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Funeral for medic killed in Iraq Funeral for Iraq death medic held
(about 8 hours later)
The funeral of a 19-year-old medic killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq is due to take place. Hundreds of mourners gathered to pay their last respects to teenage Army medic Eleanor Dlugosz, who died in a bomb attack in Iraq.
Private Eleanor Dlugosz, from Southampton, died with three other soldiers on 5 April in Basra. A horse-drawn carriage carried the coffin of 19-year-old Pte Dlugosz to church in Bishop's Waltham, Hants.
Her mother Sally Veck, said she was "proud" of her daughter who had died doing the job she loved "helping others and serving her country". Pte Dlugosz was in a Warrior armoured vehicle returning from a patrol on 5 April when a bomb was detonated, killing her and three colleagues.
The service will take place at St Peter's Parish church in Bishop's Waltham, Hampshire. Her coffin was taken into church by members of her regiment.
Speaking before the funeral, Ms Veck said the family had been "deeply saddened by the tragic death of Eleanor". Many people were touched by her zest for life the Rev John Whitton
But they had been comforted, she added, "by all the touching comments that have been written by her friends, comrades and senior officers and by the knowledge that she was doing the job she loved: helping others and serving her country." The funeral cortege had made its way through Swanmore, the home village of Pte Dlugosz, before it arrived at the church.
Pte Dlugosz, from the Royal Army Medical Corps, died along with Cpl Kris O'Neill, 2nd Lt Joanna Yorke Dyer and Kingsman Adam James Smith. Friday's service was conducted by former Army chaplain the Rev John Whitton.
Her Commanding Officer, Lt Col Martin Toney, praised "her guts and determination". He said: "The size of the congregation here and the many hundreds of cards and letters they [the family] have received is testimony to the unique life of Eleanor.
"Her life was tragically cut short but her 19 years were lived with such an intensity and commitment that many people were touched by her zest for life."
He added that when the Army Careers came to her school she had been captivated and said she wanted to become a combat medical technician.
One-minute silence
"She wanted to be in the front line," said Mr Whitton.
"I know her family had their reservations about this but they obviously knew that you cannot stand in the way of your child's wishes. You have to let them go."
At the end of the service, colleagues from Pte Dlugosz's unit within the Royal Army Medical Corps 3 Close Support Medical Regiment fired a volley of three shots in tribute.
The Last Post was then played and a one-minute silence was observed.
Pte Dlugosz, who served with the Royal Army Medical Corps, had been deployed to the Shaibah Logistic Base in November last year. She returned to Iraq in March after completing a medical course in the UK.
Second Lieutenant Joanna Yorke Dyer, 24, Corporal Kris O'Neill, 27, Kingsman Adam James Smith, 19, and a Kuwaiti interpreter also died in the blast.