Prince Charles Presents Medals To Troops Who Fought In Afghanistan

December 3, 2008 6:26 a.m. EST

Essex, England (BANG) - Britain's Prince Charles presented medals to troops who spent the summer fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan Tuesday.

The royal visited the base of the Parachute Regiment - of which he is Colonel-in-Chief - in Colchester, Essex, where more than 500 soldiers had gathered for the ceremony.

Charles said: "You have no idea how proud you have made all of us, including your, by now, rather old Colonel-in-Chief. I can only salute you on an occasion like this."

The troops recently returned from a six-month tour of the Helmand Province - where Prince Harry served at the beginning of the year - during which 13 members of the regiment were killed.

During his trip to the base, the prince met the families of those who had died, as well as Lance Corporal Tom Neathway, 25, who lost both legs and an arm when a roadside bomb exploded in July.

He said: "I knew how badly I was hurt. But I knew I'd be OK because my friends would get me out."

Tom also revealed one of his goals had been to stand to receive his medal from Charles, an aim he accomplished.

He added: "Today was a bit of a milestone for me. I wanted to stand to receive the medal, then walk to the chair. It wasn't hard to do but it was hard to be able to do. It's taken me two months of hard work - it probably should have taken longer. Now I just want to crack on. My next goal will be to get back to work."