Royal Marine Given George Cross

Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher received the George Cross, the highest medal along with the Victoria Cross for gallantry, for throwing himself over a grenade to save his comrades. Times Online

See the difference between our fighting men and the terrorists is that ours will sacrifice their lives to save the lives of those around them. Terrorists will kill themselves to kill those around them.

A Royal Marine who is to be awarded the George Cross for saving the lives of his comrades by throwing himself on top of a grenade has spoken of the agonising moments after he set off a Taleban booby trap.

Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher, 24, said he was certain that he was going to die after he triggered the device during a mission in the Helmand region of southern Afghanistan.

He said: “I felt the tripwire hit my shins. You know immediately what that means. All I could do in the moment was shout out, ‘Grenade’ before diving on top of it.”

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For five “agonising” seconds he lay on his back, certain he would be killed or seriously injured, before the device went off. He was thrown into the air by the force of the explosion but survived with minor injuries as his rucksack cushioned the blow. “It was incredible. I escaped with only a nose bleed and a headache,” he said.

ance Corporal Croucher, from Solihull, Warwickshire, had been serving with 40 Commando Royal Marines as a reservist since last autumn. He said that he put himself on the line because he felt guilty for setting off the device.

His rucksack, which included a large battery that “set off like a flare”, was almost completely destroyed.

The three men with him during the incident in February suffered only minor cuts and injuries. They later passed on a citation to their commanding officer.