On Remembrance Sunday, a soldier who was shot and lost his sight during a rescue attempt will march to the Cenotaph.
A sniper shot Simon Brown, a corporal from Morley, West Yorkshire, in the face while he was on duty in Iraq.
Mr Brown, 43, said his life “fell apart” but charity Blind Veterans UK gave him back a “sense of belonging”.
He said, “Remembrance is one of the most important days of the year for me.”
Mr Brown joined the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in 1997 and worked as a mechanic servicing and maintaining armed vehicles.
He served in Germany, Kosovo, Poland, Canada, and Iraq.
In Iraq, while leading a mission to rescue six colleagues he was shot, with the bullet entering his left cheek and exiting the other side.
Mr Brown woke up 17 days later in a Birmingham hospital to learn he had lost all sight in his left eye and had around 20% vision in his right eye. He also underwent several operations to reconstruct his face.
“When I found out that I’d lost my sight, my world fell apart,” he said.
“I’d lost my career; I’d lost my job and I’d lost my future. Blind Veterans UK gave me the training and support to move forward with my life.”
‘Sense of belonging’
The charity helped him learn practical skills, including using email again and cooking meals, he said.
“Being a member of Blind Veterans UK gave me back that sense of belonging that I had when I was in the Army, it’s this unwritten sense of understanding that comes from being in the military.”
Mr Brown also coaches a junior community team and said it is the “most rewarding” work he has ever done.