When I was on my last legs, I could hear my fallen war hero brother telling me not to quit
SAS show recruit’s inspiration
There’s a heartbreaking reason softly spoken Milo Mackin has been one of the most impressive recruits in SAS: Who Dares Wins. He wants to impress his “hero” older brother Travis, who was killed in action with the Royal Marines in Afghanistan.
“When I was on my last legs and deprived of sleep, I remembered Travis and he was telling me not to quit and to hang on in there,” Milo says.
“His death had a massive impact on me. I wanted to make Travis proud.”
Milo, 25, has in fact made his whole family proud by impressing Ant Middleton and his fellow instructors to reach the final of the tough reality show.
Popular Travis was just 22 when he was killed by an IED in the Kajaki area of Helmand province in 2009.
Milo, then 15, who he nicknamed Squirt, only had two days off school to grieve as he was about to sit his GCSEs.
“I remember that day like the back of my hand,” he says. “Everything since then has been like one big blur.”
Milo recalls the moment his mum Debbie, now 57, came into the house to tell him that Travis was dead.
“She looked like a ghost, shaking, crying,” he says. “She said: ‘It’s Travis. He’s not coming back.’ I thought it was some sort of sick joke, because it’s not something you want to believe. I’d spoken to Travis on the phone, he was fine, and 12 hours later he was gone. It was surreal.”
Middle brother Corbin, 30, was also serving in Afghanistan in 1st Battalion, the Rifles at the time.
Corbin, who has twice been a finalist on ITV show Ninja Warrior, has PTSD and now works as a gas engineer.
The brothers’ close bond – they compete in triathlons together – has helped them through their bereavement.
“I know now if there is anyone I need to speak to, Corbin will be there,” says Milo. “Corbin egged me on to sign up for the show. He said: ‘You should join up, mate, and see if you’ve got what it takes.’”
Milo believes the experience of appearing on the show has brought him Milo, centre, aged 15 at funeral