THE widow of a West Devon Royal Marine killed in a helicopter crash over the Kuwaiti desert has spoken of her ?perfect, loving, special husband?.
Captain Philip Guy, 29, of Crapstone, was one of eight servicemen from Plymouth-based 3 Commando Brigade who died in the crash on Saturday morning.
He leaves a wife, Helen, who is due to give birth in two weeks, and their 20-month-old son Henry.
Paying tribute to her husband, Mrs Guy said: ?Phil was the most perfect, loving, special husband that I could have wished for.
?He was the most brave, courageous man you could ever imagine; tough and steadfast, honest and true.
?All he ever wanted to do was to provide for us, to be a good husband to me, and father to Henry and our unborn child.
?I know he died a true hero. He died for his Queen and country and to make the world a safer, better place for us to live in, for his children to grow up in.
?Our love and pride was always with him and he knew that. He died surrounded by our love and we will never ever forget what a truly wonderful man he was.?
Captain Guy, originally from the Yorkshire Dales, joined the Royal Marines after graduating from Salford University in 1995.
From their family home in Bishopdale, Capt Guy's parents Stuart and Anne spoke of their loss.
?He was a very brave and courageous soldier and will be sadly missed by his family and all who knew him,? his mother said.
Capt Guy was deployed to the Gulf six weeks ago. A qualified paratrooper, he had previously served in Bosnia and Afghanistan.
The officer was a keen sportsman who represented his corps in long distance running.
His fellow officers had nominated him for a Marine medal for courage and selflessness.
Capt Guy, whose parents Stuart and Anne, and brother Ian farm at Bishopdale in the Yorkshire Dales, had been a Royal Marine for eight years.
His widow, whom he married almost three years ago, added: ?He was a true professional in his job, always striving to be the best that he could be, the fittest that he could be.
?He was so very well loved and admired by all the people who he had met through his work; we had both made many lifelong friends.
?He would not have been afraid to go in that helicopter. He had been in helicopters countless times before. This would have been just another drop-off for him.?
The Rev Graham Cotter, vicar of Buckland Monachorum, described the death of Captain Philip Guy as a ?terrible tragedy.?
He said: ?Obviously this has caused a lot of distress. It?s very, very tragic and people are keeping the family in their prayers.?
South West Devon MP Gary Streeter said: 'This brave young man has made the ultimate sacrifice to make the world a safer place.
'We can all be very proud of him but our hearts go out to his family and we stand with them in their hour of need.
'Captain Guy was an example to us all.'