Bomber pilots deserve medals (From Witney Gazette)

Bomber pilots deserve medals

3:10pm Tuesday 6th May 2008

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Sir - Some readers will be aware that there is a campaign under way to secure the issue of campaign medals for those who served in Bomber Command between 1940 and victory in 1945.

David Cameron MP has refused to support this motion (EDM 218) in the House of Commons, which is rather surprising, as his constituency includes RAF Brize Norton, the home of three former Second World War bomber squadrons.

Recently, Mr Cameron (rather cheekily, in my view, given the circumstances) accepted an invitation to join 99 Squadron for a sortie in one of their C-17s.

I wonder if he would have so readily accepted if they had been flying to Afghanistan or Iraq?

If he really does not feel that the bomber crews of the Second World War deserve a medal, then I urge him to use all his influence to undertake a sortie over Afghanistan or Iraq to prove his point.

These people need your support now, Mr Cameron, it's not a matter for party politics, it's a matter for your own conscience.

For them, time is running out, they are sitting in the departure lounge, awaiting the call to board their last flight. Do something for them, because, thank God, you are in a position to do so, and you have nothing to lose, whereas many of Bomber Command lost their lives.

Philip Webb, Cogges Hill Road, Witney

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