As a child during WW2, Donald "Lofty" Large would always see Americans and British soldiers conducting field exercises near his home town, and from that time on, he had decided to be a soldier.
At the outbreak of the Korean War, Lofty, who stood at 6ft 6in, volunteered with the men of B Co. 1st BN, Gloucestershire Reg., and immediately found himself on the front lines.
On 22 April 1951, they engaged with Chinese troops in the Battle of Imjin. By the morning of the 24th, B Co. had fought off 7 assaults and after being vastly outnumbered, low on ammo and cut off from support, they survivors were forced to surrender.
Large became a POW and throughout his 2 years of incarceration, he had 2 bullets and at least 18 pieces of shrapnel embedded in his body from the battle. To help Large cope with the chronic pain of his untreated injuries, an American POW introduced him to marijuana, which grew wild in the area. It helped him and found it to be a highly effective and enjoyable painkiller, but wasn't has fond of the psychological effects.
After being released in 1953, he was asked to medically retire, to which he refused, because he had decided to join the SAS. Large went through selection, not once, but twice because had a motorcycle accident a few hours before completion. He managed to pass selection the second time with a fucked up ankle and a boot bigger that the other to accommodate his bandages.
Parachuting was an important part of SAS training, but it was not an experience that Large enjoyed: He suffered from a fear of heights and his considerable bulk meant that he descended far too quickly to have any chance of a comfortable landing. Despite this, he qualified, although the footnote on his course report read, "not suited to parachuting – either in size or inclination." His career in the SAS would send him in places like Oman, Aden, Borneo, Malaya and other hot beds in order to slay more communists and insurgents.
He retired after serving 27 years as a Squadron Sergeant Major and Warrant Officer Class 2. He passed away in 2006 after a long battle of leukemia. #sas #whodareswins #uk #stayzero #zerofoxtrot