNews http://content.yieldmanager.com/ak/q.gifShelley said: "The whole ward was filled with young lads who will eventually be discharged from the Army.
"We shouldn't let what they have sacrificed be forgotten."
Her son, of the 1st Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, is now lying in critical care at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Shelley said: "We don't know if he realises what's going on, but he's strong. He'll pull through."
d.larcombe@the-sun.co.uk
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/campaigns/our_boys/3091755/Hero-son-injured-and-forgotten.html#ixzz0wguHl6QH
3091761
1
/sol/
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01103/SNN1225A-682_1103608a.jpg
Slideshows
(http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01103/SNN1225A-682_1103608a.jpg)Maimed ... Anthony stepped on Taliban booby-trap MEN
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01103/SNN1225HH-6821_1103607a.jpg
Slideshows
(http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01103/SNN1225HH-6821_1103607a.jpg)Iraq return ... son and mum before blast MEN
Add a comment (10) (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/campaigns/our_boys/3091755/Hero-son-injured-and-forgotten.html#comment-rig)
BRAVE soldier Anthony Cooper lies desperately injured - another casualty of Afghanistan.
Parents Shelley and Roger released this photo in a bid to ensure our injured heroes' sacrifices are not forgotten.
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01103/SNN1225MM-380_1103605a.jpg My hero ... proud mum Shelley with Anthony
MEN
Their son, 22, was flown home close to death after stepping on a Taliban booby-trap - one of hundreds of soldiers maimed by roadside bombs in the country and Iraq.
He lost his legs below the knee, his right eye, two fingers on his left hand and the finger-tips on his right.
Kingsman Anthony also suffered a brain injury and his prognosis is unclear.
The MoD discourages media coverage of our badly injured troops for their protection, but Shelley, 46, of Chorley, Lancs, is determined to raise awareness.
She said: "Sadly we're reminded daily of the costs of war when soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice are brought home in coffins.
"They get a hero's welcome and rightly so, but it is very rare we are told about the soldiers, many young, who suffer life-changing injuries."
Anthony, who also served in Iraq, was injured in Helmand and flown home on July 7. He was initially treated at Birmingham's Selly Oak Hospital.
Advertisement
http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-e4m3Yko6bFYVc.gif?labels=NewsAndReference,Entertai nmentNews http://content.yieldmanager.com/ak/q.gifShelley said: "The whole ward was filled with young lads who will eventually be discharged from the Army.
"We shouldn't let what they have sacrificed be forgotten."
Her son, of the 1st Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, is now lying in critical care at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Shelley said: "We don't know if he realises what's going on, but he's strong. He'll pull through."
d.larcombe@the-sun.co.uk
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/campaigns/our_boys/3091755/Hero-son-injured-and-forgotten.html#ixzz0wguHl6QH