The widow of a Fife Black Watch soldier killed in a firefight with the Taliban more than two years ago has revealed that she still keeps four precious letters from her husband locked in a safe unopened.
The letters were written by Corporal Sean Binnie, of Kirkcaldy an acting sergeant with the Black Watch 3rd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland but did not reach Amanda until a few days after he was killed in Afghanistan in May 2009.
After Sean died, five letters he had already written arrived. Mrs Binnie read one of them at her husband’s grave on her birthday in June 2009.
It said: ”I miss you like mad. Not being with you is driving me crazy. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you…”
It was too much for the young widow, who had only been married for six months, to bear.
”I haven’t been able to read the others yet,” she said.
Sean, who was 22, was killed during an ambush near Musa Qaleh in Helmand Province in Afghanistan. According to an account by his commanding officer, he volunteered to help soldiers in trouble during a fierce firefight as they trained Afghan soldiers.
Without concern for his own safety, Sean moved towards Taliban soldiers hurling grenades. He was shot by a gunman hiding in a doorway.
His heroic efforts turned the tide of the battle and saved the lives of terrified women and children caught in the crossfire.
As we reported (link), a poignant ceremony took place at Kirkcaldy War Memorial at the weekend where his name has been added to the roll of honour.
Now, however, Amanda is hoping that Sean’s death will encourage more people to think about ex-service people and their families in the run-up to Remembrance Day.
As an ambassador for the charity Poppyscotland, her story is being told in leaflets delivered across Scotland with recipients encouraged to plant a Remembrance Cross with a personal message in the Edinburgh Field of Remembrance.
Mrs Binnie said she would be planting a cross in the Field of Remembrance in Belfast where she lived and she shared a poem she wrote in tribute to Sean. It reads:
I stand on the tarmac feeling cold, alone,I wait for the moment, my hero’s coming home.He gave his life for freedom,So we can all be free,But as I stand here waiting,I wish you were here with me.
I will not feel your touch again, Or watch you as you sleep, pick up your clothes, hear you laugh,The sadness makes me weep.But as they bring you from the plane,Draped with red, white and blue,I know you’re a hero and I’m so proud of you.For more information on this year’s poppy appeal, and to donate, visit www.poppyscotland.org.uk