Hello chaps, Isn't it funny how some past events seem just as fresh as the day they happened? 4 years ago today, my dearest and closest friend, and a very much-liked member of the EAW community passed away after a battle with a liver disorder. He was 36. Acute renal failure is what the doctors called it. I still believe to this day that it was brought on by gulf war syndrome. Dinger and I served together in the Parachute Regiment, of which we were both fiercely proud. We saw action in the Falklands, and the Gulf, and every other minor skirmish in between (Northern Ireland etc) we were inseparable buddies. His passing left a huge gaping hole, not only in my life, but in that of his wife and son too. They now live in Scotland, and both are doing well. I see them at least two or three times a year. Many of the members on this forum are ex, or still serving members of the armed forces, they will have a better idea of where one is coming from when I talk about the fierce, strong and almost indestructible bond of friendship that forms between soldiers. Dinger was like a brother to me, and there is not a day that goes by, where one does not think about him. His old berets (one maroon, one beige) have pride of place on the shelf above my study desk, along with a photo of us both in the gulf in 91' and of the two of us in the south Atlantic in 82' There are countless other pictures that I have, but they only tend to come out when the PTSD is at its worst. I find that looking at all those faces, some of them no longer here, tends to help, and to calm my screaming head, and to ease its confusion, and sometimes calm the anger that I feel. Anyway, enough of the ramblings of a not so old ex soldier. Do me a favour chaps, when you see your loved one's today, give them a hug, tell them you love them, and remember all the people out there who would give everything just to be able to hug someone that they have lost. I know, I'm one of them. Regards, Pathfinder.