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The last patrol of a US marine in Afghanistan has been captured in a moving account of his final moments.
Lance Corporal Joshua Bernard was killed when his unit walked into an ambush while on patrol in the Taliban-controlled town of Dahaneh, southern Afghanistan.
A rocket-propelled grenade hit the 21-year-old in the legs.
A photographer from Associated Press who was with the troops gave a vivid insight into the battle and the desperate attempts of L-Cpl Bernard's comrades to save him.
Moments into a clash on the second day of their patrol on 14 August, Julia Jacobson stumbled across L-Cpl Bernard as she tried to escape gunfire. #
She said: "I saw the injured marine, about 10 yards from where I'd stood, with his legs just hanging on by skin.
"He was hit with the RPG, which blew off one of his legs and badly mangled the other. He lost consciousness a few minutes later just before they got him in the ambulance.
"The injured Marine kept saying, 'I can't breathe, I can't breathe.' The other guys kept telling him 'Bernard, you're doing fine, you're doing fine. You're gonna make it. Stay with me Bernard!' One held Bernard's head in his hands when he seemed to go limp and tried to keep him awake."
Another RPG hit a mud wall close by as efforts were underway to save L-Cpl Bernard's life.
Miss Jacobson said: "It was a big boom, and everything went quiet for about 10 seconds.
"It was silence like I was wearing head phones or like peace had descended upon the earth. The air was white with sand."
L-Cpl Bernard was airlifted to a hospital at Camp Leatherneck, a US base in Helmand, but he died of a blood clot in his heart on the operating table.
Reader views (9)
The idiotic comments that this is 'about oil' and about 'cleansing' the non-westerners shows either a deliberate attempt to mislead or complete ignorance of history. The attacks on 9/11, the attacks on the USS Cole, the embassy bombings, the airline hijacks, the suicide bombings- all of which were before Iraq and Afghanistan- demonstrate clearly that there is a large group of fundamentalists who simply hate the West and everything that it stands for. And if we leave them alone, they won't leave us alone, we will just end up with bombs in our cities. Our boys are fighting a war over there so that we don't have one over here.
- Ces, london
Why can't we bring our soldiers home; they could boost security at ports and airports. A friend arriving at Dover during the night said that there was no-one at the immigration desk.
- Vivienne Thompson, folkestone uk
I think some people are missing the POINT. it doesn't matter what the reason why they are there but like our boys a little respect is sometimes needed. perhaps save the polictical dire for another article.
RIP.
- Jonny, London
Our lads are dying in Afghanistan in order that the US can be helped to cleanse the planet of people who wont accept the US way of life and this "mission" will only serve to increase the enmity towards the US and its allies thereby encouraging attacks on them and us. America,and Israel, the biggest menace to world peace ever.
T H Leeds
- Thomas Hayes, Leeds UK
Their will be no OIL, when Saudi's realise the gravy train is almost finished the 911 carnage will be remembered as akin to a tea-party.
- William, Hay~Heath UK
I think the problems in the UK need to be sorted before we go bullying our way into Afghanistan, or any other country. Pull the troops out, waste of money and resources. If your going to send anyone over there into battle, send in all the knife carrying idiots that stab each other every weekend, and all the beered up chavs that start drunken scraps with innocent people. No-one would care what happened to them.
- Dom, London
In answer to Reuben Camara. They are there so that ``air heads `` like you can make stupid comments and still be alive.
- Peter Glazier, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Their is no OIL wealth, 911 carnage will be remembered as akin to a tea-party.
- William, Hay~Heath UK
Countless lives being lost in a war than the West cannot win.
Joe Public still does not understand why British soldiers are sacrificing their lives every day in Afghanistan - WHY? WHAT FOR? OIL?
- Reuben Camara, Morecambe Compound, EUSSR
