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Wounded Soldier's 13,000ft Leap For Charity
9:54am Saturday September 25, 2010
Alison Chung
Paratrooper Ben Parkinson, the most seriously wounded British soldier to survive the war in Afghanistan, is to take part in a charity skydive later today.
Ben Parkinson made his first jump for charity on September 11. Photo: Sean Sutcliffe
It will be the second time that the Lance Bombardier will have made a tandem skydive with the Royal British Legion Extreme Human Flight Team, Jump4Heroes. Ben made his first dive on September 11 - the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks and the eve of the fourth anniversary of the incident in which he was seriously injured.
He was on a patrol in Helmand Province when he suffered serious brain damage and lost both his legs in a landmine explosion. Despite being told he would never walk, talk or even feed himself again, Ben has defied all medical experts and has overcome severe physical difficulties.
Ben will freefall from 13,000ft. Photo: Sean Sutcliffe
The 13,000ft divehas been organised by The Pilgrim Bandits - a Special Forces charity that has recently expanded to support other servicemen. Ben has become a patron for The Pilgrim Bandits and he hopes to raise thousands of pounds for fellow servicemen who are amputees by doing the parachute jump.
He has been receiving freefall training from Jump4Heroes, all National Skydiving Team members, following on from his last skydive. During the first jump, Ben was completely responsible for his altitude awareness, maintaining stability and making intricate manoeuvres in order to dock in formation with the rest of the team during the jump.
Ben celebrating his first jump with the Jump4Heroes team. Photo: Sean Sutcliffe
Speaking about his next skydive, Ben said "Last week's skydive with Jump4Heroes was absolutely amazing. I can't wait to jump again and I hope that this will inspire more injured soldiers to challenge themselves." Jump4Heroes's team captain, Army Major and BASE jumping champion Alastair Macartney, said the group were "extremely humbled" when Ben approached them.
"All of the Jump4Heroes team are serving in the Armed Forces so we are all effected by Ben's tragic accident," he said. "Being able to aid Ben in this fantastic physical achievement after such horrific injuries is a great achievement for us." The event will take place at Airfield Camp in Netheravon, Wiltshire, later today.
