Falklands hero forced to sell medal for £84k after operation to remove 27-year-old bullet

He spent 27 years oblivious to a bullet lodged inside his hip after being shot three times during the Falklands War. But when the pain became too much, hero paratrooper Captain Ian Bailey was forced to have surgery - bringing an end of his career as a security guard. Thrown back on his life savings, the 49-year-old had no choice but to sell his military medal which yesterday went for a recordbreaking £84,000.Capt Bailey was a 22-year-old corporal in the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, when he charged Argentinian positions at Mount Longdon. Armed with grenades and a fixed bayonet, the paratrooper embarked on the daring assault alongside Sergeant Ian McKay, who was to receive a posthumous Victoria Cross. The attack was successful but Sgt McKay was killed and Capt Bailey received dreadful injuries to the neck and the hip. He was given up for dead by Army surgeons but later underwent no fewer than seven operations on the hospital ship Uganda and recovered. While receiving his neck wound, piece of shrapnel severed the cord of his metal identity tags, which fell into the mud. They were found a year later by a sergeant-major clearing the battlefield and returned to him. Capt Bailey, meanwhile, received a Military Medal for his actions and stayed with the Paras for a further 20 years. He left the in 2002 after the pain in his neck from the old injury forced him to have his neck fused. 'As the chance of this operation being successful was only 50% I decided to resign my commission and leave,' Capt Bailey said. 'I did not take a medical discharge as firstly it was not offered and, secondly, trying to get a job aged 42 after being medically discharged from the Army would have been difficult. Read More HERE

He would have been better looked after if he was an illegal immigrant, totally disgusting way to treat a Hero, but typical of the UK and how it treats or mistreats its ex servicemen.