Poignant extracts from the war diary
of a Royal Marine killed in Afghanistan have revealed he predicted his
own death in a roadside bomb blast.
Lieutenant John Thornton, 22, of 40 Commando, wrote the diary in the days leading up to his death.
His vehicle struck a roadside bomb in the Kajaki area of Helmand Province in March 2008.
The spiral bound memoirs, detailing every moment of his six month tour, have now been published in a new book entitled ‘Helmand: Diaries of Front-Line Soldiers’, after his mother Linda painstakingly typed up his scribbled notes.
It opens with an emotional account of him writing his 'death letters' to his family and friends and goes on to reveal his growing fear that the prevalence of improvised explosive devices was rendering survival a numbers game.
He writes: '... it has dawned on me just how high the threat is from an IED strike within our area. I think it's the same for most when I say it is not the bullets that scare me but the cowardly bombs.'
He was so convinced he would die, that during a patrol on December 27 he organised for an ambulance to follow behind him because he was convinced there would be an explosion, the Sunday Times reports.
He writes: 'I apologise for writing my last entry as if I was about to die. I genuinely thought that I would.'
The book features dramatic details of battles and attacks by enemy insurgents, with one episode leaving him feeling 'physically sick' after one of his troop fired three grenades which landed close to another group of British soldiers.
It also notes the sometimes absurd
nature of war. In one entry he describes watching what he thought was an
insurgent for five hours, but turned out to be a large owl.
He was told by his superiors that his men were constantly singing his praises and that he was in line for a mentoring job at the commando training centre in Devon.
The book also includes an tribute from the Reverend Stuart Hallam, who was with Thornton - nicknamed JT - when he died.
He said he held his head as the operating theatre was 'awash with his blood'.
But he added: 'JT just lay there looking utterly peaceful- he was in a better place - certainly a better one than the rest of us.'
He then describes having to find a room and weep alone at the young man's death, before breaking the news to a group of marines who had gathered outside the hospital.
In 2011 Thornton’s brother, Ian, deployed to Afghanistan in command of 9 Platoon from the 1st Battalion, to an area of Helmand province not far from where he fell.
Ian’s diaries are also included in the book to highlight the vast progress that has been achieved in Helmand since his brother’s deployment.
The 31-year-old - who carried his brother's death letter inside his body armour when he went on patrol - spoke of his determination that he should not die on duty for his family's sake.
All royalties from sales of the book being split equally between the John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation and the Royal Marines Charitable Trust.
Lieutenant John Thornton, 22, of 40 Commando, wrote the diary in the days leading up to his death.
His vehicle struck a roadside bomb in the Kajaki area of Helmand Province in March 2008.
The spiral bound memoirs, detailing every moment of his six month tour, have now been published in a new book entitled ‘Helmand: Diaries of Front-Line Soldiers’, after his mother Linda painstakingly typed up his scribbled notes.
It opens with an emotional account of him writing his 'death letters' to his family and friends and goes on to reveal his growing fear that the prevalence of improvised explosive devices was rendering survival a numbers game.
He writes: '... it has dawned on me just how high the threat is from an IED strike within our area. I think it's the same for most when I say it is not the bullets that scare me but the cowardly bombs.'
He was so convinced he would die, that during a patrol on December 27 he organised for an ambulance to follow behind him because he was convinced there would be an explosion, the Sunday Times reports.
He writes: 'I apologise for writing my last entry as if I was about to die. I genuinely thought that I would.'
The book features dramatic details of battles and attacks by enemy insurgents, with one episode leaving him feeling 'physically sick' after one of his troop fired three grenades which landed close to another group of British soldiers.
The marine pictured with Daily Mail Defence
Correspondent Matthew Hickely in Helmand Province, Southern Afghanistan
in December 2007. He died in an IED explosion on Sunday 30 March 2008
He was told by his superiors that his men were constantly singing his praises and that he was in line for a mentoring job at the commando training centre in Devon.
The book also includes an tribute from the Reverend Stuart Hallam, who was with Thornton - nicknamed JT - when he died.
He said he held his head as the operating theatre was 'awash with his blood'.
But he added: 'JT just lay there looking utterly peaceful- he was in a better place - certainly a better one than the rest of us.'
He then describes having to find a room and weep alone at the young man's death, before breaking the news to a group of marines who had gathered outside the hospital.
In 2011 Thornton’s brother, Ian, deployed to Afghanistan in command of 9 Platoon from the 1st Battalion, to an area of Helmand province not far from where he fell.
Ian’s diaries are also included in the book to highlight the vast progress that has been achieved in Helmand since his brother’s deployment.
The 31-year-old - who carried his brother's death letter inside his body armour when he went on patrol - spoke of his determination that he should not die on duty for his family's sake.
All royalties from sales of the book being split equally between the John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation and the Royal Marines Charitable Trust.