Mothers bond as soldier sons died on same day
TWO mothers whose soldier sons died on the same day 10 years ago after explosions in Afghanistan have been united by their grief.
Private Richard Hunt, 21, of the Royal Welsh, and Sergeant Simon Valentine, 29, of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, had never met, and were killed on August 15, 2009.
But their mums, Hazel Hunt and Carol Valentine, often see images of them side by side in TV and press reports.
The women, who both believe their sons’ deaths were in vain during a “pointless” conflict, met at a ceremony at the Royal British Legion’s National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
Hazel, of Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, said: “I waited so long to meet Carol and when I did the floodgates opened.
“I feel like I have known her all my life and it brought me great comfort to hold her, knowing we share a pain like no other on earth.” Carol, of Bedworth, Warwickshire, added: “We share a deep bond over losing our children at the same time in this horrible war.
“We bring comfort to one another in a way no-one else can because we don’t need to explain the devastation of our grief to each other.”
Pte Hunt and Sgt Valentine fell during the bloodiest period of the war, with 17 others being killed that August, following 22 deaths in July.
Pte Hunt was driving a military
vehicle on patrol near Musa Qala in Helmand Province on August 13, 2009, when it was hit by a Taliban bomb.
He suffered catastrophic injuries and died at Selly Oak military hospital in Birmingham two days later.
He was the 200th British soldier to die in Afghanistan and 254 other deaths, including that of Sgt Valentine, followed.
Last month Hazel told the Western Mail: “He was a designated sniper, not a driver.
“He was a qualified driver too, and as the soldier who was meant to be driving had been sick, Richard took over. I remember him joking to me, ‘The buggers have got me driving now’.
“On that day they had to drive through some abandoned compounds, and Richard started to make his way through. His was the 15th vehicle to drive over the explosive device, which had been buried in the ground.
“It ripped his seat off its anchors. He had the hood down to protect him from sniper fire and after the explosion they managed to get the hood off quickly to see if Richard was still breathing. He was.
“He was flown by helicopter to a hospital over there and the doctors were able to stabilise him. He was then flown home to a hospital in Birmingham, which is where we met him.
“The doctors told us straightaway that there was nothing they could do. It was just a matter of time. But we managed to spend four precious hours with him.
“At 2.15pm on Saturday, August 15, my son died. He would have been 22 the following week.”
She added: “He loved the job for the most part. It became his home. The last phone call I got from Richard he was chuffed to bits because he was one of four snipers on a patrol. He was made up because he had his rifle and a hand revolver. So he was prepared, there’s no doubt.
“I don’t think it was a case of a lack of equipment. It was strategy. They should have had helicopters checking that area instead of letting soldiers go in on the ground, driving over it.”
In the aftermath of his death she set up the charity Welsh Warrior, The Richard Hunt Foundation, to help soldiers, veterans and their families. It raised £350,000 and ran for eight years.
Sgt Valentine, who had completed tours of Kosovo, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan, died trying to clear landmines near Sangin, Helmand Province, later the same day.
Earlier this week Hazel and Carol spent an afternoon together at the arboretum and laid wreaths at the Bastion Wall, which honours the 456 UK soldiers who gave their lives in Afghanistan.
They both planned to spend yesterday’s anniversary grieving in private.
Carol said: “While our grieving will never leave us, our sons’ battles are over and we can only hope they are resting in peace.”