A SOLDIER\u2019S FATHER
\nFrom the notes of a Wing Commander<\/p>\n
The helicopter appeared over the late morning horizon. We were to receive Mr Lachhman Singh Rathore who was visiting our Flight Unit to perform the last rites of his son, Flying Officer Vikram Singh.<\/p>\n
Only the day before, I had sent the telegram, \u201cDeeply regret to inform that your son Flying Officer Vikram Singh lost his life in a flying accident early this morning. Death was instantaneous.\u201d It was the first time for me- to meet and manage the bereaved next of kin, in this case the Father of the brave officer.<\/p>\n
While most of the desolate family members insist on seeing the body, many a time there isn\u2019t a body to show! Flying Officer Vikram Singh\u2019s remains were only a few kilos \u2013scrapped from what was left in the cockpit. We had to weigh the wooden coffin with wood and earth.<\/p>\n
The pilot brought the helicopter to a perfect touchdown. Soon Mr Lachhman Singh Rathor was helped down the ladder. A small and frail man he was, maybe of 80 years, clad in an immaculate dhoti.<\/p>\n
As I approached him, he asked in a quiet and dignified whisper, \u201cAre you Venki, the Flight Commander?\u201d \u201cYes Sir.\u201d \u201cVikram had spoken to me about you. I\u2019d like to speak to you alone for a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n
We walked to the edge of the concrete apron. \u2018I have lost a son, and you have lost a friend. I\u2019m sure that you have taken great care in arranging the funeral. Please tell me when and where you want my presence and what you want me to do. I\u2019ll be there for everything. Later, I would like to meet Vikram\u2019s friends, see his room and, if it is permitted, visit his work place. I then would like to return home tomorrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
A commander couldn\u2019t have given me clearer instructions.<\/p>\n
The funeral, with full military honours, was concluded by late afternoon. After the final echoes of the \u2018Last Post\u2019 faded away, Lachhman Singh spent the evening talking to the Squadron Pilots. Vikram\u2019s room mate took him to see Vikram\u2019s room. Lachhman Singh desired to spend the night in his son\u2019s room instead of the guest house we had reserved for him. Early next morning after a tour of the squadron area, my boss took him to his office.<\/p>\n
A while later, the staff car took Lachhman Singh to the civil airfield two hours away.<\/p>\n
As the car disappeared round the corner, I remarked to my Boss, \u201cA brave man he is. Spoke to me like a General when he told me exactly what he expected from us during his stay here. I have never seen a more composed man on such an occasion. I admire him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Mr Lachhman Singh Rathore is a warrior in his own way. He sired three sons and has laid to rest all three of them.<\/p>\n
-His 1st son Captain Ghanshyam Singh of the Gurkha Rifles was killed in Ladakh in 1962 War.
\nHis 2nd son, Major Bir Singh, died along the Ichogil Canal in 1965 in an ambush.
\nHis youngest, the 3rd, Vikram Singh, who had the courage to join the Air Force, is also gone now, more to our country\u2019s defence than All of us combined.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yes, he is indeed a brave Indian ; in fact HE is MORE INDIAN than anyone else – His sacrifice can never ever be repaid by the Country! He is almost a Martyr himself!<\/p>\n
But our Great Nation does not know this Simple Giant — India only knows those Super Rich Cricketers need to be conferred BHARAT RATNA while a bunch of media personal or actors & actresses need to be conferred PADMA VIBHUSHANs and PADMASHREEs !<\/p>\n
But what about Those who have SIMPLY LOST their EVERYTHING to the Nation & to its Citizens? Like this Father of Three Brave Soldiers!<\/p>\n
(Note: A story to be included in the school syllabus! A brave father of brave sons. How the country could repay its debt to him? We do not know. Could we Print and circulate to all our MPs & JNU scholars?)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A SOLDIER\u2019S FATHER From the notes of a Wing Commander The helicopter appeared over the late morning horizon. We were to receive Mr Lachhman Singh Rathore who was visiting our Flight Unit to perform the last rites of his son, Flying Officer Vikram Singh. Only the day before, I had sent the telegram, \u201cDeeply regret Continue reading <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-20","category-33"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/poornachandran.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/poornachandran.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/poornachandran.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poornachandran.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poornachandran.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2922"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/poornachandran.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2924,"href":"https:\/\/poornachandran.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2922\/revisions\/2924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/poornachandran.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poornachandran.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poornachandran.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}