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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| UK soldier died helping comrade | UK soldier died helping comrade |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A British soldier killed by a bomb in Afghanistan was helping a comrade who had been caught in an earlier blast. | A British soldier killed by a bomb in Afghanistan was helping a comrade who had been caught in an earlier blast. |
| Sjt Paul McAleese, 29, of 2nd Battalion The Rifles, went to the aid of Pte Jonathon Young, 18, from Hull, of 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment. | |
| Sjt McAleese, born in Hereford, was then killed in the second explosion while on patrol in Helmand on Thursday. | |
| He is the son of John McAleese, who led the raid that ended the siege on the Iranian Embassy in London in 1980. | He is the son of John McAleese, who led the raid that ended the siege on the Iranian Embassy in London in 1980. |
| The servicemen were killed on the day Afghan voters went to the polls. | The servicemen were killed on the day Afghan voters went to the polls. |
| Sjt McAleese leaves a widow, Jo, and a son, Charley, who was born a week before he was deployed to Afghanistan. | |
| 'So proud' | 'So proud' |
| Mrs McAleese 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. | Mrs McAleese 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." | "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." |
| Rob Hilliard, a 2nd Lieutenant and 10 Platoon Commander, described how Sjt McAleese died trying to help Pte Young. | |
| "Sjt McAleese was killed while trying to get to a fellow British soldier who had been hit in an IED [Improvised explosive device] strike - fearlessly fulfilling his role as serjeant - a role he had excelled at in recent weeks in the most unimaginable of circumstances," he said. | |
| Pte Young was hailed as a 'regimental star in the making' | |
| Pte Young, who leaves his mother, Angela, brother, Carl, sister, Leah, and girlfriend, Nicola, was hailed by officers as a "regimental star in the making". | |
| He had been in Afghanistan for just over a fortnight, having volunteered to be among 125 reinforcements deployed to boost numbers after the summer's casualties. | |
| His commanding officer Lt Col Tom Vallings said: "He had already set his mark as a robust and determined soldier who always put his friends first. | |
| "He had a strength of character that forced him to be at the very centre of events and it was no surprise that he volunteered to deploy at Afghanistan at short notice." | |
| Millions of television viewers watched John McAleese's role in the five-day Iranian Embassy siege in 1980. | |
| He was among special forces who blew out the building's windows before rescuing 19 hostages from gunmen. | |
| Five hostage-takers were killed and one was arrested during the operation. All but one of the hostages survived. |