0:00:02 > 0:00:07Most of us in the UK are part of families who have fought in wars.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11100 years ago, millions of people, our great-great-grandparents,
0:00:11 > 0:00:15they went off to fight in World War I.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19But what's it like being part of a frontline family today?
0:00:20 > 0:00:22AIR RAID SIREN AND EXPLOSIONS
0:00:25 > 0:00:30You learn about war in school and in history, but for me, it's real life.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35When my dad came out the army, he used to scream in his sleep
0:00:35 > 0:00:38and shout and we used to get really scared.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42I'm really proud of him
0:00:42 > 0:00:44and I'm really happy that he's coming home.
0:00:56 > 0:00:57My best friend is a soldier
0:00:57 > 0:00:59and I can remember him telling me
0:00:59 > 0:01:01that he was going to fight in Afghanistan.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03I was really, really proud.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07But then I started to think about it.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09Was he going to get hurt?
0:01:09 > 0:01:11Was he putting his life at risk?
0:01:13 > 0:01:16Thankfully, my friend came back safe and well,
0:01:16 > 0:01:18but others didn't.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25Nathaniel's family has a long tradition of being in the military.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28Going all the way back to his great-grandfather,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31his family have served in the army and navy.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35It's always been Nathaniel's ambition to be a soldier.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40In 2010, his brother Ashley went to Afghanistan.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42This is him filming his work,
0:01:42 > 0:01:47which was clearing bombs hidden in the ground, called IEDs.
0:01:47 > 0:01:48A big bang in a minute.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Yeah! All right!
0:01:57 > 0:02:01My brother, he was searching for IEDs
0:02:01 > 0:02:05and he was going along a bridge
0:02:05 > 0:02:07and he stood on one
0:02:07 > 0:02:09and got blown up.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16We got to see him in intensive care.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19I remember walking in and just thinking it was all a bad dream
0:02:19 > 0:02:23and that I'd wake up soon, but it wasn't
0:02:23 > 0:02:24and it just kicked in.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27It was really emotional.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33I just wouldn't believe that he was there, my brother laying in a coma.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39It's unbearable when you walk in there and see him.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44He didn't look like he was going to make it at all.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52I don't understand why we went into Afghan,
0:02:52 > 0:02:56cos so many people have either died or been injured out there.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59I don't understand why we had to go over there in the first place.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04My dad was tickling him,
0:03:04 > 0:03:07like, going, "Round and round in circles like a teddy bear"
0:03:07 > 0:03:08and went up his arm.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11My brother just threw his arm out and hit my dad.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13That's when I knew that he was going to make it through
0:03:13 > 0:03:16and that he wasn't going to die.
0:03:20 > 0:03:21When he's by himself,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24when he thinks that no-one can see, he's pretty down.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Normally I make a fool out of myself, just to make him laugh a little bit,
0:03:29 > 0:03:34but if you try cheering him up, he'll just tell you to go away.
0:03:36 > 0:03:42After a few weeks, you're still wondering, "Is he still my brother?"
0:03:42 > 0:03:44because he's changed quite a lot,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47but after a few years,
0:03:47 > 0:03:50I've had three years,
0:03:50 > 0:03:52you get used to it.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55He's changed quite a lot, but the best bits about him
0:03:55 > 0:03:57are still exactly the same.
0:03:58 > 0:04:03He's just my brother. He's amazing.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05I just love him to bits.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14What happened to Nathaniel's brother is known as a physical injury,
0:04:14 > 0:04:16but for some soldiers,
0:04:16 > 0:04:19their injuries aren't always as easy to see.
0:04:19 > 0:04:2213-year-old Ellie's dad suffers from a condition
0:04:22 > 0:04:27known as post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD,
0:04:27 > 0:04:29which means he's been damaged by the stresses
0:04:29 > 0:04:32caused by fighting in warzones.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35Even now, years after leaving the army,
0:04:35 > 0:04:38his PTSD still affects his behaviour.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45Before my dad went to war, he was more of a person.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49Like, he would walk down the street and he'd have a smile on his face
0:04:49 > 0:04:53and, like, he'd have the kind of cuddliness in him
0:04:53 > 0:04:59and it's unbelievable, him changing,
0:04:59 > 0:05:01like, so quickly.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06You can't really see any physical injuries on my dad,
0:05:06 > 0:05:08but he does suffer with mind injuries
0:05:08 > 0:05:10cos of what he's been through in the war.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14When he'd come back from the army,
0:05:14 > 0:05:16I found it hard to cope,
0:05:16 > 0:05:19because every time there was a loud noise
0:05:19 > 0:05:22or, like, the wind or anything like that,
0:05:22 > 0:05:24it'd shut the doors through the house
0:05:24 > 0:05:26and if there was a window open.
0:05:26 > 0:05:32He pulled me under the table one time and said, "Take cover!"
0:05:32 > 0:05:35because the door banged and it made a loud noise like a bomb.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37EXPLOSION
0:05:39 > 0:05:41He used to have a lot of nightmares.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47He's seen his mates just get shot at and he didn't like it at all.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51He used to scream in his sleep and shout.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55I'd just wake up and I think, "My dad's a freak."
0:05:57 > 0:06:01He found a way of coping with it and it was to put a war film on
0:06:01 > 0:06:02or a loud film.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06He would have to sleep with the film on,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09so he could feel like he was in that atmosphere again.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15The thing that I struggled with was he wouldn't sit there
0:06:15 > 0:06:19and talk to me about it and he doesn't really show emotions.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22He never cries.
