Uday Singh Taunque - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Sergeant Uday Singh Taunque (1982–2003) was the first soldier of Sikh

Sikh

A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...

descent to die fighting in the Iraq War as part of the U.S. Army. His death in Iraq was widely reported in the Indian and American media.

Early Years

Sergeant Uday Singh Taunque was born in Jaipur, India on 23 April 1982 to a Saini

Saini

Saini is a Rajput descent caste of India. Sainis, also known as Shoorsaini in Puranic literature, are now found by their original name only in Punjab and in the neighboring states of Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh...

Sikh

military family. He stayed with his parents at various military stations till 1994. Then he moved to his paternal grand parents home in Chandigarh. There he enrolled in St. Stephen's School, Chandigarh. In 1995, Uday's parents and sister also moved to Chandigarh. Uday, on leaving school in Chandigarh in June 2000, left for the U.S. with his father and sister and decided to join the U.S. Army.

In USA

Uday enlisted in the army on 28 August 2000 and on termination of initial training at Fort Knox was assigned to Charlie Company 1st Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment

34th Armor Regiment (United States)

The 34th Armor Regiment is an armored regiment of the United States Army formed in 1941.-Lineage:Constituted 28 August 1941 in the Regular Army as the 34th Armored Regiment and assigned to the 5th Armored Division...

, based at Fort Riley, Kansas, U.S.

Iraq War

Uday's unit was deployed to Iraq in September 2003. On, 1 December 2003, Uday was in the lead Humvee of his platoon as a gunner while out on reconnaissance in Habbaniyah, when the platoon came under fire. Uday was the first to return fire, and kept the insurgents pinned down until reinforcements arrived. However, in the continuing fire fight he was hit with a gunshot to his head and subsequently died whilst being transported to the hospital. The mission led to the capture of a number of terrorists and large cache of weapons.

Awards

Uday was awarded with the Bronze Star and Purple Heart

Purple Heart

The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...

for his bravery and ultimate sacrifice.

Memorials

Uday's ashes are buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington (near Washington D.C.) Section 60 Gravesite No 8122. Also, a memorial for perpetuating his memory is established and will be completed shortly at his home in Chandigarh (1550, Sec 18-D).

A memorial ahs also been constructed in Uday's memory at his school St. Stephen's School, Chandigarh.

Illinois General Assembly also paid homage to Sergeant Uday's bravery and martyrdom by passing a Senate Resolution. http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=&SessionId=3&GA=93&DocTypeId=SR&DocNum=362&GAID=3&LegID=7918&SpecSess=&Session=

It is also noteworthy that Sergeant Uday came from a distinguished military family and his grandfather, Wing Commander Kartar Singh Taunque

Kartar Singh Taunque

Wing Commander Kartar Singh Taunque, then Hawai Sepoy 1st Class, became the first ever personnel of Indian Airforce to win a gallantry award. He won this award for a successful bombing raid during "Operations in Waziristan 1937-38". He was mentioned in despatches. Flt.Lt...

, was the first ever personnel of Indian Airforce, then Royal Indian Airforce, to win a gallantry award for Operations in Waziristan during World War II.

External links

http://rememberingudaysingh.com/
http://udaysinghmemorial.com/
http://discoverchandigarh.com/
http://rememberingudaysingh.net/