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| - [[Image:{name}]] Unsung war hero, Darren Paterson (also known as Darren Francis) was born in the small seaside resort of Margate, Kent, on January 3rd 1967. After leaving school with no qualifications, Darren soon joined Her Majesty's Paratroopers (The Paras), a long term dream of his after being inspired by the infamous sinking of the Belgrano in the skirmish between the UK and Argentina over The Falkland Islands/ Malvinas . A talented schoolboy footballer, Darren also had trials for Millwall FC, but eschewed a promising sporting career due to his love of the Armed Forces.
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| abstract
| - [[Image:{name}]] Unsung war hero, Darren Paterson (also known as Darren Francis) was born in the small seaside resort of Margate, Kent, on January 3rd 1967. After leaving school with no qualifications, Darren soon joined Her Majesty's Paratroopers (The Paras), a long term dream of his after being inspired by the infamous sinking of the Belgrano in the skirmish between the UK and Argentina over The Falkland Islands/ Malvinas . A talented schoolboy footballer, Darren also had trials for Millwall FC, but eschewed a promising sporting career due to his love of the Armed Forces. Darren's potential was soon spotted by his superiors, and for several years he was seconded to the elite SAS (Special Air Service) of the armed forces. Little is known of his time in the SAS, but it is rumoured he became expert in counterespionage and close quarter assasination techniques. Returning in 1990 to his beloved Paras, Paterson soon saw action in the first gulf war, and despite gaining several commendations for bravery, was already beginning to display the individualistic nature that would later lead to his (unwarranted) discharge from the forces in 2006. Perhaps the defining moment in his career, was a skirmish in the Hindu Kush Afghanistan. Finding his platoon surrounded by Taliban insurgents, Paterson with no regard for his personal safety, disarmed and killed 17 enemy fighters, and in the process recaptured the famous Para's trumpet, a symbolic musical instrument first carried by a member of the brigade in the Korean War. Lauded by his peers yet treated with suspicion by his superiors, Paterson went on to complete many acts of bravery before his discharge from the army, after he was discovered to have fathered several children with the widows of enemy insurgents he had killed in battle. Because of this, the official story of Paterson has until recently been hidden from the national view - though this may soon change after the publication of his forthcoming novel; "From Ragheads to Riches: A simple soldiers tale"
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