an honour and a privelege.

[Boggy]

this afternoon whilst delivering a landrover. i had the hounour and privelege of standing alongside the people of wooton basset. whilst the coffin carring the body of staff sargeant Olaf Schmid passed by.
people stood in silence till the hearse passed by then quietly and reservedly applauded.old vetrans dressed in blazers and berets proudly displaying thier medals saluting as it drove past.it was bitterly cold and not one complained.
and i can honestly say that was one of the most humbling experiences of my life.

staff sargeant Schmid was killed by an improvised bomb on the last day of his current tour, and had already disarmed 64 devices during his time in afganistan.
his family can rightly feel proud of a true hero.

RIP Olaf Schmid

[Aidi]

Nice post Ron.

Olaf and I were in the same unit back in the late 90's I used to give him a lift to and from Truro when i was down visiting friends. Never really kept in touch, so it was a bit of a shock when i read about it.

It must be quite soul searching to be present when the hearse drives by. Its a real credit to the nation what the community of Wotton Bassett do to honour those who have died.

I wonder how many more I know will be killed before this ends?

Rgds
Aidi

[Supercaptaincrash]

Always sad to see our lads fighting for the country die! the latest one with the training of afghan police in my eyes is disgusting ! how our lads can happily train the local police,combat and survival,who are probably 99% bent,after one of them turned on us and killed 6! is beyond me! any of the local police can and probably will again turn on us again!

[moonmanflyer]

I read about Olaf today at lunchtime on the bbc news website, a real hero and i bet it was a real honar Ron.

[Boggy]

im sorry to hear that Olaf was a mate of yours Aidi. of course i didn't know him personaly but today has had a massive impact on me, to be in wooton as one of these cortèges pass by is very moving,and suddenly made me realise just how disconnected from what is happening to you guys out there, that we the general public really are.
it was certainly an emotion i wont forget in a hurry.


i didnt think of the web news links James here is a piece about him

[url]http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/Afghanistan/article6899628.ece[/url]

[Kwickkwack]

Good post Ron especially as we are in midst of the Poppy Day appeal time.
Must be tough on the families of all those who dont come home, or come home injured.
Respect for the guys out there and wear your poppy with pride everyone.

[chally3]

Its very moving to see respect given like that, I'm fortunate that a good friend has recently came out of the special forces in 1 piece after 3 tours in Afghanistan. The stories he tells are absolutely shocking & almost beyond belief. He has attended 17 funerals this year of comrades alone. Some people may say they are not heroes, there just doing their job - but you realy cannot imagine what really goes on...so so shocking I know 1st hand what he goes though every day adjusting to what we take for granted.. And now he is still giving something back to us 'civies' be becoming a paramedic!!! Its him & some of his Forces friends I have met that have inspired me to do the Kilimanjiro cimb next year with Help For Heroes to do my bit..

[Adrian]

Well as you know ron my future son in law was blown up 9 weeks ago,now that hes on the mend im going with him and his regiment to see them get there medels.
Think its going to be a moving day for freinds ,family especialy for the ones whos loved ones arnt coming home (3) with his regiment.
And with the guys who have lost limbs and wounded badly (14) with his reg.

well done guys and girls :patriotuk:;)

rip ssrgt shmid.

[zoombolt]

Puts it all into perspective really, doesn't it.......