COMMANDOS have described the dramatic rescue mission they carried out to rescue their fallen comrade in Afghanistan.

L/Cpl Mathew Ford of 45 Commando was struck by enemy fire as he led his men in an assault on the Taleban stronghold of Jugroom Fort in southern Helmand province.

It was only when the Royals regrouped following the initial attack that they realised their comrade was missing; they vowed to get him back.

The operation which followed earned the marines worldwide media recognition. Four commandos strapped themselves to the outer ‘hull’ of two Apache gunships, which flew the men back to Jugroom to recover L/Cpl Ford.

Having flown low over the Helmand terrain at 50mph, one Apache set down at Jugroom, allowing two men to climb off and find their comrade who was, tragically, already dead.

After about three minutes, Taleban forces awoke and began directing fire at the Apache. The second helicopter poured fire on the insurgents while the two marines carried the body of their comrade back to their Apache.

Both aircraft successfully returned from the mission with all four volunteers, plus L/Cpl Ford’s body.

With typical commando magnanimity, the men who took part in the rescue mission said any of their comrades would have acted in the same way.

“I’m just grateful that we found L/Cpl Ford, got him back to the helicopter and back with us,” said WO1 Colin Hearn, Regimental Sergeant Major.

“I’m a Royal Marine. I’m RSM of the unit. He’s a Royal Marine – the same as me. There was no way we ever going to leave him, or anyone else, on that battlefield.”

Another volunteer for the mission, Capt Dave Rigg, of 28 Engineer Regiment, the battlegroup’s engineer and a green beret-qualified soldier, echoed the senior NCO’s words.

“There were a lot of very brave guys that day, from the pilots to the young lads who went into the fort,” he added.

“In these circumstances, everyone is drawn together. You just pull together and do it. It wouldn’t have mattered who he was – he was one of us.”