Paras march on No10 to demand medal for ‘Corporal Bulletproof’ ...their forgotten hero of the Falklands War
FIVE hundred Paratroopers are to march on Downing Street in a bid to persuade David Cameron to give a gallantry medal to a soldier who died in a ferocious battle during the Falklands War.
Corporal Stewart ‘ Bulletproof’ McLaughlin, 27, was killed by rocket fire after leading a succession of daredevil charges towards Argentine machine-gun and sniper posts during the Battle of Mount Longdon in June 1982. The Paras routed enemy positions and secured a heroic victory.
The capture of Mount Longdon proved hugely significant. The peak overlooks the Falklands’ capital, Port Stanley, and within two days of the battle UK soldiers were able to force the Argentinians to surrender.
After the battle, Cpl McLaughlin’s commanding officer put him forward for a medal. But the soldier’s family claim the handwritten citation was lost before it could be typed and sent to London for approval.
The march to No10 in July is in protest against the Ministry of Defence’s
‘It was the bravest thing
troops had ever seen’
refusal to consider a retrospective medal. The Prime Minister has the authority to grant awards to veterans in exceptional circumstances.
Cpl McLaughlin’s commanding officer, Lieutenant General Sir Hew Pike, has now taken the unprecedented step of writing a new citation, insisting the soldier deserves formal recognition and that his actions were ‘absolutely instrumental’ in determining the outcome of the battle.
‘At one point he ran forward under fire to pull a wounded man back into cover by grabbing his webbing [a waistband with storage pouches], his example reassuring those around him that he did not seem fazed by anything and if they too were hit he would get them back to relative safety,’ writes Sir Hew.
‘McLaughlin realised that it was only a matter of time before they incurred more casualties so he shouted, “I’ll count one, two, three, then we all go.” About a minute later he did the countdown and shouted, “Come on lads, I’m bulletproof, follow me!”
‘He then ran forward towards the gunfire, followed by the rest of the section, who all reached the cover of the rocks unscathed. Members of the section commented later that it was the bravest thing they had ever seen.
‘Cpl McLaughlin’s leadership through a terrible battle, of which his young soldiers had no previous experience, inspired confidence in all and sustained those who might otherwise have faltered.’
Cpl McLaughlin, from Liverpool, was among 23 Paras killed that night. After the battle, regimental officers recommended which soldiers deserved medals – but Army top brass ruled that only those citations typed on the appropriate forms would be considered. In the end, just nine awards were made.
The soldier’s son, also called Stewart, said: ‘At the time they didn’t have a typewriter, so they liberated an Olivetti from the Argentinians.
‘There was then a mad rush to type up as many of the citations as possible before the Paras came home.
‘A citation was never typed up for my father so I’d like the Prime Minister to right a wrong that has stood for so long. Mr Cameron is our only hope because the Ministry of Defence doesn’t consider appeals for medals.’
The Prime Minister can make extraordinary awards. In 2012, Mr Cameron announced that sailors who delivered supplies to Russia during the Second World War should receive the Arctic Star.
The Ministry of Defence said: ‘Citations for operational gallantry awards are written at the time of the operation and there are clear opportunities to ensure any omissions are addressed at the time.
‘Any changes now would undermine the integrity of the awards.’ Cpl Stewart McLaughlin