0:06:22 > 0:06:27His saying is, "The weak only cry."
0:06:30 > 0:06:33Since he's been getting help
0:06:33 > 0:06:37with the doctors and sorting his medication out,
0:06:37 > 0:06:39everything's going all right.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41If I have a problem now, I'd go and talk to him
0:06:41 > 0:06:45to, kind of, make him feel better
0:06:45 > 0:06:47and we always have a joke or something like,
0:06:47 > 0:06:49like, I'm his little Ellie Bellie.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57Rebuilding family life after someone's been injured can be tough,
0:06:57 > 0:07:01but for some children, their family will never be the same again.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04Molly's dad went to Afghanistan when she was 11.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16We used to play in the garden,
0:07:16 > 0:07:20kike, football and cricket and we used to go out in his sports car
0:07:20 > 0:07:24and have the roof down and then sing really loud.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28I understood that it was a dangerous job,
0:07:28 > 0:07:33but I never really understood how dangerous.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38He came back all the times before.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42He was good at his job, so I thought he'd be OK.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47I was in the playground and my teacher came to get me
0:07:47 > 0:07:50and she was like, "You need to go see the head teacher."
0:07:50 > 0:07:52She's like, "You're not in trouble, though."
0:07:52 > 0:07:54I thought, "This is really weird",
0:07:54 > 0:07:58and so I went to the head teacher's office and my mum was sat in there
0:07:58 > 0:08:01and, instantly, I did have a feeling of, like, "Dad".
0:08:04 > 0:08:07My head teacher left the room, so it was just me and my mum in there
0:08:07 > 0:08:09and I thought, "Something's not right."
0:08:09 > 0:08:12Then she just said it how it was. She was...
0:08:12 > 0:08:15She said, "Your dad's been killed in Afghanistan."
0:08:15 > 0:08:19Obviously, I cried a lot and then it didn't feel real.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21To me, there was no proof yet, so I was like,
0:08:21 > 0:08:22"No, that's not true", but...
0:08:22 > 0:08:24Yeah.
0:08:31 > 0:08:32I got angry.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38I got angry at the fact it wasn't fair.
0:08:40 > 0:08:41I was angry that...
0:08:44 > 0:08:45..it was only him...
0:08:52 > 0:08:57..and I was angry. The person he was with got shot in the leg,
0:08:57 > 0:08:59but he was the only one that died,
0:08:59 > 0:09:01but...
0:09:06 > 0:09:11He volunteered himself to go do this job
0:09:11 > 0:09:16and he got awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20Me, Mum and Heather went up to London to go get the medal
0:09:20 > 0:09:25and we got given it by the Queen.
0:09:25 > 0:09:26What he did was really great
0:09:26 > 0:09:31and I guess it would have been even greater if he came back, but...
0:09:32 > 0:09:34Everything, I miss everything.
0:09:35 > 0:09:40I definitely miss how our family's changed
0:09:40 > 0:09:44and how our family's not really the same family as it was.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51But he's still my dad. I still feel close to him.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Friends don't understand, because they don't,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01but my friends are really good at trying to understand,
0:10:01 > 0:10:03which is really good,
0:10:03 > 0:10:05and they always manage to make me feel so much better,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08so whatever they're doing, they're doing it well.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27The war in Afghanistan has been going on since 2001,
0:10:27 > 0:10:29but by the end of this year,
0:10:29 > 0:10:32we'll see all British soldiers leave the country.
0:10:32 > 0:10:37Children all over the UK are just waiting for that homecoming day.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40Cameron is nine and, for most of his life,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43his dad has been flying planes for the RAF,
0:10:43 > 0:10:46often spending months away from home.
0:10:46 > 0:10:47But that's all about to change.
0:10:53 > 0:10:58My dad is in the RAF and he's in Afghanistan right now.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02It is quite dangerous out there.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04Yeah, I'm worried about him
0:11:04 > 0:11:05being away in there,
0:11:05 > 0:11:10because I'm just worried that he might crash or something
0:11:10 > 0:11:13and I really don't want that to happen.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17He went away quite a lot when I was born
0:11:17 > 0:11:22and he missed my first birthday
0:11:22 > 0:11:26and he's missed my sister's first birthday
0:11:26 > 0:11:27this year.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30When people come to school,
0:11:30 > 0:11:35I see their dads and just feel really sad because my dad's not here.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45I just miss him, really, so much, when he goes away.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49Just knowing that there's one less person in the house,
0:11:49 > 0:11:53so I do, sort of, wish that he was here.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02CHEERING AND CLAPPING
0:12:12 > 0:12:17I think anyone that could go out there and try and fight
0:12:17 > 0:12:20for their own country deserves anything,
0:12:20 > 0:12:24but they don't deserve to suffer, and that's what my dad did.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33I'm proud that my dad died doing something that saved many others,
0:12:33 > 0:12:36cos I never want them to go through what I went through
0:12:36 > 0:12:38and me and my family went through.
0:12:38 > 0:12:39I'd never wish it upon anyone.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54I still want to join the army, but I will always know
0:12:54 > 0:12:58that there's a risk of getting injured or even dying.
0:12:59 > 0:13:04To save millions of people for one death is worth it.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07You all right? How are you doing?
0:13:07 > 0:13:08- Fine!- Good!
0:13:08 > 0:13:10You all right?