Lance Corporal Joshua Leakey

I too was so impressed with his humble and generous manner well done that man.. I've never seen a senior officer 'HUG' someone quite like that either they both looked a bit 'shocked'.

What a fantastic young man. Each and everyone of us salutes you.

I stand in awe of this utterly self-effacing young man, and of all our infantry and other front line servicemen. I have been around soldiers all my adult life and it brought tears to my eyes to see Nick Houghton give him a hug - DH said he had certainly never seen such a spontaneous demonstration from a senior officer before, so one can only assume that he must have been moved to it by the sheer extent of his bravery.

Wonderful man - his family and his regiment must be very proud of him. We are so lucky to be protected by our armed forces- very grateful to them.

Yes, I agree with all that. How worried parents/relatives of soldiers serving in battle areas must be, and how deservedly proud when something like this happens. But then we should all be proud of the servicemen who do such a great job in difficult situations which unless we experience them know nothing of.

Well said grannyactivist and Celtic Rose for your OP!

This young man is proof of everything which is held dear in our thoughts. He was 'unasumingly' courageous in battle and put himself last. He was not a bigheaded oaf but a quiet lad who probably to this day would do the same again as duty and comradeship means so much to him. He simply epitomises bravery, selfishness and comradery.

What a gracious, unassuming young man he seems to be; giving credit to his team and feeling unworthy that he's been singled out. I thought the quote from his parents was very moving:
“As Josh’s parents we are so thankful to God that he survived that day – along with many other occasions during his three operational tours in Afghanistan. Our hearts go out to so many other parents whose sons and daughters did not survive that long conflict. ‘You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day…’ (Psalm 91 v 5).”

I loved that his senior officer saluted him, then embraced him. The second VC for this family. That certainly is something to be proud of.

How proud must this wonderful young man's family be. I bet they are just bursting with pride. Well done that man.

Yes. He is very brave. His family must be very proud of him.