AFVOA Newletters of Year 2004

Page 62 of 153 21 winners of the coveted Param Vir Chakra, are given below. No. 2690572 Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav , 18th Grenadiers Date of Action: 4 July 1999 Place of Action: Tiger Hill, Kargil area, Jammu and Kashmir CITATION 102. The leading member of Ghatak platoon that captured Tiger Hill on July 4. Yadav climbed the snow-bound vertical cliff at 16,500 feet despite a heavy enemy fire which accounted for his platoon commander. Despite bullet hits in groin and shoulder, Yadav made superhuman efforts to reach the top and neutralised enemy fire by lobbing grenade into the first bunker. Despite fatal injury, he crawled to another bunker and killed three Pak soldiers in close combat. His sacrifice inspired his platoon to capture the vital feature at the strategic hilltop. Gdr. Yadav’s PVC was originally gazetted as posthumous (see the citation above); he was later discovered, wounded, in an Army Hospital. ‘We decided we would win Tiger Hill, no matter what the cost’ Havildar Yogender Singh Yadav, 18 Grenadiers: Param Vir Chakra winner 103. Havildar Yogender Singh Yadav was upset when the ministry of defence announced that he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously. The brave soldier from Bullandshahar in Uttar Pradesh, then undergoing treatment at the base hospital in Delhi, immediately contacted his officers and asked them the reason for the incorrect announcement. 104. Army headquarters immediately swung into action and started verifying where things had gone wrong. Eventually, it was discovered that there were two jawans by the same name. While one had been killed in action, the other was on the injured list. The names of the fathers were verified and it was formally announced that the jawan awarded the highest gallantry award was the one on the injured list. 105. “After our regiment won back the Tololing peak from Pakistani intruders, the regiment was given the name ‘Tigers’ by Commander Joshi. The battle of Tololing was one of the bloodiest battles, but the task ahead of us was even more dangerous and tedious. We were assigned the job of clearing Tiger Hill. Not just India, the entire world was keenly awaiting the outcome of this battle for the control of Tiger Hill. When the selection of the Ghatak team was being made, there was a bit of thinking in the regiment. It was eventually decided that the advance party would be led by Captain Balwan Singh.