Hero soldier is selling his gallantry medal to raise money to buy a home for his family.
Corporal Shaun Jardine joined the Army when he was only 16. When he was 21, he was a heroic soldier fighting in Iraq.
One day, as he was pinned down by enemy fire in the searing heat of the desert, he realized there was only one way out. To tackle the life-threatening situation, he single-handedly stormed two enemy positions before calling forward the rest of his patrol to drive the enemy from a third, Daily Mail reveals.
Recalling the fateful day, he says:
“I started running across the bridge. They were lying down and firing… I remember thinking, Why are they not hitting me?… I got to within 15 to 20 metres of them. I dropped to one knee, aimed, fired one round, quickly moved on to the second, and fired again.
My rounds went into the chest, under the arm, and came out the back of the neck. Both guys were instantly dead.”
For his noble deed, Jardine received the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross back in 2003. Now, he is selling his reward, hoping to raise £140,000($190,000) to buy a home for his family.
The Iraq war hero, who is also a father of two, left the Army as a Warrant Officer earlier this year.
Jardine also served in Northern Ireland and Afghanistan. Moreover, he took part in exercises in the Falklands, Cyprus, Jordan, Kenya, Canada, and Germany.
The Conspicuous Gallantry Cross Jardine was honored for his admirable act of heroism is second only to the Victoria Cross for gallantry. Moreover, it is the only CGC awarded to a member of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers.
The veteran’s courageous deed was immortalized by military artist David Rowlands. A print of Rowlands’ painting is being sold with the CGC and WO Jardine’s campaign medals.
The sale will take place on July 21, at Dix Noonan Webb of London. Sadly, this event emphasizes the issue of praiseworthy veterans having to sell their medals to afford a place to live.
