I, like many others, have read this thread from the start and was deeply saddened by the news.
Whilst I cannot relate any stories to you (only being 18 and not in the services), this thread has really hammered home what it means to serve, and I hope somebody reading it may appreciate my feelings.
Coming from a strong RAF family, with many family friends still serving, I hope to follow my parents in, and take more interest in what you all get up to wherever you are deployed in the world.
It is a shame it takes a loss such as this to bring to the forefront of our minds the danger which you face on a daily basis. Sometimes Joe-public (nice name...) forgets that behind the politics of if we should be there or not, there are people such as yourselves who are making us proud of our country, proud of our way of life, and proud of our forces.
Im not ashamed to admit I may have become rather tearful at some of the messages left here, and while this has been a very hard and unusual post to write, I felt I needed to contribute somehow.