Johnson Beharry

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Johnson Beharry (2007)

Lance Corporal Johnson Gideon Beharry VC (born July 27, 1979 in Grenada ) is a British war veteran and holder of the Victoria Cross , which was awarded to him for two times bravery during the occupation of Iraq in 2004. He is also a holder of the NATO Service Medal with clasp and the Iraq Medal .

Childhood and youth

Beharry grew up in Grenada as the fourth of eight children in dysfunctional circumstances because his father was addicted to alcohol and violent . In his teens, Beharry dropped out of both school, which he went to barefoot three miles every day, and continuing education. After starting to work as a craftsman and construction worker , he also began to consume excessive amounts of alcohol and drugs, which is why he decided to leave Grenada. In August 1999 he moved to Great Britain and in August 2001 he signed up for the British Army , in which he was assigned to the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment. After being transferred to Kosovo and Northern Ireland, he was posted to Iraq in 2004.

Award

The Victoria Cross was awarded to Beharry as the first soldier since 1982 - the first living person since 1969 - for two independent events. On May 1, 2004, he freed a surrounded patrol in Al-Amarah , Iraq, at risk of death . To do this, he drove his Warrior , the command vehicle of the five-vehicle convoy , through a 1.5 km long road where paramilitary forces had set an ambush and shot at the convoy with various types of firearms and explosive devices.

On June 11, 2004, again as the driver of the lead vehicle, he was again ambushed in Al-Amarah, in which his vehicle was damaged and he himself was injured. Despite these injuries and decreased vision, he managed to drive the convoy as planned to relieve another patrol. In total, Beharry's actions are said to have saved the lives of nearly 30 soldiers. To this day, Beharry suffers from the consequences of the explosion of an anti-tank shell that detonated just under 15 centimeters from his head during use.

After active duty

In September 2006, the Department of Defense promoted Beharry from Private to Lance Corporal. Officially, he is still subordinate to his employment relationship. However, his battered physical and mental condition makes an actual return to active service unlikely.

In May 2005, six days after receiving the medal, he separated from his wife Lynthia, who worked for the Ministry of Defense as a civilian in medical care.

Since becoming known, Beharry has appeared as a speaker, author and public figure. In 2006 he published his autobiography, Barefoot Soldier , for which he received a fee of just under £ 1 million. The BBC withdrew from the production of a film about Beharry in April 2007, fearing for their critical distance from the Iraq war and the reactions of viewers who opposed the war. In February 2009 he criticized the Ministry of Defense for the inadequate care of war veterans with regard to post-traumatic stress disorder .

A plant growing on Grenada, the Heliconia psittacorum x spathocircinata “Johnson Beharry VC” , and a wing of the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst are named after Beharry . He has had an image of his Victoria Cross tattooed on his back.

In 2011 he took part in the sixth season of the figure skating show Dancing on Ice .

literature

  • Beharry, Johnson; Cook, Nick: Barefoot Soldier - A Story of Extreme Valor , Little, Brown Book 2006, ISBN 0-316-73321-0

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. Book presentation ( Memento from September 6, 2008), accessed March 1, 2009.
  2. ↑ a b c cf. Beharry's short biography ( memento April 17, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), accessed March 1, 2009.
  3. ^ Hattersley, Giles: Baffled by his own courage , in: Times Online , October 1, 2006. Accessed March 1.
  4. ^ Evans, Michael: Plain medal still honors rare mettle, 150 years on , in: Times Online, June 27, 2006. Accessed March 1, 2009.
  5. ↑ top v .: VC hero Beharry awarded promotion , in: September 26, 2006. Accessed March 1, 2009.
  6. ↑ o. V .: VC hero Beharry splits from wife , in: BBC Online, May 18, 2005. Accessed March 1, 2009.
  7. ↑ Hastings, Chris: Hero's tale is “too positive” for the BBC , in: Telegraph Online, April 7, 2007. Accessed March 1, 2009.
  8. ↑ cf. Judd, Terri: Iraq hero goes on the warpath , in: Independent Online , February 28, 2009. Accessed March 1, 2009.
  9. ↑ cf. Johnson Beharry VC ( September 5, 2008 memento on the Internet Archive ). Accessed March 1, 2009.
  10. ↑ above: Iraq hero opens new military wing , in: BBC Online, February 27, 2006. Accessed March 1, 2009.
  11. ↑ Wheeler, Virginia: Tattoo agony worse than being blown up , in: The Sun , June 5, 2008. Accessed March 1, 2009.
  12. ^ ITV1's Dancing on Ice 2011 line-up revealed , Dec. 19, 2010, BBC News
personal data
SURNAME Beharry, Johnson
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Beharry, Johnson Gideon (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British war veteran and holder of the Victoria Cross
DATE OF BIRTH July 27, 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH Grenada