The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
‘Heroes’ memorialised
Fife soldier Liam Tasker, who was shot and killed in 2011, will be “remembered forever” alongside his four-legged companion on the Armed Forces Memorial Wall.
The 26-year-old died in Afghanistan while he was on patrol with his loyal explosives search dog, Theo.
Hours after the death of Lance Corporal Tasker, Theo suffered a seizure and died. Many of Liam’s friends and family believe the springer spaniel died of a broken heart because of the bond the pair enjoyed.
They had been on patrol in Helmand Province before Liam was killed, and Theo suffered the fatal seizure after returning to Camp Bastion. Now, the Veterans’ Foundation has memorialised Liam and Theo together forever in their Armed Forces Memorial.
Speaking 10 years on from her son’s death, Liam’s mum Jane Duffy said that it still feels like yesterday.
“It’s 10 years for me, but it still feels like yesterday and I’ve had people say to me that you must be able to move on, but you can’t move on,” said Jane.
Liam was repatriated with the ashes of his beloved Theo and they were buried together in Tayport. Jane said that one of her fears was that Liam would be forgotten, and the
Veterans’ Foundation hopes that its memorial wall will help this.
“As a mum, your biggest fear is that your sons or daughters are going to be forgotten,” Jane said.
She added: “They died serving the country, they should always be remembered. There’s so many people forgotten about, but they’re all heroes.”
The Veterans’ Foundation also highlighted Liam’s work alongside Theo, helping to rid Afghan farming communities of deadly improvised
explosives. “The duo had significant success across Helmand Province, detecting improvised explosive devices (IEDS) which saved lives not only amongst British Army units, but also in the Afghan farming community who were suffering more casualties than combatants in the area,” the foundation said.
It added: “Theo had set a new record for bomb finds during their time on deployment and was even awarded the Dickin Medal, also known as the animals’ Victoria Cross, in 2012.”