Manoj Kumar Pandey

Captain Pandey was the platoon commander in the 1999 Operation Vijay during the advance to Khalubar in the Batalik sector. He led his men to recapture the Jubar Top. The battalion's progress was halted by a determined enemy firmly entrenched on commanding heights. Pandey stepped forward to take on the mission. Displaying great courage, he surged ahead of his troops and charged at the enemy with a full throated battle cry through a hail of bullets. 

Although wounded in the shoulder and leg, he pressed on his solitary charge with determination from trench to trench. Critically bleeding, he collapsed at the final trench and finally succumbed to his injuries, but not before all the enemies were destroyed. His last words were, 'Na Chodna' (Don't leave them).

Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey (circled) with other officers during Operation Vijay