Craig Lundberg - St Dunstan's

St Dunstan's is the charity helping blind ex-servicemen and women.
On 22nd March 2007, Corporal Craig 'Freddie' Lundberg, a sniper in The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. His platoon was part of an operation to arrest known insurgents in Basra when a neighbouring unit came under heavy attack. Craig and his men immediately tried to draw the enemy's fire.

In the fierce fighting that ensued, Craig took a direct hit in the chest from a rocket-propelled grenade. The impact shattered his left arm and sent razor-sharp fragments of burning shrapnel flying into his face.

Craig lost his left eye instantly and his right eye was damaged beyond repair. Incredibly, Craig tried to continue fighting: "I got up and demanded my rifle, but it had been bent by the force of the blast. My mate got me another rifle and I tried to carry on firing. But I only managed a few steps before I collapsed."

Doctors managed to keep Craig alive but they couldn't save his sight. Craig was flown back to the UK knowing he would never see again.

St Dunstan's came to Craig's aid whilst he was still recovering from his injuries at Selly Oak hospital in Birmingham. As with all the blind ex-Service people we help, we offered him lifelong support, starting with a week-long rehabilitation course at our specialist centre in Ovingdean, near Brighton.

Since then, we've provided Craig with a specially adapted house near his family in Liverpool and helped him continue his recovery.

A growing number of ex-Service men and women are desperate for support: more World War Two veterans are losing their sight and more young British soldiers are at risk of returning home blind.

The reality is that we cannot meet this growing demand without you by our side. Please help us give more blind heroes, like Craig an independent future

For more information please visit www.st-dunstans.org.uk

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