The wife of a soldier killed accidentally by US troops has vowed to return her war widow’s medal to Prince Charles in disgust over the Government’s failure to get justice for her husband.
Linda Sprouting accused the Army’s top brass of failing in their duty of care towards her family because defence chiefs were too scared of upsetting the Americans.
Linda, 48, was presented with the Elizabeth Cross by Prince Charles after captain Dean was killed in an accident on a US base in Iraq in 2018.
The Prince of Wales wrote a letter to Linda, saying her husband’s death was a tragedy. Charles described Dean as an “outstanding soldier in every way” and was a “steadfast professional”.
The couple had been married for 24 years and have two sons, Oliver, 16, and Harry, 11.
But Linda wants to return the medal to Charles in protest over the MoD’s failure to fight for justice for Dean.
Dean, 46, was crushed to death by a forklift truck while jogging in broad daylight inside the Al Asad Air Base.
He was exercising on a sanctioned route and should have been easily identifiable to all vehicle drivers.
But a US probe into the tragedy ruled his death was an accident and no one was to blame.
Last night, mum-of-two Linda, from Denny, Falkirk, said: “The US investigation was a whitewash. The report into my husband’s death was 300 pages long but double that had been redacted. I asked the MoD to get the full report. They said they would but this was over two years ago and nothing has happened.
“I have been fighting for justice for three years. It seems that the act of presenting me with the Elizabeth Cross has been devalued. It’s as though they felt that once I had the cross I would go away.
“I want to hand the cross back to Prince Charles and tell him why. I have written to Charles already and asked for a meeting but I only received an answer from his staff saying he was too busy. I have now sent another letter asking for another meeting so I can return the cross.”
Linda said her husband’s death had devastated the family. Dean had served in the Army for 29 years, rising through the ranks from private soldier to captain.
Linda said: “My two boys have lost their father and I’ve lost my husband. Both my boys have struggled. They lost their role model and mentor. It’s difficult being mum and dad at the same time. Harry has struggles with sleep and has problems with anxiety and I haven’t even had an apology from the Americans. I know this was an accident but it was a preventable accident.”
Linda said that what was most upsetting was the lack of interest from the MoD.
She accused defence chiefs of failing in their duty of care to her and her sons and added that the MoD’s disinterest was shaming her husband’s memory. Linda said: “The MoD aren’t doing anything to help my case. It seems they are not prepared to really push for answers on this because they don’t want to upset the Americans.
“The US military found that none of their soldiers were at fault. The British military police have already told me that the evidence of negligence is so strong that if it had been a British soldier driving the truck, he would have been charged.”
An MoD spokesperson said: “Our deepest sympathies remain with the family and friends of Captain Dean Sprouting.
We take the safety of our personnel very seriously and liaised closely with US authorities throughout the investigation.”
Clarence House declined to comment.
