The Times wrote:
A Royal Marine who threw himself over an exploding grenade to shield his comrades from the blast has been recommended for a Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest military honour.
Lance Corporal Matt Croucher, who was on a reconnaissance mission in southern Afghanistan, escaped unscathed except for a nosebleed when his rucksack took the force of the blast.
The three men who were with him suffered only minor cuts and bruises and have recommended to their commanding officer that Lance Corporal Croucher, a Marine reservist from Birmingham, be honoured for his bravery.
Lance Corporal Croucher and his troop were on patrol last month near their base in Sangin, Helmand province, when he stepped into a tripwire that pulled the pin from a boobytrap grenade.
He said: “I thought, I’ve set this bloody thing off and I’m going to do whatever it takes to protect the others. I’m very tight with the three other guys. There have been a few times when they have saved my bacon.
“I knew a grenade like this has a killing circumference of about five metres. So I got down with my back to the grenade and used my body as a shield. It was a case of either having four of us as fatalities or badly wounded, or one.â€
Lance Corporal Matt Croucher, who was on a reconnaissance mission in southern Afghanistan, escaped unscathed except for a nosebleed when his rucksack took the force of the blast.
The three men who were with him suffered only minor cuts and bruises and have recommended to their commanding officer that Lance Corporal Croucher, a Marine reservist from Birmingham, be honoured for his bravery.
Lance Corporal Croucher and his troop were on patrol last month near their base in Sangin, Helmand province, when he stepped into a tripwire that pulled the pin from a boobytrap grenade.
He said: “I thought, I’ve set this bloody thing off and I’m going to do whatever it takes to protect the others. I’m very tight with the three other guys. There have been a few times when they have saved my bacon.
“I knew a grenade like this has a killing circumference of about five metres. So I got down with my back to the grenade and used my body as a shield. It was a case of either having four of us as fatalities or badly wounded, or one.â€
I've no idea of what kind of training they get but it seems like quick thought to use his rucksack to absorb the brunt of the explosion.