-Captain Manoj Pandey, 1/11 Gurkha Rifles: Posthumous Param Vir Chakra winner
'Before he fell he told his men: Don't leave them'
Born on 25 June 1975 in family of Shri Gopi Chand Pandey, Captain Manoj was a brilliant student & sportsman. He was always top in his academics & won hundreds of certificates and cups during his schooling. He cleared NDA in his first attempt, in his SSB interview his assessor asked why do you want to join army-he replayed, to get PARAM VIR CHAKRA…….& he got it.
Capt. Manoj Kumar Pandey was a man with a laughing face and happy disposition. He did his schooling at “Rani Laxmibai College” , from there he went to “U.P.Sainik school. He always got first rank in his academics, besides, he was a an all round sports man. His hobbies were Hockey, Swimming and athletics.
His mother Smt. Mohini Pandey inspired him towards the morality and spirituality. He did faith in God and had very clear thought about life and death. He firmly believed that every one has a certain period of life hence one should do something great to inspire the people. he loved children very much. He tried to collect every kind of knowledge so he choosed different books to read, even he studied the books of astrology and palmistry.
His answer to a question at SSB that he wanted to join the Force to be awarded Param Vir Chakra. This answer subsequently shocked everyone related to him as he achieved what he had said. In his own words : “One should join the Infantry in Army and in Infantry one must prefer the Gorkha Regiment”
His words:”If death strikes before I prove my blood, I swear I’ll kill death….some goals are so worthy it’s glorious even to fail.”
His last words were, “Na Chodnu” (Don’t Spare Them).
On the night of 2/3 July 1999 during the advance to Khalubar as his platoon approached its final objective, it came under heavy and intense enemy fire from the surrounding heights. Lieutenant Pandey was tasked to clear the interfering enemy positions to prevent his battalion from getting day lighted, being in a vulnerable position. He quickly moved his platoon to an advantageous position under intense enemy fire, sent one section to clear the enemy positions from the right and himself proceeded to clear the enemy positions from the left.Fearlessly assaulting the first enemy position, he killed two enemy personnel and destroyed the second position by killing two more. He was injured on the shoulder and legs while clearing the third position. Undaunted and without caring for his grievous injuries, he continued to lead the assault on the fourth position urging his men and destroyed the same with a grenade, even as he got a fatal burst on his forehead.
Manoj Pandey is considered a martyr for his sacrifice to his country. He remains as a role model to people everywhere.
In his personal diary he wrote “Some goals are so worthy, it’s glorious even to fail”.
'He died the most glorious death'
-Colonel Lalit Rai
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