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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A heroic soldier whose quick decision-making forced a ceasefire in Sierra Leone ten years ago has returned to the African nation with a hero’s welcome.<\/p>\n
The Sun reported that General David Richards – who at the time was Brigadier David Richards – was first sent to west Africa in May 2000 as part of efforts to rescue stranded British citizens and United Nations workers amidst Sierra Leone’s civil war.<\/p>\n
During his mission, he took the decision to disobey orders to carry out the evacuation operation and instead made a move to work with the local army to push back the rebels after he saw the brutality that had been inflicted on children and adults in the region.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, his brave gamble paid off and General Richards’ actions eventually led to the signing of a ceasefire within weeks.<\/p>\n
"I thank the Lord someone made me a soldier. I was just lucky to be sent here that day," General Richards said on his return visit to Sierra Leone.<\/p>\n
A troop of brave servicemen who had recently returned from a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan were welcomed back as heroes when they touched down in Edinburgh earlier this month.<\/p>\n
Members of 3rd Battalion The Rifles celebrated an emotional reunion with their families and friends after their time in Helmand province.<\/p>\n
Posted by Simon Williams<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A soldier hero has returned to Sierra Leone to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the actions he took to end the nation’s civil war.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n