AFVOA Newletters of Year 2004

Page 11 of 153 was then found that a large number of Pakistani infiltrators had intruded in the Siachen Glacier. The ejection of these infiltrators was considered difficult but necessary and a special task force was, constituted for the purpose. Naib Subedar Singh volunteered to join this force. 34. The Pakistani intrusion had taken place at a height of 6500 metres. The enemy post was virtually an impregnable glacier fortress with ice walls, 457 metres high, on either side. Naib Subedar Bana Singh led his men through an extremely difficult and hazardous route. He inspired them by his courage and leadership. He and his men crawled and closed in on the adversary. Lobbing hand-grenades, charging with a bayonet and moving from trench to trench, he cleared the post of all intruders. 35. Naib Subedar Bana Singh was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the highest wartime gallantry medal, for conspicuous bravery and leadership under most adverse conditions. ( Source: http://faculty.winthrop.edu/haynese/india/medals/PVC/PVC15.html ) Kids say the darnest things! President George Bush is visiting an elementary school today and he visits one of the classes. They are in the middle of a discussion related to words and their meanings. The teacher asks the President if he would like to lead the class in the discussion of the word, “tragedy.” So the illustrious leader asks the class for an example of a “tragedy.” One little boy stands up and offers, “If my best friend, who lives next door, is playing in the street and a car comes along and runs him over, that would be a tragedy.” “No,” says Bush, “that would be an ACCIDENT.” A little girl raises her hand: “If a school bus carrying 50 children drove off a cliff, killing everyone involved, that would be a tragedy.” “I’m afraid not,” explains Mr. President. “That’s what we would call a GREAT LOSS.” The room goes silent. No other children volunteer. President Bush searches the room. “Isn’t there someone here who can give me an example of a tragedy?” Finally, way in the back of the room, a small boy raises his hand. In a quiet voice he says, “If Air Force One, carrying Mr. & Mrs. Bush, were struck by a missile and blown up to smithereens, by a terrorist like Osama bin Laden, that would be a tragedy.” “Fantastic,” exclaims Bush, “that’s right. And can you tell me WHY that would be a TRAGEDY?” “Well,” says the boy, “because it wouldn’t be an accident, and it certainly wouldn’t be a great loss.” Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran 8th Mahar Regiment (posthumous) Date of Action: 25 November 1987 Place of Action: Sri Lanka Date and Place of Birth: 13 September 1946, Bombay, Maharashtra Commissioned: 16 January 1972 36. Maj Ramaswamy Parameswaran was the company commander of ‘A’ Company, 8th Battalion of the Mahar Regiment during ‘Operation Pawan ’ in Sri Lanka. He gallantly led his troops to annihilate the insurgents, when caught in an ambush by the LTTE, on November 25, 1987. Three armed militants attacked him simultaneously. In the hand-to-hand fight which ensued, Maj Parameswaran was hit in the chest by a rifle bullet. He did not give