Strapped to a Apache How Troops Recovered Fallen Comrade

It was an extraordinary end to a tragic operation. When Lance Corporal Mathew Ford was shot during an assault on a Taliban fortress last Monday, his comrades mounted a dramatic rescue mission that saw soldiers being strapped to the wings of helicopter gunships as they crossed a river under heavy enemy fire. The remarkable mission, dubbed Flight of the Phoenix by some, did not save the life of the 30yearold marine who, it turned out, had died instantly from gunshot wounds. But it may gain four courageous marines an honoured place in British military history books.