A SOLDIER from East Yorkshire will be among fallen servicemen remembered today.
Private Gregg Stone, 20, was shot dead while rescuing a senior Afghan policeman captured by the Taliban in June.
Today, his unit, 3rd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, paraded through Warminster, where they are based, before a service to remember their nine comrades killed during the six-month tour.
Soldiers were also expected to receive their campaign medals.
However, Gregg's parents Bob and Angie Stone, of Atwick, near Hornsea, have decided not to travel to Wiltshire.
Bob said: "We would have loved to have gone but we felt we did not want to take the shine off the lads' medal parade.
"Of course, the lads will all be thinking about their mates lost on the tour, but if they see us, it will make it more difficult."
Instead, the Stones will be attending another service of remembrance being held on Wednesday at York Minster.
Last Sunday, in a private ceremony, Gregg's name was unveiled on Hornsea's war memorial.
Some of Gregg's colleagues from 3 YORKS attended the simple service, conducted by the town's Reverend Phil Lamb.
Bob said: "It was a wonderful service.
"What an incredible bunch of lads Gregg's friends and colleagues are.
"They are a credit to the army and to their families."
Among the soldiers Bob and Angie met was Lieutenant Luke Mason.
The young platoon commander was shot as he tried to reach Gregg who was laying injured.
Bob said: "He arrived in Hornsea using a stick. He was shot in the legs, but he was determined to come to the service.
"What an absolutely amazing, polite, young man he is. Luke clearly adored Gregg, you could just tell."
Bob, Angie and other family members took the young soldiers to The Victoria pub in Hornsea, where they exchanged stories about Gregg.
Bob said: "It was an incredible afternoon. We had a good laugh talking about Gregg and what he got up to at the checkpoint."
Just days before his death, Gregg learned his wife, Sam, was expecting their first child in December. He was based at Checkpoint Shaparak in the Nahr-e-Saraj district of Helmand province.
Soldiers from Gregg's Burma Company, 6 Platoon, presented his parents with a flag that flew at the desert outpost.
Bob said: "You could just see in their eyes how much they adored Gregg and how much they care for each other. It really is just like one big family."
Former Hornsea School pupil Gregg was killed on his first operational tour of duty.
