Female medic shielded wounded soldier from fire

She “undoubtedly saved the life of the Highlander whose injuries were
significant”.

Speaking at the awards ceremony the 27-year-old from Sheffield said: “I’d get
back on that roof again tomorrow. We became like a small family out there, I
know the lads would have done the same for me.”

Serjeant Deacon Cutterham

Time slowed to a near halt when Serjeant Deacon Cutterham watched the hand
grenade sail through the air and land in knee-deep water two yards in front
of him.

He knew the grenade was live after he heard the Taliban pull the pin on the
other side of the high mudbrick wall.

There was less than five seconds left to react. First he shouted “grenade, get
down”.

Sjt Cutterham, of 1st Bn The Rifles, reacting “instinctively and without
hesitation to save the lives of his men” reached down and grabbed the live
bomb in his fist.

He then “posted” it in a parallel ditch where it exploded “pretty much as I
let go of it”.

“Cutterham took the conscious decision to run towards the grenade in order to
find it in the murky water before dropping it deliberately into the parallel
ditch next to him,” the citation said.

“The action was utterly courageous, carried out with composure and clarity of
thought. Cutterham’s gritty leadership and gallant act saved lives and
inspired his men.”

Sjt Cutterham, who received the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, the second
highest award for bravery, admitted that if he missed the grenade “it would
have been game over”.

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes