For as long as he can remember, Alex Rowe wanted to be a soldier.
But when an eye condition prevented him from joining the British Army at the age of 18, he had to look elsewhere to fulfil his ambition.
So he became a member of the French Foreign Legion - and after 23 years of courageous service is about to be awarded that country's highest award for valour.
The 43-year- old adjutant-chef had fought in some of the world's most hostile war zones before being sent to Afghanistan.
There he was involved in some of the fiercest fighting against the Taliban in the mountains east of Kabul, and in July he will be honoured with the Legion d'honneur - his fifth medal for bravery.
Yesterday his mother told of her son's incredible story from Army reject to French national hero.
Jennifer Rowe, pictured holding an MBE she was awarded last year, will travel to Paris to watch her son receive his award
Speaking from her home near Stroud, Gloucestershire, Jennifer Rowe said: 'He was absolutely devastated when he was told he wouldn't be allowed to join the Army.
'It was his life-long ambition and suddenly it was taken away from him. He spent two years thinking about joining the French Foreign Legion and joined with my blessing at 20.'
Mrs Rowe, 64, will travel to Paris in July to watch as her son is awarded the Legion d'honneur.
Of the Foreign Legion, she said: 'He absolutely loves it and does what he was born to do.
'He's incredibly brave, so much so that he can probably be considered bordering on stupid.
'But I love him and am so proud of him.'
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Award: The Legion d'honneur and, right, Mr Rowe in his Foreign Legion uniform
Mr Rowe, whose identical twin brother Mark is a captain with the Royal Engineers, was born on Armistice Day in 1966 and joined the cadets as a teenager. But a detached retina he suffered as a child barred him from serving in the Army.
When he left for the French Foreign Legion he quickly rose through the ranks to become the best in his unit - despite not speaking a word of French. 'I learned French the hard way,' he said. 'I could ask for a campsite and a hotel but it wasn't much use. 'Every time I spoke English or made a mistake in French, I got a thick ear.'
The soldier, who now lives in Nimes in the South of France, was awarded one medal in Sarajevo, Bosnia, for shielding a mother and daughter from a hail of bullets.
He rose to the rank of adjutant-chef - a senior non-commissioned officer - but he cannot become an officer as he is not French.
His career has in many ways mirrored that of his twin brother.
Mrs Rowe said: 'They truly are two parts of one man in every possible way.'
Mr Rowe, whose other brother Jeremy, 34, is a merchant banker in London, lives with his wife Elyzabeth, 16-year-old son Brandon and step-daughter Jessica, 17.
