The miserable mothers of Afghanistan’s heroes demand to know: “Did our sons die in vain?”

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The mothers of soldiers killed fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan want a public inquiry into the 20-year war, saying it is based on a bed of lies.

As Taliban rebels retake Kabul, grieving mothers believe their sons died for nothing and that no British soldier should ever set foot there again.

Sunday marked the twelfth anniversary of the deaths of two of our heroes in Afghanistan – Sergeant Simon Valentine, 2nd Regiment, Royal Fusiliers, and Private Richard Hunt, 2nd Battalion, Royal Welsh.

In an open letter to Boris Johnson, the mothers called for successive governments to be held accountable for the tragic losses.

Helen L/Cpl’s son Michael Pritchard was 22 years old when he was murdered in Sangin, Helmand, on December 20, 2009.

Helen Berry with Lance Corporal’s son Michael Pritchard, who was 22 when he was accidentally killed in Helmand Province

He was serving in the 4th Regiment of the Royal Military Police when he was shot dead after mistaking him for an enemy.

Helen said: ‘My life is a great mixture of deep anger and sadness made worse by the fact that the Ministry of Defense lied to my face. They will not tell me the truth.

“A lot has been covered up to hide blunders and mistakes.

“Soldiers have been forced to lie in investigations on the orders of their superiors. Corruption within the Defense Ministry system is very deep.

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“Bereaved families are seen as collateral damage that does not deserve the truth.”

Carroll’s son, Sergeant Simon Valentine, was 29 when he was killed on August 15, 2009, while trying to clear landmines on a foot patrol near Sangin, Helmand Province.

Simon served with the 2nd Royal Battalion in the Royal Battalion and was a well-liked born captain.

Carol said, “My life was changed forever the day my son was killed, and sadness eats you daily and consumes you.

Carol Valentine is left with questions after her son is killed in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have regained power (

picture:

© Photographer William J. Griffiths)

I hardly sleep now, worried that anything bad might happen to my children and other grandchildren. I was once a happy person.

He said it was clearly all about controlling the oil and drugs there. He died for nothing, and he ruined my life.”

Caroline’s son, Sergeant Gareth Thurby, was serving in the 3rd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment, when he was shot dead by an Afghan policeman at a checkpoint in Helmand Province on September 15, 2012.

She said, “Our sons were sent to war on a bed of lies and after 20 years we are back to square one with the Taliban in control.

“It broke me and made me angry because our soldiers’ lives were treated in such a sloppy way, and I will never recover from losing Gareth.

“Bereaved mothers now are all part of a club that none of us want to be a member in but at least we have each other.

Sergeant Simon Valentine served with the royal son-in-law’s regiment and was killed in action in 2008 (

picture:

© Photographer William J. Griffiths)

“On the days I can’t keep it together, they take me and I do the same to them when they fall.

“No words are needed between us. We all share the same pain.”

Hazel Betty’s son Richard Hunt, of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Welsh Regiment, was mortally wounded in an explosion while on patrol in Musa Qaleh, Helmand.

The 21-year-old died two days later on August 15, 2009.

“The families left behind by this horrific war are stuck in prison for life,” Hazel said.

I am sick of the lies and political jargon used to justify the losses of our men and women.

“Our soldiers were lambs to slaughter and the politicians who sent them to Afghanistan bear the same responsibility as those who planted mines and bombs.

“If he achieved something, we can at least say that our children did not die in vain. But their sacrifices were for nothing.

“I will not forgive the politicians who used our sons as cannon fodder.”

Hazel Hunt with her son Richard Hunt, who was killed in Afghanistan while serving with the Royal Welsh Regiment (

picture:

© Photographer William J. Griffiths)

L/Cpl Jake Alderton, 22, was serving with 36 engineers when he was killed in Sangin, Helmand Province, on November 9, 2007.

The car he was traveling in came down from a bridge in a night operation and he died of suffocation and drowning.

Mother Leslie said, “My son died because he was sent to war with insufficient equipment.

That was up to the coroner’s verdict on his investigation. The soldiers’ night vision goggles were not up to the job which effectively meant that the driver had to drive blind.

My family destroyed. My 40-year marriage fell apart, and my eldest son and I fell apart.

“Some days I can barely lift myself and struggle with horrific memories of my son’s dying moments. It has left me with PTSD and panic and anxiety disorders.”

Caroline Munday-Baker with her son James Munday, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2008 (

picture:

© Photographer William J. Griffiths)

Caroline’s son, Trooper James Munday, aged 21, was serving in the Cavalry Regiment when he was killed in an explosion while driving a jackal in Helmand Province on October 15, 2008.

