Newport soldier to climb Kilimanjaro in mate's memory (From South Wales Argus)
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Newport soldier to climb Kilimanjaro in mate's memory
6:30pm Thursday 21st October 2010 in News
A NEWPORT soldier will honour the memory of a comrade who lost his life in Afghanistan by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
Rifleman Michael Perry, 26, was last year devastated by the death of friend Rifleman William Aldridge - who remains the youngest British soldier to die in the Afghanistan conflict, aged 18 and 47 days.
Their platoon, which is part of the Northern Ireland-based 2nd Battalion The Rifles, lost 11 soldiers during deployment to Helmand Province between March and October 2009 - and their company lost a further three men.
Last October, Rifleman Aldridge’s mother, Lucy, launched the William Aldridge Foundation in his memory, to support armed forces charities.
Rifleman Perry is supporting the foundation by flying to Africa today in a bid to raise £40,000 through a fundraising climb with Rifleman Aldridge’s girlfriend, Zeta Price, 20.
The two soldiers met in 2008 during pre-deployment training for Afghanistan.
Their platoon travelled to Helmand Province in March 2009, but Rifleman Aldridge, from Bromyard, Herefordshire, did not join them until two months later because he had to wait until he was 18 - then tragically died less than two months later.
On July 10 last year, Rifleman Aldridge was killed by an explosion in Sangin, while helping fellow servicemen who had been wounded in a previous explosion - in which he, too, had been injured.
Five soldiers from the platoon died in the blast.
Rifleman Perry, who was at home with his family on a fortnight’s leave at the time of the incident and heard about the deaths on the news, said his friend was "fiercely proud" of being one of the youngest soldiers serving in Helmand Province.
"It was a true honour to have known him and to have worked alongside him, he was so young and really dedicated."
Rifleman Perry joined the army aged 22 in 2006, and was deployed to Basra Palace, Iraq, three months later.
The former St Julian’s Comprehensive School pupil is married to Victoria, 22, and has a one-year-old son, Lincoln, who was born just three weeks before he was deployed to Afghanistan, and a two-month-old son called Damien.
He said he himself faced dangers everyday but considers himself lucky to be alive.
He said: "Almost every day I would find myself in danger and being shot at. I am proud of myself but when you lose a fellow soldier, you do think if there is anything you could have done differently. Out there it is nothing like what you see on the television."
He added: "When leaving my family, I just had to put on a brave face. It was so hard missing out on Lincoln growing up at first but then I am lucky to be able to return and see him."
The Kilimanjaro Challenge |
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* Rifleman Perry and Zeta Price will fly to Tanzania today and return on October 31 |
