One morning in July 2010 changed the lives of both Antony “Coops” Cooper and David Jack Plant.
His friends from the 1st Battalion of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment were on patrol in Afghanistan when Coops stood on the metal track.
“I heard a click, and I was like ‘oh no. I’m done’. I thought I was dead,” he said.
He had stood on an improvised explosive device (IED) and the explosion left him legless, fingerless, eyeless and with the worst brain injury ever recorded in Afghanistan.
Three minutes after he was flown to safety by an American Black Hawk helicopter, David stood on an IED.
He also lost both legs.
Coops remembers the helicopter that turned around to collect friends before they were taken to Camp Bastion, and the long road to recovery began.
To mark the start of this year’s Remembrance and poppy campaign, the two reunited after more than a decade to talk about the impact they have had on their lives and the support they have been given by the Royal British Legion.
In the early days, they supported each other through recovery.
But after 18 months of rehabilitation at Headley Court, David said he “ran away” to Spain.
‘take me’
He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and cannot cope with everything that has happened.
He leaves behind family, friends and Coops. “I just sank into a very dark place. I spiraled,” he said.
That’s when he tried to kill himself.
Within 50 minutes, two local support workers from the Royal British Legion arrived at his home in Spain.
“He actually picked me up and took me to his place in Murcia,” he said. “I remember they gave me macaroni and cheese with hot dog strips.
“I’ll never forget him. He really saved my life. He helped me see things in a different way and I’ve been rebuilding ever since.”
The Royal British Legion helped him move to his new home in Cumbria, making adaptations so he could live independently.
He bought a special handcycle so he could get out of the house and restart his life in the Cumbrian Hills.
Earlier this week, I met David in Chorley’s Astley Park to talk about his experiences in Afghanistan.
After struggling to find the right words, he could only say, “It’s hell on earth”.
“I can’t always talk to people about what’s going on. But the Royal British Legion is always on the end of the phone.
That’s when old friend Coops came to join us in the park. The two embraced and were lost for words.
“We’re both there,” Coops said. “We both do the same thing. Everything we do, we more or less do together.
However, over the past decade, they have been falling apart.
The mental scars of war have made David retreat until he is alone and hopeless.
“We were closer in the beginning, you’re right,” David told Coops. “I ran.”
“You already are,” Coops replied. “But I know where you are now. I won’t let you drift away again. I will come and find you.”
Coops remained in a coma for five weeks before being told he would never walk or talk again, but he defied doctors.
The Royal British Legion financed his adaptation to his home and also provided a handcycle for him to go out.
“He was amazing,” she said. “He’s always been there for us, and I can’t thank him enough.”
Looking to the future
“I want to thank everyone who supports the Royal British Legion,” said David.
“I also want to say a big thank you to Coops. Seeing how strong he is and seeing how he can handle everything really helps me.
“I know I’ve helped him,” Coops replied. “But he did the same thing to me in the beginning. When it first happened, I was like, ‘why me?’. Then, ‘why am I still alive?’. We both lost a lot of friends. It’s been very difficult.”
This year, the poppy campaign wants to remind people of the deep mental scars of war.
Seeing Coops and David embrace for the first time in a decade and fly around Astley Park on handcycles, it’s clear the difference poppy’s appeal can make for a war-torn life.
Next year, Coops is getting married and David has just started looking for a new job.
The two are looking for the future and said they will look to be together as friends.
Both redheads and David joked: “I always said, the Taliban targeted ginger that day.”
“Well,” replied Coops, “what I always say is that they hurt us, but they didn’t get us. You know? We’re still here, aren’t we.”