Royal Marine Throws Himself on a Grenade

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 11:42 am

A Royal Marine who threw himself onto an exploding grenade to save the lives of his patrol has been put forward for the UK's highest military honour.

Lance Corporal Matt Croucher, 24, a reservist from Birmingham, survived because his rucksack and body armour took the force of the blast.

He was part of a reconnaissance troop in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in February, when the incident happened.

The Ministry of Defence said he could be considered for the Victoria Cross.

Bloodied nose

A spokesman said L/Cpl Croucher's comrades had made a citation to their commanding officer and officers were now considering whether to put his name forward for the honour.

L/Cpl Croucher, a member of 40 Commando, had been searching a compound south of Sangin which was suspected as being used for making bombs to attack British and Afghan troops.

When a Taleban booby-trap grenade was tripped, L/Cpl Croucher jumped on to the device to absorb the force of the explosion with his backpack as his comrades dived for cover.

The blast blew his rucksack more than 30ft away but he remarkably suffered only severe shock and a bloodied nose in the incident.

frigidmagi · Post by **frigidmagi** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 11:44 am

Let me say he deserves the award in full and I am damn glad he made through okay. Thank God and Modern Technology (and all those working on it) for that armor.

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 2:02 pm

Damn, he's lucky to get away with just a broken nose!

Hadrianvs · Post by **Hadrianvs** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 10:21 pm

This man is awesome, he had the balls to throw himself on a grenade, and the brains to use his rucksack as a shield.

The Village Idiot · Post by **The Village Idiot** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 5:45 am

*Salute*

That man should never again want. He showed courage, selflessness, and care for those around him that any man or god should be damn proud of.

And for that matter, damn glad to see our armor technology is catching up.

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman · Tue Apr 01, 2008 9:55 am

Makes me wonder what kind of body armor he wore. It protected him from a grenade, at point blank range, so it must be a damn good piece of technology indeed.

IIRC the reason armor was discarded is because 16th century musket can penetrate plate armor, so it became unnecessary weight. Did Corporal Croucher wear a new type of body armor? The kind that can reasonably protect the wearer from grenade explosion? Will we see the return of armor? And how will it change infantry tactics?

Or have I just not been updated on armor technology lately?

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 2:47 pm

Read the article again. He was not only wearing body armour, but he had his backpack between him in the grenade.

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