A FORMER Tavistock College student who has spent the last few months serving in the Gulf War was this week re-united with his family.
Gunner Lee Whiting, aged 21, returned to Tavistock on Saturday, after his unit played a prominent role in the war in Iraq.
Lee serves with 29 Commando, part of the Royal Artillery based at The Citadel in Plymouth.
He was involved in the fighting from the beginning of the war, during the taking of the Al Faw peninsula and the southern Iraqi city of Basra.
Lee said it was a great relief to be safely home in Tavistock.
?We were out there from the beginning, moving around all the time. It was very scary, no-one knew what to expect.
?There were a few moments when we didn?t think we were going to make it back ? we had some tank action and we didn?t know what was going to happen,? said Lee, who said the biggest fear was dying and never seeing family or friends again.
Despite never expecting to serve in action, Lee, who joined the army when he was 17, has already been posted to Bosnia and Northern Ireland.
He said 29 Commando lost two men during the American helicopter crash at the beginning of the war, but no-one else was lost or injured in his unit and he paid tribute to the training received by the gunners.
Lee said the reaction of the Iraqi people changed noticeably during the war.
?They hated us at the beginning. They didn?t want anything to do with us, but at the end we were getting cheered. That gave us a really good feeling,? said Lee, who said some areas had been ?quite destroyed? by the war.
He said conditions were bad and towards the end of his time in Iraq, he had been mainly occupied with distributing food and water to local people and keeping patrol on the streets.
Now home, Lee intends to enjoy a well-earned period of leave.
He said his experiences in Iraq have confirmed his choice of career.
?I enjoy it ? it?s brilliant,? he said.