She said, “I’ve had amazing and continued support from my son’s cohort, but I could never properly grieve my son.

“I have dreams when he’s a baby. I try to hold him, but he just kept slipping out of my arms, moving away from me.

“You fought inside me at first and then a heartbreak erupts in that it never quits.

“Five years later, my body has given up like an old feather bed—springs exploding everywhere and feathers scattering everywhere.

“I finally had an interview with a psychiatrist after having thoughts of suicide and self-harm.”

An open letter to the mothers of dead soldiers to Boris Johnson

Dear Mr. Johnson,

There are 457 reasons why no British soldiers should ever be sent to fight in Afghanistan again.

This is the number of fallen heroic soldiers, who made the greatest sacrifices, and fought for their country.

It’s a shocking death toll that does not include the thousands who have returned with catastrophic physical and mental injuries, and the growing number of suicides.

Now we have left Afghanistan and the Taliban are in charge. a second.

What is the point of our children giving their lives in a war we should never have fought? For our dead children and the bereaved families left behind, this has been a huge waste and heartbreaking.

Now we believe our boys owe a debt for their sacrifices, with an investigation holding to account every politician who sent us to war–starting with the worst offender Tony Blair.

Was he going to send his son to fight on the front line? We don’t think so.

He must be forced to walk through the IED field and feel the robbery of death that our troops face every day.

He and his comrades treated our army like pawns on a chessboard while returning home it became a breeding ground for terror.

We were told that the war was to purge al-Qaeda, keep terrorism off British streets, and bring peace and stability to the Afghan people, but it failed.

Boris Johnson says getting UK nationals out of Afghanistan “as soon as possible” is a priority

If anything, all we did was lay a hornet’s nest and stir up hatred against us.

The invasion led to bloodshed on our streets, which is the opposite of what the politicians said they were trying to prevent.

Britain is now more dangerous and volatile than ever.

However, we are back to square one as the Taliban stand ready to rule once again, compounding our grief, and mocking the sacrifices of our sons.

Leslie Alderton with her son Lance Corporal Jake Alderton, who was killed in battle in Afghanistan (

picture:

© Photographer William J. Griffiths)

We believe our country, our troops, and the bereaved families of the dead have been lied to over and over again. As bereaved mothers, we remain proud of our son’s bravery.

But we’ve learned the hard way that war is about money and power – anyone who tells you otherwise is either involved in it or is stupid.

It was always about profit and control, like any other war.

That is why we urge you to open a public investigation, as we did with Iraq, to ​​have any chance of revealing at least some of the truth.

We want to know who won from this rotten war and why he sent our soldiers into battle unequipped with tools that are not fit for purpose. Fatal mistakes directly contributed to the deaths of soldiers, and left a lot of blood on the hands of our leaders like the Taliban.

A BBC journalist is confused when she receives an impromptu call from the Taliban live on air, a British Army officer from the 1st Battalion of the Royal Regiment of the Princess of Wales serving in Afghanistan in 2012 (

picture:

Palestinian Authority)

The former army chief, General Lord Dannatt, also called for an investigation to shed light on the wrongs of the conflict. We fully support it.

It’s sad for us to go back to where we started after 20 years.

The Taliban did exactly what they said – stop invading and wait for us to leave before turning back. You may not have sent our boys to war, but as our Prime Minister, you owe us the truth.

Wasn’t it all?

The Department of Defense has repeatedly lied to the families of our dead soldiers in an attempt to cover up their secrets and their failures.

We’ve always been dumped on a junk pile and no longer know who we can trust.

The false rhetoric of previous leaders has left us in despair.

Every politician who imposed sanctions on Afghanistan owes us and we want reassurance that not a single British soldier will ever be deployed to this deserted place again.

British soldiers with ISAF forces carry out a major operation in Helmand Province in 2007 (

picture:

Palestinian Authority)

History has shown that the price is very high.

We know war is a dirty business, but if you’re going to play Russian roulette with our children’s lives, you have at least the decency to give us the truth.

It is the least that our murdered sons and their families deserve.

To honor the fallen, we must respect the living and invite you as our Prime Minister to show your interest in a public inquiry.

Sincerely yours, Carol Valentine, Helen Berry, Hazel Hunt, Caroline Whitaker, Carolyn Jane Munday Baker and Leslie Alderton.

Dominic Raab returns from ‘vacation’ abroad as anger mounts over Afghan crisis Afghan president fled a nation to ‘prevent a bloodshed’ as the Taliban seized control of Kabul.

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